Graduate Overview

Aerial view of UW-Madison campus
  • Language Sciences offers a Ph.D. program in Linguistics. An M.A. is not required prior to admission to the Ph.D. program — students are admitted with a Bachelor’s degree.
  • We do not offer a stand-alone M.A. program; however, students in the Ph.D. program earn an M.A. along the way to the Ph.D., after completing the M.A. requirements.
  • We also offer a Ph.D. Minor in Linguistics for graduate students in other programs.

Why Wisconsin?

Linguistics graduate students have access to faculty from across campus who specialize in various aspects of language science, including linguistic theory, first and second language acquisition, sign language linguistics, neurolinguistics, historical and sociolinguistics, and endangered language documentation and revitalization. See the Research pages for more information on particular concentrations of faculty research. The unique structure of Language Sciences at UW-Madison allows students to receive strong foundational training in theoretical linguistics and experimental methodologies, with flexible options for pursuing specialized research in a variety of interdisciplinary areas.

All admitted graduate students are offered a funding package in the form of fellowships, teaching assistantships, project assistantships, and/or research assistantships.

Students sitting on Bascom Hill in Spring
Students enjoy a warm spring day on Bascom Hill at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Photo by Bryce Richter /UW-Madison)