French Linguistics
The Graduate Program in French Linguistics
The graduate degree program in French Linguistics combines substantial course work with increased emphasis on independent study. The aim is to provide the student with a broad overview of his/her field as well as a professional specialization within that field.
Students in the French linguistics program gain a strong comprehensive background in both applied and theoretical linguistics. Main areas include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Subfields include historical linguistics, sociolinguistics, dialectology, second language acquisition, and psycholinguistics. Our program aims to train future linguists who intend to pursue a career in academic research and teaching in universities and colleges.
The graduate program in French Linguistics is a Ph.D. program. The MA degree may be obtained en passant to the Ph.D. at the end of the second year of course work provided a student has earned a sufficient number of credits and has maintained the minimum grade point average required by the Graduate School.
Admission to Ph.D. program:
Admission to the Ph.D. is granted by the graduate faculty of the Department after the student has served a probationary period as a graduate student (see “Satisfactory Progress” below.) For students who transfer into the program with an M.A. degree from elsewhere, the vote is taken during the second semester of course work at the University of Texas. Students who are completing their first two years of graduate coursework in French Linguistics here and who wish to continue toward the Ph.D. will demonstrate their competency to continue toward the Ph.D. through coursework and through research. Students must submit a request to be considered for admission to a doctoral program in writing to the Chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee. In evaluating such requests, the Committee will take into account the student's progress, defined in part by classroom performance, term papers, examinations, and one 10-12 page scholarly paper from a completed course, either in French or in English (revised, if necessary). The Committee will also take into consideration input from faculty members in the student’s area as well as input provided by the student’s own performance report. The applicant must submit the paper to a vetting committee appointed by the Graduate Studies Committee Chair in consultation with the Graduate Adviser, at least one month before papers are due for consideration by the entire GSC.
Course work:
Students are expected to take courses that provide a thorough understanding of both the theory and the practice of their subject. Course work for the Ph.D. normally consists of 60 semester credit hours of graduate content courses. Students who transfer with an M.A. in French from another institution should expect to take 30-36 semester hours beyond the M.A. level.
Students who decide to switch disciplines (e.g., from literature to linguistics) should expect to take additional coursework to ensure adequate preparation for the Comprehensive Examination and satisfactory coverage of the field, to be determined by the Graduate Adviser in the student’s field.
The precise nature of the courses will vary with the needs of the individual student, and must be approved in consultation with the Graduate Adviser.
Required Pro-Seminar (FR 180P)
All entering students are required to take the one credit hour Departmental Pro-Seminar during their first fall semester in residence.
Recommended core courses:
The Ph.D. program in French Linguistics has four recommended core courses that provide students with a solid descriptive and theoretical base in French linguistics. Ideally, these courses should be taken within a student’s first two years of graduate study.
• Phonology I (LIN 380K)
• Syntax I (LIN 380L)
• Structure of French: Phonology and Morphology (FR383K)
• Structure of French: Syntax and Semantics (FR383M)
Area requirements for coursework
Certain area requirements must be satisfied for the Ph.D. All of the following areas must be represented in the student's coursework.
1. Area One: Historical Linguistics
Students who choose to comp in this area must take FR380L (History of the French Language) and FR381 (Old French).
2. Area Two: Syntax, Semantics
Students who choose to specialize in this area must take LIN380L (Syntax I) and FR383M (French Syntax and Semantics)
3. Area Three: Sociolinguistics, Dialectology
Students who choose to comp in this area must take FR383K (French Phonology) and a FR392K (Studies in French Linguistics: either Sociolinguistics or Dialectology)
4. Area Four: Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics
Students who choose to comp in this area must take FR383M (French Syntax) and FR392K (Research Methods)
5. Area Five: Phonology, Morphology
Students who choose to comp in this area must take LIN 380K (Phonology I) and FR383K (French Phonology)
At the conclusion of coursework and after the satisfaction of all language requirements, students will take the Comprehensive Examinations. Students must take and pass all areas of the Comprehensive Examinations no later than the summer following their 5th year (or their 3rd year if they entered the program with an MA from another institution.) Failure to complete this requirement within the allotted time will result in termination from the program.
Coursework Policies:
Credit/No Credit. Students may take no more than two graduate courses on a CR/NC basis, neither of which can count for any core or area degree requirement.
Incompletes. All grades of X on a transcript must be made up within one semester or they become permanent incompletes [I] on the transcript. Students with an I on their record become ineligible for funding reappointment.
FR398T Supervised Teaching for Graduate Students. All Teaching Assistants planning to become Assistant Instructors MUST take FR 398T. French 398T may count for 3 credits towards the degree but not towards the core or area requirements.
Courses outside the Department: Students should plan to take 5-7 courses in related disciplines. Note that University rules require that at least two graduate courses be taken outside the Department of French and Italian.
Language competency requirements
Students must demonstrate competency in Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Arabic, or any other modern language approved by the Graduate Advisor at a fourth semester level. Competency can be demonstrated through course work in the language or by passing a translation exam. Students working in earlier periods may satisfy the language requirement with a two semesters of Latin or the equivalent (i.e., one semester of Latin and one semester of Latin for Romance Linguists). It is strongly advised that students acquire these language skills before beginning graduate study or over the summers. Lower-division language courses will not count toward the degree requirements and will slow the student down in completion of requirements. The language requirement must be fulfilled before the Comprehensive Exam for the PhD.
The Comprehensive Examination:
The goal of the Comprehensive Exam is to assess the student’s level of competency in understanding and explaining the critical problems in the field of French Linguistics.
The Comprehensive Exam is usually given early or late in either the fall or spring semester (not during the summer sessions). The dates are flexible to some extent in order both to try to accommodate the candidate's schedule and to permit, when feasible, more than one student to take the test at the same time. The dates need to be worked out three months in advance by the student with members of the exam committee and the Graduate Coordinator.
The Comprehensive Examination in French Linguistics, taken upon completion of all coursework, consists of a written part and an oral part. Students who submit their coursework for approval prior to taking the Comprehensive Examination must ensure that:
• The composition of their examination committee (supervisory professor and two members of the Graduate Faculty from French) is determined three months before the date of the examination.
• Three of the five areas listed under Course Distribution (above) are selected by the student. One of these three areas is designated as the candidate's primary area and is represented in the coursework within the Department.
• Three reading lists (one for each area tested) have been prepared and approved by individual professors and the supervising professor; these lists should be signed by the individual professors and placed in the student’s file at least 3 months before the Comprehensive Exam date. No changes in the reading lists may be made once they are approved. After the reading lists have been agreed upon, the student must complete the Ph.D. Comprehensive Exam form.
• All requirements (required courses, area representation, reading lists, research paper, language requirements) are satisfied.
The Ph.D. Comprehensive exam will test candidates in the three areas selected. The written part will consist of three 3-hour questions administered over a one-week period. Consult your supervising professor for more detailed information. The oral examination usually lasts one to two hours and is given a week or ten days after the written examination.
In their written examination, Anglophone students, as well as students with any native language other than French, must take at least one section of the examination in French, and Francophone candidates must take at least one section in English.
No partial credit is given for the Comprehensive Examination in French Linguistics. A retake of the entire exam is required if one part is failed. Only one retake is allowed.
Because the ability to produce independent, critical work is essential for a Ph.D. candidate’s future, one area of the Comprehensive Examination may be satisfied if the student has produced, during his/her years in the Department, a single- or lead-authored article in that area that is either published or accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal (which may be defined to include selected peer-reviewed conference proceedings.) The graduate faculty in French Linguistics must approve the publication venue and evaluate the quality of the article before a Comprehensive Examination area can be waived.
Candidacy:
When the student has fulfilled all Ph.D. coursework and foreign language requirements, has passed the Comprehensive Examination, and has chosen a dissertation director and a supervising committee of at least four other faculty members, then he or she will file for doctoral candidacy with the Graduate School and begin registering for the dissertation course. The student must fill out the Graduate School "Program of Work" and candidacy forms online (http://www.utexas.edu/ogs/pdn/) after obtaining approval of the director, the Graduate Adviser, the Graduate Studies Committee Chair of the Program, and the Graduate Dean. Please refer to the Graduate Catalog for all rules governing progress and completion of the dissertation.
Prospectus
By the end of the long semester following the comprehensive exam, the student, working with the dissertation adviser, will write a dissertation prospectus of a length agreed upon with the dissertation committee (generally from 15-25 pages). The prospectus should be a carefully argued written presentation of the basis for the student’s dissertation research. It should explain the significance of the project in relation to work in the field, justify the research methodology or approach, and set forth the questions to be answered and the conclusions expected. This should be followed by brief summaries of each chapter. The prospectus should demonstrate the student’s ability to undertake research on a topic within the context of current scholarship and critical methodologies, and give evidence of the student’s breadth of knowledge and potential for future success as a scholar.
The prospectus must be submitted to the student’s dissertation committee through the dissertation adviser. Within one month after submission, the committee will either give its approval or request that the prospectus be revised. The student will have one additional month to rework the prospectus in accordance with the committee’s recommendations. The final approved prospectus will be placed in the student’s file and constitute evidence of satisfactory progress.
Pre-defense meeting:
A pre-defense meeting will gather together the candidate and the full committee, at a date to be determined in consultation with the dissertation director. It should not take place too early, i.e. before the candidate has completed all the basic research and definite results are beginning to emerge. It should not take place too late either, if the correcting and redirecting process is to be meaningful. The purpose of the pre-defense meeting is to enhance the intellectual exchange between all parties concerned, provide students with an opportunity to generate enthusiasm for the project, allow for concerted advice and generally diffuse the stress that often accompanies the defense itself.
Dissertation:
It is expected that the dissertation will make a substantial contribution to existing scholarship in the field. The Graduate School requires that dissertations be written in English, unless special permission is granted prior to undertaking the project. Progress on the dissertation is regularly monitored. The dissertation must be completed and defended within a total of three years after admission to candidacy. If it is not, the student’s case will be reviewed by the Graduate Studies Committee.
Dissertation defense:
The supervisory committee is responsible for approving the dissertation, which the student defends in an oral examination between one and two hours in length. This examination is conducted by the committee (at least four of its members must attend) and is open to the university community. The defense covers the dissertation, the general field of the dissertation, and other parts of the student's program, as determined by the committee. Forms are available from the Graduate School both to apply for the granting of the Ph.D. and to request the official scheduling of the defense (called the "Final Oral"). The dissertation committee should be given at least one month to read the dissertation before the “Final Oral.” The student should arrange with the Graduate Coordinator to arrange a date, time, and place to conduct the defense.
Satisfactory Progress
All students must make satisfactory progress toward their degree goals in order to continue in the program toward the Ph.D. Satisfactory progress is defined as follows:
• A minimum 3.7 grade point average for those with Walther, Pre-Emptive, or Continuing scholarships and a minimum 3.4 grade point average for all other students.
• A minimum average of 3.5 out of 5 for “quality of instructor” on the student-generated Course Instructor Survey (CIS) and a satisfactory rating from the supervisor of lower-division instruction.
• The completion of all coursework, foreign language requirements, and examinations within the first three years (for those with an M.A.) or five years (for those with a B.A.) of entering the program.
• The successful defense of the thesis research proposal before a properly established supervisory committee within six months of the completion of the comprehensive exams.
• The demonstrated potential to conduct sustained and innovative independent research, deemed relevant to the discipline.
Termination from the program:
Progress will be measured not only in terms of objective grades, but also by feedback from faculty and statements by the students themselves via their annual progress report. The Graduate Studies Committee will continually evaluate each student for evidence of his/her potential to complete the Doctor of Philosophy. Should a student’s scholarly progress in the program be deemed unsatisfactory for continuation, the student may receive a terminal MA degree after four or more semesters of coursework, as long as he/she maintains the minimum average grade point average of 3.0 required by the Graduate School.
