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Department of Linguistics

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PhD Program

PhD students complete at least 47 linguistics credit hours. 

Step 1: Take the following required courses (2 credits): 

  • Ling 890 Graduate Seminar I (1) – required in first year
  • Ling 891 Graduate Seminar II (1) – required in first year

Step 2: Take at least 15 credit hours of graduate courses approved by the supervisory committee. 

These can be linguistics courses offered at SFU, but can also be graduate courses in other subjects, or graduate courses offered at other institutions. 

Step 3: Enroll in the Qualifying Papers courses (12 credits):  See Qualifying Paper Regulations section below. Download the PDF there for detailed instructions.

  • Ling 894 Qualifying Paper I (6) –second year (usually Fall semester)
  • Ling 895 Qualifying Paper II (6) -second year (usually Spring semester

Step 4: Enroll in LING 899 PhD Thesis (18).

Step 5: Submit a written thesis proposal to the supervisory committee. 

Step 6: Present the proposal at a departmental colloquium no later than the end of the ninth semester of residence. Download the Proposal Completion form here.

Step 7: Write and defend a dissertation. 

*Note: Residency requirement is five semesters. 

Supervisory Committee

PhD students should formally declare their Supervisory Committee by the end of their first term. This Committee must comprise of at least:

  • one Supervisor from the Lingusitics Department
  • one Faculty member from the Lingusitics Department

Students may choose to add one more member to their Committee. 

Download the latest APPROVAL OF SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE form here. 

Qualifying Papers

Qualifying Paper Regulations PDF Download --> [pdf ⤓]

  • Successful completion of two Qualifying Papers is required as part of the 2nd year of the PhD program
  • One paper may be an aspect of the thesis such as a pilot experiment, while the other should provide breadth for the thesis area of research and for the student's training in general
  • Quality is expected to be at conference proceedings level or higher
  • Should you require an extension to complete either of your QPs, contact both the Graduate Program Chair at linggsc@sfu.ca and the Graduate Secretary at linggsec@sfu.ca

Forms for Qualifying Papers (in order)

1. Approval of Proposal for Qualifying Paper - pdf

2. Completion of Qualifying Paper - pdf

Qualifying Paper and Proposal Library - Coming Soon!

We are gathering QPs and Proposals that have been defended by linguistics students to share on this website. Stay tuned!

Guildlines for Defence

All PhD students in the department must submit a written thesis proposal to the supervisory committee. The proposal defines the intended, original research and the relationship between it and existing scholarship. After submission, the student is expected to present the proposal at a departmental colloquium no later than the end of the ninth semester of residence. The written proposal must be approved by the supervisory committee prior to the start of substantive research.

Download and complete the Dissertation Proposal Defence form - pdf

For the proposal defence, the following more specific guidelines apply:

  1. Each member of the supervisory committee will receive a copy of the written proposal at least 2 weeks prior to the proposal defence.
  2. All members of the supervisory committee must be present at the proposal defence.
  3. The proposal defence should preferably take place at SFU, Burnaby campus.
  4. The chair of Graduate Studies (or a designate) will chair the proposal defence.
  5. The proposal defence follows the format of a dissertation defence (student presentation, comments/questions from the members of the supervisory committee followed by questions from the audience).
  6. After the proposal defence, the supervisory committee will meet to assess the proposal and provide the student with their feedback/comments.

Policies

  1. All PhD students in the department must complete a thesis/dissertation based on original research, and must comply with University regulations on completing and defending the thesis/dissertation, as specified in SFU calendar entries 1.9 and 1.10.
  2. In accordance with SFU practices and in conforming to recommendations by the Office of Dean of Graduate Studies, all defences should be held at the SFU Burnaby campus, unless there is a valid reason for holding it at the down town campus.
  3. The organizing of a departmental colloquium given by an external examiner is the responsibility of the Colloquium Committee, such an event being independent from the administering of the defence.

Policy on Photocopying of Thesis/Dissertation

In preparing to submit their thesis/dissertation, graduate students should print out only one copy using the departmental printer. They can give this copy to the Graduate Program Secretary to arrange for additional copies to be distributed to the examining committee. The students are responsible for the expenses involved in making additional copies.

Program Completion Time Limit/Extention Policy

Program Completion Time Limit / Extension Policy Download -->[pdf ⤓]

  • Graduate students in the Department of Linguistics are expected to complete their degrees within the required time limits as outlined in the SFU Graduate General Regulations:  
    • PhD students have a maximum of 18 semesters to complete their program
    • Parental leave, medical/compassionate leave, academic break do not count towards time limit
    • Personal leave will count towards the time limit
    • Extensions will only be granted under extenuating circumstances, and must be supported by the student’s senior supervisor, and approved by the Linguistics Graduate Studies Committee and Dean of Graduate Studies.