UCLA
The Department of LinguisticsDownload DSP Requirements Checklist
Students are to complete 9 graduate courses in Linguistics and pass a comprehensive oral examination in order to earn the M.A. through the Departmental Scholars Program. Questions regarding the M.A. requirements for Departmental Scholars should be directed to the Graduate Student Affairs Officer.
The list of required courses are below and on the DSP Requirements Checklist. All courses taken for the Linguistics M.A. degree MUST be taken for 4 or 5 units AND for a letter grade.
No course may be used to fulfill requirements for both the undergraduate and MA degrees. Graduate courses completed prior to the effective quarter of admission to the DSP may not be applied to the M.A.
All three courses are taken in your first quarter as a Departmental Scholar.
Courses satisfying this “Four of” requirement cannot be used to satisfy either the “Three of” or the “Two of” requirements above. At most two of these “Four of” courses can be from the following list: 201A, 201B, 201C, 214, 216, 219, 222.
The initial advisor for Departmental Scholars is the Director of Graduate Studies. During the year, Departmental Scholars will need to form a M.A. Committee consisting of three faculty members in Linguistics. The committee consists of a Chair and two non-chair members. At the Departmental Scholar level, this committee usually reflects the faculty they spent the most time with and/or feel the most aligned with. Departmental Scholars should reach out to the prospective faculty members directly, inquiring about their availability and willingness to serve on their M.A. Committee to administer the oral examination.
Once the Departmental Scholar has identified three faculty members and received agreements that they are willing to serve on the M.A. Committee, the Departmental Scholar will need to initiate the online M.A. Committee form for Departmental Scholars. The M.A. Committee should be fully formed no later than mid-Spring, so there is enough time for the Departmental Scholar and their committee to schedule the oral examination.
In their final quarter of the program, students must pass a comprehensive oral examination administered by their M.A. Committee. The oral exam is usually one to two hours long and covers a Departmental Scholars’ UCLA Linguistics education.