Our 5-year PhD program is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts and results of research in generative linguistics, so that they can begin productively contributing to the department’s research activities. We have found that the best way to achieve this goal is for students to work from the very beginning on problems that are relevant to real-life research.

The program is rigorous and quite demanding of students’ time and energy. A high level of commitment and concentration is required to complete it successfully. The program also contains a relatively large number of required courses. We have found that this extra effort pays off in the long run, since students are exposed to a richer mix of research topics and methods. This also means that our students attain a high level of competence in more than one area, and thus qualify for academic and other positions in more than one specialty.

All students complete both a Common Curriculum and an additional program of coursework in an Area of Specialization of their choosing (selected at the beginning of the 5th semester, but revisable). See the material linked from the Common Requirements and Specialization tabs for details.

Click here for a timeline of the major milestones in the graduate program.