Masters Program in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language

Program Requirements 

The requirements for the M.A. in AL/TESL must be understood in relation to two sets of requirements: the department's and the university's.  These work together and overlap.  The total number of courses to be completed is ten, plus the Master’s Colloquium. It is possible for students to waive course (not unit) requirements if they have taken a course or had professional experience that is deemed to be comparable in content to a specific required course. This enables the student more flexibility in choosing elective courses in consultation with his/her faculty mentor.  Transfer of unit credit is quite a different process.  Regulations governing transfer of credit are outlined in the UCLA Catalog.  See the Graduate Student Advisor for more information.

Program Prerequisites:               Linguistics 103: Introduction to General Phonetics (or equivalent)

                                                Linguistics 120A: Phonology I (or equivalent)

                                                Linguistics 120B: Syntax I (or equivalent)

                                                Two quarters foreign language study (or equivalent)

University Requirements:           9 courses  (5 of the 9 must be at the graduate level)

Department Requirements:         10 required courses, plus the Master's Thesis and colloquium

Summary of Required Courses:

Foundation Courses:

AL/TESL C201:            Functional Foundations of Language

AL/TESL C204:            Foundations of Language Assessment

AL/TESL M207:           The Ethnography of Communication OR

Elective Course

Two (2) guided elective courses chosen in consultation with the faculty advisor.

Thesis Preparation Courses:

AL/TESL 200:              Research in Applied Linguistics

AL/TESL 400:              AL/TESL MA Colloquium

COURSEWORK 

The Program Prerequisites are intended to ensure that all MA students have a basic understanding of linguistic concepts and principles. These courses include Linguistics 103: Introduction to Phonetics; Linguistics 120A: Phonology I; Linguistics 120B: Syntax I; and two foreign language courses. Students who have completed comparable courses to satisfy any of the five prerequisite courses may file petitions requesting the waiver of these prerequisites with the Graduate Student Advisor. Decisions regarding the approval of these petitions rest with the departments responsible for offering the required courses. Students who have not completed these courses or their equivalents will be required to take them in the first year of the MA program, and they will not count towards the requirement for the degree. These courses may be taken on a Satisfactory /Unsatisfactory basis. Although Linguistics 120A and Linguistics 120B may be taken on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis, those students planning to apply for admission to the Doctoral Program in Applied Linguistics should take these two courses for a letter grade. Students lacking formal instruction in a second language but who have proficiency in a second language may choose to take a foreign language placement exam offered by the department offering courses in that language. Examinees must demonstrate the equivalent to two quarters of foreign language study in order to satisfy the MA language requirement.

The Foundation Courses are intended to provide students with an introduction to those areas deemed integral to the study of Applied Linguistics at UCLA. Students are encouraged to take all of the Foundation courses in their first year; however, in rare cases, one may choose to take one each quarter in the first four quarters of graduate study.

The Elective Courses are intended to provide students with in depth knowledge in one Research Area: language acquisition, language assessment, discourse/grammar analysis. Students will explore their chosen Research Area by selecting appropriate elective courses in consultation with their faculty mentor.

Please refer to the list of courses that have been approved as electives for the three Research Areas. If a student, in consultation with his or her faculty mentor, wishes to take a course that is not included on this list but feels that it should count as one of his or her breadth requirements, a petition must be filed with the Graduate Advisor and approved by the Department Chair. Please see the Graduate Student Advisor for more information on course selection and petitions.

The Thesis Preparation Courses are intended to center the student’s second year around the development and completion of the thesis.  All students will enroll in AL/TESL 200: Research in Applied Linguistics in the Fall quarter of their second year.  In this course, students will receive instruction on the preparation of the thesis proposal, which must be approved by two faculty members by the end of the quarter. In the Winter quarter of their second year, students will enroll in AL/TESL 598: M.A. Research and Thesis Preparation with the chair of their Master’s thesis committee. Enrollment in this course is on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory basis. Throughout the quarter, students will meet with their committee members, to work on data collection, analysis, interpretation, and the drafting of the Master’s thesis. Students may choose to enroll in AL/TESL 598 again in the Spring quarter, in order to be enrolled as a full-time student, for up to 8 units. However, 598 will only count towards the degree once. All second year students must enroll in AL/TESL 400: MA Colloquium in the Spring quarter of their second year.  This course provides unit credit for the quarter, but the course does not count towards the degree requirements.

MASTER’S THESIS COMMITTEE

The master’s thesis committee is nominated by the student, approved by the Department Chair, then appointed officially by the Dean of the Graduate Division. This takes place early in the Winter quarter of the student’s second year. The master’s thesis committee comprises a minimum of three faculty members: most often two "inside" the department of Applied Linguistics & TESL (see list on page 12) and one "outside" (no official affiliation with the department). However, it is also possible to have three members from inside the department serving on the Master’s thesis committee. Graduate Division regulations stipulate that these three committee members must be members of the Academic Senate; that is, holding the title of Professor, Professor Emeritus, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor. Lecturers and Visiting Professors (any title) may (and often do) serve as supernumerary members. For more information, please consult with the Graduate Advisor or see the "Standards and Procedures for Graduate Study" manual published by the Graduate Division.

ADVANCEMENT TO CANDIDACY

After completion of the above requirements, including nomination of the master’s thesis committee, the student must be advanced to candidacy. This generally takes place in the latter part of the Winter quarter of the student’s second year. To advance, paperwork must be filed with the Department demonstrating that the student has successfully completed the nine courses required by the University through graduate and upper-division coursework. Once the student and the department chair have signed off on this paperwork, it is filed with Graduate Division and forwarded to the Registrar’s Office.

THE THESIS

Finally, each student is required to complete and file a Master’s Thesis as a final demonstration of his/her ability to carry out original research under the guidance of the Master’s Thesis Committee. All Master’s Thesis Committee members, including any supernumerary members, must read the thesis and certify that it satisfies the research requirements of the Master’s Program by signing on the certifying page of the thesis. As the thesis nears completion, all candidates must make a public report of their research results. This report is scheduled as a course, AL/TESL 400, and the public oral presentation is made at the annual MA Colloquium, which is generally held on the first Friday of May, during the Spring quarter.

NORMAL PROGRESS TOWARD THE DEGREE

As stated in the Program Requirements, published by the Graduate Division, the normative time to degree is, “From graduate admission to award of M.A. degree: six quarters, and in some cases, a summer session.” Once advanced to candidacy, master’s students have one year to complete and file the Master’s Thesis.  See the Graduate Student Advisor for more information.