LINGUIST List | Program Information

Program Information

Program Name:	Department of Linguistics
Program Homepage:	http://www.linguistics.stonybrook.edu/
Institution:	State University of New York at Stony Brook
Address:	SUNY Stony Brook
City:	Stony Brook
Zip/Postal Code:	11794-4376
State/Province:	NY
Country:	USA
Application Deadline:	January 15
Contact Person:	Daniel Finer, Dr.
Email:	click here to access email
Phone:	631-632-7782
Fax:	631-632-9789
Linguistic Subfield(s):	Applied Linguistics Historical Linguistics Language Acquisition Morphology Phonetics Phonology Semantics Syntax
Program Size:	Medium (11-25 students)
Program Description:	Students entering Stony Brook's Department of Linguistics join a cooperative intellectual community with a commitment to innovative research on human language, one of the central areas of cognitive science. The department's research focuses on the core areas of linguistics from a generative perspective. In addition to analysis of individual languages and language families, our research investigates situations in which different grammatical systems come into contact (e.g., bilingualism, code switching, and second language acquisition). We also study the nature of grammars by examining how they change over time, both across multiple generations (language change) and across the life span of individuals (e.g., language attrition, first and second language acquisition). The Doctoral program is designed to prepare students to do advanced research in theoretical linguistics and its applications. All students take a set of core courses. They further develop their research interests with advanced seminars in linguistics as well as in courses in psychology, computer science, philosophy, and the interdisciplinary Language, Mind, and Brain seminar series. Students are encouraged to develop an area of expertise in addition to their dissertation topic by focusing some of their electives on a specific subfield. The department also offers an M.A. in TESOL and a program for New York State teaching certification. These programs have a carefully structured curriculum that gives students the linguistic, pedagogical, and professional preparation essential to excellence in English language education. Ph.D. students may complete the M.A., with or without certification, as one of their areas of specialization. Students develop research skills throughout their graduate training. During their second and third years, students write original papers in two different areas of linguistics, at least one of which is presented at a conference or colloquium (our students have a high rate of acceptance to prestigious domestic and international meetings). The development of research papers is supported by a special workshop course in which both faculty and fellow students provide feedback on the work in progress. After demonstrating the ability to carry out independent research, students proceed to the dissertation. Professional skills, such as abstract writing and the presentation of conference papers and job talks, are fostered through workshops and informal meetings of faculty and students. Another central component of professional linguistic training is teaching experience. Teaching opportunities range from assisting in undergraduate classes under the guidance of a faculty member to teaching a course independently. Every student is required to do some teaching and many gain extensive teaching experience through teaching assistantships. Several linguistics graduate students have won the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Graduate training in the Stony Brook Department of Linguistics involves much more than courses. The Semantics and Phonetics Labs, library, seminar room, graduate computing lab, and student offices are all frequent sites of spontaneous and organized linguitics discussion by students and faculty. Social events, such as our annual picnic and the post-colloguium series introduces students to scholars outside the University doing research on a diverse set of topics. The department also co-sponsors annual regional student conferences that give students the opportunity to meet other local students and faculty in linguistics and to present their own work in a supportive professional environment.

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