Ziggyfinish

McGill's Linguistics graduate program has a lot of international students in it (at the moment at least), in fact I think they prefer to have a strong mix of international and domestic students. And I believe it is a two year program. (I believe U of T also offers a 1 and 2 year MA).
Also its common in Canada for many of the smaller or less well known schools to offer really good funding options to attract students (everyone here just wants to live in Vancouver, Toronto, or Montreal). These schools usually have small programs of very little to no renown, BUT, at the MA level this may not be a problem if you're looking to get some research experience. Because there are few teachers and few students you could expect to get a lot of attention and individual support, and find a tight community of professors, who you'll get to know really fast at the pub. You could also expect to get a lot of teaching opportunities or TA/RAships.

Fellowship applications are up as of today! http://www.linguisticsociety.org/fellowship-application

Hey Beanio,
 
If you're just making this decision now to apply for the 2015/2016 year, then I suggests getting straight to work. Most of the deadlines will be between December 1st and 15th, so you've got your work cut out for you for the next two months. You're gonna want to apply to more than one program (maybe 8-10) in order to best improve your chances of getting accepted. This is both time consuming and expensive
 
You're going to have to figure out which programs you want to apply to. Finding a good program with a good "fit" is the most important. This is a really time consuming practice since you need to look very carefully at the department page of each program you're interested in (as well as many you've never heard of). You need to figure out which area of linguistics you want to work in (preferably down to a sub-discipline). You need to look very closely at what each faculty member is working on (i.e. read a few of the articles of the ones who interest you). You need to look at funding options, deadlines, application requirements, etc. Many departments will require you to show competency in a foreign language of scholarship (by the end of the second year), some may require two languages, some may even require two languages of scholarship plus a non-indo-european language. If you think that will be a problem for you then you probably shouldn't apply to that university (personally I love languages but I'm a pretty slow learner when it comes to languages acquisition). 
 
You're going to need to write the general GRE if you intend to apply to programs in the states (preferably before November!). If you've already written it then that's great! but if you haven't written it within the last 5 years then you're going to have to do it again.
 
And you're going to need reference letters, this might be a bit difficult for you since you've been out of school so long, but it is also imperative that you find your references immediately since you should ideally give them 6-8 weeks notice (or more) that you would like references from them.
 
Then you're going to need to write a statement of purpose/letter of intent, maybe even a research proposal. You should talk to your references about this (and show them your drafts).
 
There are a lot of good forums on gradcafe that can give better advice on each of these topics and more.
 
Sorry if this is all stuff you already knew. Its a lot of work so I just hope you're prepared for that. However, also remember that most programs won't mind that you've been out of school for so long since it will indicate maturity in your decision to pursue academia. Many applicants apply right out of undergrad because they've never known anything else.
 
Hope that helps. Best of luck!

Looks like it is not up yet, according to the LSA 2015 FAQ page: "Applications will most likely be available online in early 2015." http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/lsa2015/faqs/
More information is here, in case you haven't found it yet: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/meetings-institutes/institutes/fellowships

Hi there,
 
The structure of the courses depend on whoever's teaching it. Some can have a lot of homework, others will have no homework at all, exams, group projects, etc... it varies a lot.
 
How big the classes are depend on how many students are interested... I think the bigger they can get is around 50/60 students. Some only had 10 students.
 
The courses are intended for both; the introductory courses are more oriented for undergrads and grads with no background in that topic, while the more advanced classes are in general geared towards grad students.
 
Hope that helps! 

YES! If you are at all interested in American schools then register for the GRE, sooner rather than later.
 
Most American programs require them, and most programs that require them also expect to have your test scores by the application deadline (usually Dec 1st - 15th) Since it can take as long as 6 weeks for your test scores to be sent to the school it is usually best to write the test before November 1st (though some schools will accept unofficial scores initially). This may be a problem for you, since you wont have much time to study for them. Moreover, as an international student (depending on your command of English) you may have trouble with the verbal component of the test.

Do you mean co-speech gestures? To my knowledge there's been very little rigorous research in this direction.
 
Among what I am familiar with there is this work by Ebert and Ebert: http://www.ilg.uni-stuttgart.de/mitarbeiter/ebert/GestenWS-Stuttgart/Folien/Ebert.pdf And Philippe Schlenker from my department (and Institut Jean-Nicod) has recently started looking into co-speech gestures in conjunction with his research on sign languages linguistics (the major idea is to see whether some of the grammatical devices present in sign languages but seemingly absent in spoken languages can be found in co-speech gestures); here is a very short squib outlining the direction of his current research: http://ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/002158/current.pdf 

If I may add one more cent, 
 
First, French Linguistics and Linguistics focusing on French are two different studies, found in two different departments. So, if you want to study French Linguistics, you would be applying to the French departments, Linguistics, Linguistics.
 
Second, yes, you may have to redo the masters as part of the linguistics programs, however, many schools will count it toward your PhD studies, so, it would not be additional cost, or time of study. 
 
Third, a PhD in England is very well qualified to work in the US, you can also choose to do a Postdoc in the US as well to up you job potentials. 
 
I ll stop counting now. Ziggy has covered many salient points, but additionally, Many Linguistics programs, specially for PhD requires some courses, or proficiency in two to three languages, so you can use your electives towards French while studying linguistics, and some colleges may even have cross departmental classes that may work in your favor. 
 
I would say don't worry so much about what you have now, but on which direction you want to go. You can always change things along the way. 
 
Depi tet pa koupe nou espere met chapo As long as you are alive, the world is at your hand

Last summer it was $1720 for up to five courses: http://lsa2013.lsa.umich.edu/about/registration-information/ and you're on your own for housing.
 
I haven't decided yet if I'm going to the summer institute, but if I do I probably wouldn't take the Corpus Lex course because that is my main background. The whole LSI idea depends a bit on what kind of feedback I get in my MA-or-PhD application process (I'm applying for Fall 2015). I have a professional background in computational lexicography and I'm heading toward research in computational lexical semantics,.

Hey Beanio,
 
If you're just making this decision now to apply for the 2015/2016 year, then I suggests getting straight to work. Most of the deadlines will be between December 1st and 15th, so you've got your work cut out for you for the next two months. You're gonna want to apply to more than one program (maybe 8-10) in order to best improve your chances of getting accepted. This is both time consuming and expensive
 
You're going to have to figure out which programs you want to apply to. Finding a good program with a good "fit" is the most important. This is a really time consuming practice since you need to look very carefully at the department page of each program you're interested in (as well as many you've never heard of). You need to figure out which area of linguistics you want to work in (preferably down to a sub-discipline). You need to look very closely at what each faculty member is working on (i.e. read a few of the articles of the ones who interest you). You need to look at funding options, deadlines, application requirements, etc. Many departments will require you to show competency in a foreign language of scholarship (by the end of the second year), some may require two languages, some may even require two languages of scholarship plus a non-indo-european language. If you think that will be a problem for you then you probably shouldn't apply to that university (personally I love languages but I'm a pretty slow learner when it comes to languages acquisition). 
 
You're going to need to write the general GRE if you intend to apply to programs in the states (preferably before November!). If you've already written it then that's great! but if you haven't written it within the last 5 years then you're going to have to do it again.
 
And you're going to need reference letters, this might be a bit difficult for you since you've been out of school so long, but it is also imperative that you find your references immediately since you should ideally give them 6-8 weeks notice (or more) that you would like references from them.
 
Then you're going to need to write a statement of purpose/letter of intent, maybe even a research proposal. You should talk to your references about this (and show them your drafts).
 
There are a lot of good forums on gradcafe that can give better advice on each of these topics and more.
 
Sorry if this is all stuff you already knew. Its a lot of work so I just hope you're prepared for that. However, also remember that most programs won't mind that you've been out of school for so long since it will indicate maturity in your decision to pursue academia. Many applicants apply right out of undergrad because they've never known anything else.
 
Hope that helps. Best of luck!

Two things. First, it's not clear from what you describe as your interests why you want to do a PhD in a linguistics program, as opposed to Computer Science or even Cognitive Science. Some of the options you are considering are strong theoretical departments, and the adcom will certainly wonder about this question. If in fact linguistic theory is not so important to you, I'd expand my search to other fields. MIT Brain and Cognitive Sciences, for instance, does a lot of modeling of language (even some "non-traditional models", as you put it). But this work, as far as I know, is not strongly grounded in linguistic theory, but perhaps you will find it worth considering? 
 
Second, location does matter. On the one hand, PhD programs are extremely competitive, and you end up not having as many choices as you may have hoped for. However, I think your intuition is right-on about considering "fit" in every sense, not just academically. Even things initially may appear trivial will matter. E.g., if you are a very social person, then it's probably not a good idea to choose to go to a department where your peers tend to stick to themselves. There were some great programs that I didn't even apply to because I knew I didn't want to live in a rural area for 5 years. Essentially what I am trying to say is, if you think having a dance community around is important to you, I'd take that criterion seriously. Graduate school can really take a toll on you and leave you feeling drained; I've found that having another (non-academic) passion can often be the saving grace.

I doubt it would be a kiss of death. The fact that you're returning to the same program and are continuing your thesis looks fine. So you had to take some time off, no big deal. Shit happens. It might be worthy mentioning you took some time off, but I wouldn't bother spending a paragraph or anything in your SOP accounting for it. If you had dropped out and then continued in a different program/institution that might look pretty bad, since the adcomms want to see that the candidate can finish a PhD. But you returned so clearly you're serious about your work.

Thanks beccamayworth. I definitely was not trying to trivialize the UC Merced's program. My impression was that the program was fresh and exciting and the professors all had ample publishing credits to their name. I would encourage others to consider it if it seems like a good fit.

I'm not a grad program director but I've been editing SOPs for several years now. And, you know, it's not like this is a grant application. This is me helping you figure stuff out at midnight on a school day on a grad school message board.
 
 
I'm sure it's possible to get in without a personalized fit paragraph, but you'll be forcing the adcom to work extra hard to identify fit for you instead of helping them see it. A personalized fit paragraph normally indicates that you've made the choice to apply to the school for good reasons and have actually thought it through. I have to wonder how much sense it makes for you to apply to a school that you have nothing good to say about. Suppose you get in -- if there is no one there you could work with, what kind of education will you get? Anyway, if there is nothing good you can say about BU, then I guess don't say anything. Same goes for MIT. I can't do this work for you; this is the hard part and this is where you need to do your own legwork. 

It's definitely a good idea to clearly define what you mean by 'language evolution,' both in terms of what the term means to you and in terms of the kinds of questions that you want to study. You're right that biolinguistics doesn't go over well in many North American linguistics programs. If you want to study in a traditional linguistics program, it'll be important for you to explain how this program can support your interests. This would involved a detailed discussion of "fit," in particular addressing why you want to study your interests from within a linguistics department. 
 
A question that I imagine will be on adcom's minds and that you'll need to address in detail is how they are supposed to support the aspects of your interests that aren't traditionally done in linguistics programs. The interests you describe (which I am looking at over at the Fall 2015 applications thread) involve some aspects that linguists in the programs you mention can support you in, including studying the theory, psycholinguistics, modeling, but also aspects that it's harder to see how you'd combine into a traditional program (e.g. application to dancing, AI). You want to identify the faculty members who could help you with the diachronic aspects of your project, and the ones that can help with the modeling, and the ones that could perhaps help with AI, etc. and you want to explain how you'd deal with it if there is no one around to help with something (which, given the nature of your project, seems fairly likely). You should also be aware that not everyone is going to find a project about dance acceptable, so I think you need to be very explicit about why you think that studying dance can be informed by a linguistics education, and you need to be aware that if you go to a traditional linguistics program, there will be a lot of theoretical work you'd need to do, especially in your first year or so, which may not involve the study of dance. I think in your case it'd be important to discuss this very explicitly and say why you think that getting a strong background in various subfields of theoretical linguistics will inform your work. Basically, work very hard to tie your research to what's traditionally done in the program, and show them how you'd deal with the expansions to areas where there will be not a lot of support for what you plan to do. Show them how you can be a successful student in their program.
 
This may be a case where it's useful to explain what you don't do, though you'll need to be very careful about how you phrase it, so it doesn't sound negative and doesn't come over as too presumptuous. It's a tricky one. My inclination is to say to keep that out, and instead concentrate on being precise and detailed about what you do want to do. Your profile says you're in Montreal. If you're studying at McGill, most of the professors there attended programs like the ones you're applying to, so hopefully they can read your SOP and give you feedback on how a professor with an education like theirs sees your proposed project. If there is anyone around who can do that for you, I think it'll be very beneficial.

OK, I'm back.
 
 
Lets assume that all paragraphs are the same length. Then you are planning to write a statement that is 80% research interests, no background on who you are, and no fit paragraph. That seems problematic. I also worry that discussing many unrelated interests will make it seem like you're all over the place.
 
I think it would make more sense to have some combination of intro+body 1 as your first paragraph (you don't need to summarize previous work in your SOP; just say what you want to do, perhaps mentioning work you would like to build on if you feel that it's necessary, but not as a lit review). Explain what research questions interest you, and (if you can) why they are interesting/important. Then I'd like to see a discussion of why the school you're applying to is a good place to study your interests, and a discussion of your background and experiences which have prepared you to study those questions. If there are any significant projects you've worked on during undergrad, you could summarize one/more of them and describe what the outcomes were and what you learned from the project. If your discussion in the beginning of the SOP is very narrow (that is, if you're basically proposing one particular project or asking one particular question), then it may be a good idea to have a paragraph that discusses other research interests that you hope to study in grad school--mention that you have broader research interests in syntax and semantics and give examples of topics that interest you. You don't need to propose a project or research question for each one, though if you've thought something out then elaborating on one idea might be a nice addition. This could be a fine conclusion to your SOP, along with a very short discussion of post-PhD plans (which, since you really can't know at the moment, will probably say something vague about a career in academia, building on the education you'll obtain at school X and exploring in even more depth questions about Y). 

Well, are there actually 12-14 programs with a reasonable-to-good fit for your interests, which you would like to attend? That is, for each one, if it were the only school that accepted you, you would be happy to go there? 
 
This is sort of an individual decision; the costs of applying to many programs are mostly monetary. The main investment will be in creating the application materials in the first place, and customizing for the different schools is much less time-costly. Same goes for your LOR writers -- the main investment for them is in writing the a recommendation letter on your behalf; whatever modifications they will need to make for the various school you apply to obviously take some time, but much less than the initial investment in writing the first draft of the letter. The main question is whether there are enough good schools that are worth that additional investment, and also how confident you feel in your application and what your plan B would be in case you apply to just 4 places and don't get in. Personally, if I had the money, I'd apply to every school that seemed like a good fit because losing a year because I didn't give myself enough of a shot seems like a bad plan. [of course this plan means you might spend more time and money than necessary, in case you have a strong application and end up with lots of acceptances.]

It's vague on purpose because it's impossible to give a definition of it. There are so many possible things that may be considered significant. Here's an example from the NYU website:
 
 
http://linguistics.as.nyu.edu/object/linguistics.grad.faq

Sorry, I am preparing materials for a seminar I am teaching tomorrow so things are slow, but I'll try and get back to it later tonight or tomorrow. The short version is I think there is sort of an imbalance and there are parts that are missing from the essay right now, and I'm not sure how that will come across to the adcom. I'll say more later. 
 
(Ziggy, same goes for you!)

Haha nice tangent. I'm also a bit of a hockey fan + English major. Though I will say that in my experience as a Montrealer (Go Habs Go!) that the Literary sport fan is not such a rare bird (I've known quite a few). At least in Montreal for sure you would find many an Lit Major hockey fan.

Two things. 
 
First, never say never. Seriously. If you have ever told yourself "X is so boring, I don't understand why anybody would care. I will never work on X," mark my words. At some point in your future there will be more X, and it will be unavoidable. Sometimes you suffer, but other times you learn it's actually interesting, now that it affects your research and you have a personal connection to the data. (Ask around, everybody has topics like this in their lives.)
 
Second, I just completely fail to see how it's relevant. If you were a prospective student who came to me as a professor and instead of telling me all the things that you're excited about, you'd spend your time telling me how other subfields don't interest you, I'd just be confused about what you're trying to achieve. It's fine not to like all the subfields. It probably won't get you out of first-year classes, but either way once first year is over you can just be done and move on with your life. This is grad school, everybody expects that you'll develop specific interests in a specific subfield (or an interface) and that you won't care about everything equally. It's the natural progression of every program out there. Why would this be a topic for discussion with anyone? Again, the SOP is a place to discuss your interests, not the things that you don't care about.

(thoughts on the second half coming soon.)

Hey thepriorwalter,
(love the name)
 
Its hard to really offer advice without a least a little more context on what your niche is. Although I'm very familiar with the situation.
 
I am trying to transition from English Lit and Classics into Linguistics. Problem is that my specific project is in a field that doesn't even exist! If my field did exist it would be somewhere between Linguistics (diachronic & phonology), philosophy(language and cog sci), anthropology (cultural evolution), and performance. I've selected Linguistics(in addition to more than a passing interest) in large part because it is the only field that has some of the tools needed to apply for this project. But finding a program, let alone persons of interest, that could fit with my work is proving quite difficult. Therefore I'm very aware that when writing my SOP I'm really going to have to sell my project/niche to the various departments I apply to. I am going to have to convince them that this really strange project of mine will have significant through lines for their own field(s).
 
I think selling it is really what you have to do. Particularly in how it connects to subjects like "19th-century British Lit," even if it can't be neatly nested. Show the web of how its relates, rather than situating taxonomically within the traditional sub-disciplines. That said, in English Lit I imagine that most topics that aren't specific to a historical period/place can usually be subsumed somewhere in critical theory, rhetoric, or poetics. You can always use the language of 'intersections' in your SOP if your work, like mine, only really fits in some strange interdisciplinary space.
 
But if your current institution really is the best place for what you're specialization then it hardly seems wise to consider leaving just to get out there. Have you considered exchanges or opportunities to travel and do research elsewhere for a year?

Hi JessePinkman,
 
I think this needs some work. Really you should be showing it to your professors and reference writers to get a good critique, but I'll make a few suggestion. First, consider that the adcomms have a lot of these to read, don't waste their time with unnecessary details. Get to the point. Talk naturally. Don't try to impress them with your vocabulary.
 
"what really made me choose Civil Engineering. [is that] I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father!" is more to the point and endearing than your entire first paragraph.
 
Most of the writing is pretty awkward. "I count my interest and career decision as most fortunate. . ."
 
"USA is renowned for skill at executing huge and complex projects in every field from space to civil engineering, from putting a man on the Moon to building the Empire State Building, the Hoover Dam and the Panama Canal." The adcomms don't need to hear you laud a list American engineering accomplishments, especially such old ones as these. In fact they're probably more interested in why their specific program is of interest to you beyond the fact that its American. Also, "USA" looks and sounds awkward.
 
"After considerable research on the Internet through websites of several universities,"- these sort of statements are redundant, the adcomms will assume you've done your research into their program.
 
"In India, in particular, the paucity of high quality infrastructure is proving a hurdle for economic growth and the Government’s efforts for it are proving less than effective even at great cost on account of lack of professional management at every level of project planning and implementation." - Too long. Confusing syntax. Too many 'it' pronouns. Don't make grand, unsubstantiated, statements, it makes you look bad, especially when you're broadly criticizing your own government.
 
Try something like this:
"In India more high quality infrastructure is needed to keep up with the economic growth. This growth requires professional management at all levels of project planning to fill this demand. It is a very exciting time to be a Civil Engineer in India, which is why I hope to make a contribution by returning with a professional degree in Construction Engineering & Management."(Just an idea)
 
"However, in the second year I suffered a few setbacks." - if this is worth mentioning[which I don't know that it is] then you have to be specific and honest. Highlight that you significantly improved your score in your final year, and your First class distinction. Don't bother with the disappointment.
 
I suggest a heavy rewrite. With these points in mind.
 
Don't use passive sentence constructions.
 
Tailor it to each school/program, you should really demonstrate why a particular program is of interest to you.
 
Don't stress the American aspect because that just tells the adcomms that you would settle for any American school.
 
Tell them why their particular program interested you. (I say this twice because its so important)
 
Details like the soccer thing don't really fit. I understand you're trying to say that you can be a leader but is sounds disingenuous and artificial, and it doesn't fit the flow of your SOP.
 
Anyway these are just some of my thoughts. Hope that they're helpful
 
best of luck!

@ ziggyfinish..


Thanks man ! That's a hell of an advice. I'm heading to see her now. And I don't mind whatever happens its just that I like to hangout with her