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Hi all, I'm going to the ACTFL 2018 in November at New Orleans, LA. Anyone else? It would be nice to meet people there from this forum. Send me an email or reply to this post if you are interested to meet up: jianfeng.guo@outlook.com Regards, Jianfeng (Steven)

Hi~I've viewing this site for months and decided to ask for help when my GRE and IELTS tests are done. So here I am! During this Fall, I am about to apply for applied linguistics programs in U.S and in desperate need of advice regarding how many schools are there providing the exact type of program I am looking for (except those listed below which I've done some work in investigating). My background: I obtained my B.A. in linguistics in Beihang Univ. in China (one of China's top polytechnical universities, specializing in aeronautics and national defense technology.), which is not a traditionally-acknowledged prestigious university in Modern languages(Subject Ranking around 200 worldwide), yet the English linguistics of my university is famous in China with several pricinpal investigators. I continue to pursue my M.A. here at Beihang as well since my research interest(Corpus Ling, EAP) has much to do with our team and indeed received a lot help from my teachers. My focus from undergrad to now is always about using corpus to evaluate language performance in learners' or professionals' writing( so Second Language Writing, EAP, Pedagogy, Language Testing would all be my primary target field.) My B.A. thesis is about testing Doug Biber's developmental index in Chinese learners writing and My M.A. thesis(in conduct) is about using grammatical metaphor to explain shell noun differences between pure and applied sciences research articles. My advantages(sort of..): GPA:(haven't calculated yet and my university is famous for strict scoring, so around 3.75, I guess), GRE: 158V+166Q+3.5AW, IELTS:(W:7+S:8.5, Overall: 8) Received a grant from our graduate school for conducting a research on "combining genre-based and corpus-based study to teach academic students to write journal articles." (5,000 RMB, not much) Currently working with my surpervisor on one paper, deciding to publish on J of EAP this Sep. My supervisor has a close tie with Michaela Mahlberg from Birmingham U and Lu XF from PennState(They both visited our department and we had several gatherings.) So suggestions to our current paper and my recommendation won't be a big problem. Outside academics, I won several prizes in British Parliamentary debate competitions when I was a sophomore and taught "Current Affairs and Debate" course in Central Univ. of Finance and Economics when I was a senior for one semester. (So teaching experience, check) Interned in Elsevier, Beijing for one semester + summer vacation. Prepared to attend Australia Applied Linguistics Conference this Nov., presenting the abovementioned paper( I also sent the abstract to ICAME and Applied Ling Conference in U.S., yet declined by both due to inspecificity of the topic and method) Universities that I looked through(more information is appreciated!) PennState, the most desired program in my mind. I've met and talked to the professor that I wish to work with and there is no guarantee since the competition is harsh. Many applicants from UPenn applied to this program every year. Iowa State, the program is fascinating, yet the demand is too high(AW should be higher than 5, I think) comparing with the general ranking of this university. More advice on this program is highly suggested! I wish to learn statistics and programming in my doctoral studies, which may broaden my way of doing research. I also had some background in Math, so definitely I can expect myself to learn those skills. Gerogia State, the host of this year's Applied Ling Conference, with several promising researchers in EAP, Language Testing , Applied Ling and Technology. UCSB, I skimmed through their website and found very few applied linguists/corpus linguists, which is enough for my application. However, I wish to know more about how the department look at these fields. Do they invest a lot comparing with other fields? i.e. is applied ling strong in the department? UMich, definitely well-known, but couldn't find relevant researchers. Purdue, I searched this university because I heard one of Doug Biber's student was working in the linguistics department(but I couldn't locate her profile on the website). This department does provide applied ling program, but I am not sure if it suits my interest. More options from you guys would be great! And I'd love to share what I know with you:) Qiu Qiu

Hi~I've viewing this site for months and decided to ask for help when my GRE and IELTS tests are done. So here I am! During this Fall, I am about to apply for applied linguistics programs in U.S and in desperate need of advice regarding how many schools are there providing the exact type of program I am looking for (except those listed below which I've done some work in investigating). My background: I obtained my B.A. in linguistics in Beihang Univ. in China (one of China's top polytechnical universities, specializing in aeronautics and national defense technology.), which is not a traditionally-acknowledged prestigious university in Modern languages(Subject Ranking around 200 worldwide), yet the English linguistics of my university is famous in China with several pricinpal investigators. I continue to pursue my M.A. here at Beihang as well since my research interest(Corpus Ling, EAP) has much to do with our team and indeed received a lot help from my teachers. My focus from undergrad to now is always about using corpus to evaluate language performance in learners' or professionals' writing( so Second Language Writing, EAP, Pedagogy, Language Testing would all be my primary target field.) My B.A. thesis is about testing Doug Biber's developmental index in Chinese learners writing and My M.A. thesis(in conduct) is about using grammatical metaphor to explain shell noun differences between pure and applied sciences research articles. My advantages(sort of..): GPA:(haven't calculated yet and my university is famous for strict scoring, so around 3.75, I guess), GRE: 158V+166Q+3.5AW, IELTS:(W:7+S:8.5, Overall: 8) Received a grant from our graduate school for conducting a research on "combining genre-based and corpus-based study to teach academic students to write journal articles." (5,000 RMB, not much) Currently working with my surpervisor on one paper, deciding to publish on J of EAP this Sep. My supervisor has a close tie with Michaela Mahlberg from Birmingham U and Lu XF from PennState(They both visited our department and we had several gatherings.) So suggestions to our current paper and my recommendation won't be a big problem. Outside academics, I won several prizes in British Parliamentary debate competitions when I was a sophomore and taught "Current Affairs and Debate" course in Central Univ. of Finance and Economics when I was a senior for one semester. (So teaching experience, check) Interned in Elsevier, Beijing for one semester + summer vacation. Prepared to attend Australia Applied Linguistics Conference this Nov., presenting the abovementioned paper( I also sent the abstract to ICAME and Applied Ling Conference in U.S., yet declined by both due to inspecificity of the topic and method) Universities that I looked through(more information is appreciated!) PennState, the most desired program in my mind. I've met and talked to the professor that I wish to work with and there is no guarantee since the competition is harsh. Many applicants from UPenn applied to this program every year. Iowa State, the program is fascinating, yet the demand is too high(AW should be higher than 5, I think) comparing with the general ranking of this university. More advice on this program is highly suggested! I wish to learn statistics and programming in my doctoral studies, which may broaden my way of doing research. I also had some background in Math, so definitely I can expect myself to learn those skills. Gerogia State, the host of this year's Applied Ling Conference, with several promising researchers in EAP, Language Testing , Applied Ling and Technology. UCSB, I skimmed through their website and found very few applied linguists/corpus linguists, which is enough for my application. However, I wish to know more about how the department look at these fields. Do they invest a lot comparing with other fields? i.e. is applied ling strong in the department? UMich, definitely well-known, but couldn't find relevant researchers. Purdue, I searched this university because I heard one of Doug Biber's student was working in the linguistics department(but I couldn't locate her profile on the website). This department does provide applied ling program, but I am not sure if it suits my interest. More options from you guys would be great! And I'd love to share what I know with you:) Qiu Qiu

Hi all! I am pursuing a PhD in applied linguistics and have narrowed down my choices to the University of Maryland and Iowa State, but I'm now stuck between these two. My research interests involve applying pedagogy to computer-assisted language learning (CALL) programs and developing actually useful online language-learning platforms. Also, vocabulary acquisition. UMD has a smaller department with fewer professors, but they're all very experienced and respected in the field. From the students I've talked to, there are some differences in their availability but overall are still eager to work with their students. There are a lot more opportunities for work and connections in the area by virtue of location, but the department is very cognitively-focused. The research and courses there on pedagogy, assessment, and cognitive processes are still relevant to my research, but I would have to make my own opportunities to apply this to online contexts and learn about issues related to CALL. Other considerations for me: closer to my immediate and extended family, more expensive and perhaps not as nice an area, no guarantee of getting to teach a class. Iowa State has a slightly larger department but perhaps not as well-known. The program is very technology-focused, and while there aren't many courses available on the pedagogy side, I'd have a lot of support for CALL, and some of the professors and students are also doing research on learning materials. The area is a bit nicer and less expensive, but there are probably fewer opportunities in the immediate area and it's much further from my family. My graduate assistantship is specifically a TAship, so I'll definitely be teaching. Considering the differences in cost of living, the stipend is about the same (perhaps a little more generous at Iowa State). I don't really have any doubts that I could do the research I want at UMD, but I am worried about the lack of support for CALL, since that's a broad enough field that Iowa State has a whole program for it. There are definitely things that I don't have much experience in (like natural language processing), that I imagine it would be helpful to have advisors with experience in. However, at UMD I'd have the advantage of bringing in other considerations, like pedagogy and cognition. On the other hand, Iowa State is a bit more tailored to my specific interests. I'd fit right in at Iowa State... but I also don't think I'd stand out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, all! I am currently a high school Spanish teacher interested in applying in the next few years to a graduate program in second language acquisition or applied linguistics. I really have an eye toward UC Berkeley’s PhD program in Romance linguistics but it doesn’t specialize in SLA or Applied linguistics, but I do like the prospect of working with multiple Romance languages. I also have researched and like the University of Iowa’s PhD program in SLA. I am torn...I suppose Cal is more we’ll known name wise and perhaps that’s what is drawing me to it? Does anyone have experience with either program that can give me insight?

Does anyone got an committee interview schedule notification from the second language studies department a University of Hawaii? I actually had a POI interview few days ago, and did not receive any notification from the school. However, one of my colleague got an interview with another POI and got an e-mail from committee about the official committee interview schedule... By the way, I found another result of this site someone told that he/she got an POI interview notification 25th, Jan, yesterday...really confused about their schedule. In this case, If I had no notification from department, Does it mean that I got rejected? Literally depressed,,,,,and Does anyone exist who apply the same department with me?

I recently obtained my Masters in Applied Linguistics at an Australian university and am currently considering applying to complete PhD (also in Australia). I love the field, enjoy doing research, and my minor thesis and coursework were extremely well-received. My main concern at the moment is whether I'd get any kind of work at the end of it all, and whether the work I'd get would allow me to avoid, e.g., sleeping on park benches and eating out of garbage bins. I've talked to a number of people about this and am trying to get as many perspectives as possible. I'd be applying for jobs globally at the end of the PhD so I'm interested in finding out how this works in other countries especially. I'd be appreciative if anyone who knows a bit about the field could give me some advice - I was wondering specifically: 1. How well-paid are postdocs in Applied Linguistics? How many years would you usually spend at this level in order to stand some chance of getting either a research fellowship or an academic job? What kinds of things (e.g. what kind of publication record) do you need to be considered for a postdoc? 2. How well-paid are research fellowships (in your country)? What do you need to do in order to get one? 3. What is the likelihood of getting an ongoing academic position in Applied Linguistics (i.e. not casual)? Is it practicable to get one without having worked casually first? 4. I've met a couple of people who have obtained an ongoing academic position pretty much straight after PhD, however it was some time ago. Is this even possible any more? How often does it happen? What kinds of things would universities look for (e.g. publication record, teaching experience, etc) in order to consider this? 5. If academic jobs don't work out, is there any advantage to having a PhD in Applied Linguistics in terms of getting jobs in industry? Without going into detail, the area I want to research is pretty heavily SLA-oriented (so, e.g., it has nothing to do with computers or anything else there's any obvious demand for, at least that I can think of). Thanks for any help you can give me.

Hello all, Thank you for your reply in advance! I am a 2017 fall PhD applicant who received all rejections, but was offered funded MAs instead. I clearly overestimated myself last year, because I was aiming the top-notch schools with my BA and one-year, non-thesis MA out of the US. Starting with an MA seems like a correct path, so I have decided to take the offer. That means I will be attending to an MA program 2017 fall. Since PhD is my final destination, I am considering if it's possible or even ethical to re-apply to the 2018 fall PhD programs this year (during my first semester as an MA student)? Here's a few things that I am concerned of: 1. Is it possible that I could ask for LORs from professors in the MA program? If I'm applying 2018 fall, I will need their letters by November 2017, which may not give them enough time to know me well. 2. Is it ethical to ask for LORs from professors in the program that I am attending to? I will, of course, apply to the PhD program at the same department, but I will definitely apply for more programs. With that being said, if I am admitted to other programs, it means I will leave the current MA program without graduation. Is it bad to ask professors to do so? 3. When I asked the graduate coordinator about re-applying to the PhD program 2018 fall, she told me that my application will be reviewed with the 2018 fall applicant pool, and my MA credits cannot be transferred to the PhD program. It makes me thinking that if I got into a new PhD program, will my first-year MA credits be accepted? Or is it just this school? You might be wondering why I am rushing through re-applying in 2018 fall. The reason is that I already got an MA degree in the same field but with different concentration, then I worked full-time for another two years. Now that I am determined to do PhD, I do not want to waste any time doing another MA. It would be great if you could share with me your opinions. Any suggestions or advices are appreciated! Thanks a lot!

I decided to give it a try and see if there are any applied ling applicants here. Will be happy to meet and talk to anyone who's applied to PhD in Applied ling programs.

Hello there! I've just accepted University of Arizona's offer for the PhD SLAT program beginning in Fall 2017. I'll be moving there in July or August and it'd be great to know some familiar names before I get there. Who else is accepting?

Anyone applied to purdue phd applied linguistics heard back from them?

I've lurked here for awhile but I haven't really been able to find the answer to this question. I'm hoping to apply to Applied Linguistics/SLA programs for Fall 2017, but I want to make sure this isn't a lost cause because of my total lack of experience in the field. My background: graduated in 2014 from a small Midwestern liberal arts school with a B.A. in German (also a B.A. in Music, but that's not relevant here). GPA: 3.8, Major GPA: 3.95 interned at a refugee resettlement agency currently teaching math at an underprivileged high school in Denver, CO through Americorps GRE: 160 V, 167 Q, 5 AW not as much experience abroad as I would like :/ These experiences are what have led me to want to pursue Applied Linguistics, but I really don't think it's enough to make my applications stand out. I originally thought I was interested in teaching German at a public high school, but these last several months teaching high school kids has changed my mind about that. Now, I'm more interested in teaching adults, but my interests extend beyond TESOL. I really want to understand how foreign languages are learned, and I'd be happy to teach English, but what really fascinates me is developing content for language learning and/or doing research. I've also recently become very interested in endangered languages. What I'm wondering is, what can I do in the next year to better my chances? I'm willing to leave my teaching job and even move somewhere else if need be, and I hope to take some introductory courses in linguistics during the summer. I've searched for jobs and internships, but nearly everything I find requires applicants to already have a master's in linguistics/SLA/education, etc. In fact, the jobs I've been finding are the types of jobs I would hope to have after my master's degree is complete! Here are a few examples if it helps: http://jobs.rosettastone.com/jobs/1249803-Research-Associate.aspx; https://jobs.lever.co/duolingo/287e62c9-4913-4843-93b7-2ecae18521ac Thanks in advance! I really appreciate it when experienced people help out newbies like me!

Hi everyone, I have applied to phd in applied linguistics at Georgetown University. Is there anyone who have heard from the program or any other phd programs in applied linguistics/second language acquisition/second language studies? I think I am searching in the right board, but not many people talk about applied linguistics. I feel panic not to hear from any school so far, but I am still waiting.