The Department of Second Language Studies offers several different graduate programs and degrees.
Admission to the Ph.D. program will be based upon evaluation of:
A total of ninety (90) credit hours are required, with at least 66 credit hours of course work plus up to 24 credit hours of dissertation research.
Every student in the program will take six core courses (18 cr. total):
All students will complete at least 6 credits in two seminars in Second Language Studies. These courses may be applied to other requirements as well.
A minimum of 42 credit hours of course work are required in addition to the 18 credit hours of the required core courses and the 6 credit hours of the year-long seminar sequence. In order to ensure that all students are broadly prepared for careers in second language studies, these 42 credit hours must include at least 3 credit hours in each of four of the following five areas:
In principle, there is no restriction on the department in which these courses may be completed, and they may be applied to fulfilling any degree requirements other than the core and the year-long seminar sequence. Courses in the Second Language Studies core and the required year-long seminar sequence cannot be applied to this requirement. However, if students elect to enroll in offerings of SLST-S600, SLST-S605, SLST-S632, SLST-S700, or SLST-S711 in addition to the two courses taken to fulfill year-long seminar sequence, such courses can be applied to fulfilling the breadth requirements.
Students will establish a research concentration in consultation with their committees. A research concentration may be established by enrolling in five courses in the area of specialty, by working in an appropriate research laboratory or research group, by undertaking appropriate field work or training, by conducting approved independent research and publication, or by a combination of these. Students who satisfy their research concentrations through participation in a research lab or research group or through independent research and publication may count the equivalent of up to three courses (9 credits) of S690 (Directed Readings) toward the 66 credits required for the doctorate. The research concentration is represented in the research qualifying examination.
All students will be required to have a minor. The selected minor should be appropriate to the student's choice of subdiscipline within Second Language Studies. Appropriate minors include Anthropology, Cognitive Science, Communication and Culture, foreign languages, Language Education, Linguistics, Psycholinguistics, and Sociology. In all cases the number of hours to be included in the minor will be consistent with the requirements of the unit granting the minor.
Some students may wish to pursue a significant concentration in a particular language area or in English as a Second Language. Students pursuing a language concentration in French, German, or Spanish will ordinarily take at least 21 hours in the Department of French and Italian, the Department of Germanic Studies, or the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, as appropriate. (Additional language concentrations may be added in the future.) Providing a student has completed all the requirements for the minor in the language department, there is no need to complete both a minor and a language concentration. The language concentration will be the student's minor of record.
The language requirement for the Ph.D. is two research languages, which will ordinarily be languages of scholarship in the student's specialty. In addition, students will take 1-2 courses in a language outside of the language family of the student's native language (for example, a native English speaker would take courses in a non-Indo-European language; in contrast, a native speaker of Chinese might take courses in Russian). To satisfy this requirement, a student could complete a one-year language class, take the Field Methods sequence in Linguistics (L653-L654), or take a course on the structure of an appropriate language.
All students must pass a set of examinations, consisting of a General Qualifying Examination (GQE) and a Research Qualifying Examination (RQE). These examinations are intended to provide an institutional structure for students as they move from taking courses to writing a dissertation.
The GQE is meant to demonstrate the ability to synthesize material explored in courses and in independent reading. The GQE will consist of two cloistered examinations, each three hours in duration. Students will elect two of the following five areas, corresponding to the breadth requirements:
Most students will take the GQE the semester after coursework is completed. In general, the two cloistered exams will be offered on two consecutive days in October and in February. The GQE schedule will be posted by the end of each semester by the committee, each student will inform the Director of Graduate Studies of his or her two areas no later than one month in advance of the scheduled exam. Appropriate faculty members will submit potential questions to the Director of Graduate Studies, who in turn will select and edit questions and coordinate grading.
On any given cloistered exam, the student will have the opportunity to de-select at least one question; the student will be required to answer two of three questions. All students selecting a given area in a given semester will receive the same questions. All responses to any given exam question will be graded by the same two faculty members. The grades are Pass and Fail. To pass any given cloistered exam, at least three of the four grades assigned must be Pass. If a student fails to pass one or both sections, s/he may take it a second time when the GQE is offered in the next semester. After consultation with his or her advisory committee, such a student may also select a different exam area.
The RQE is designed to demonstrate that students have developed sufficient depth in their understanding of a particular constellation of research questions and that their academic writing skills are sufficiently well honed that they are able to begin meaningful work on their dissertations. In contrast to the GQE, the research exams will be scheduled individually. We recommend that the research exam be completed in the semester following the successful completion of the GQE. Nevertheless, students are required to have demonstrated preparation in a research focus to the satisfaction of their advisory committees before they will be permitted to proceed with the RQE. In contrast to the GQE, the advisory committee administers the RQE and reports successful completion of the examination to the Director of Graduate Studies.
The RQE may take one of two forms:
For option 1, the student must complete, to the advisory committee's satisfaction, an original sole-authored research paper in the student's intended area of dissertation research, which in the committee's judgment, is ready for submission to one of the following journals: Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Research, Language Learning, TESOL Quarterly, or Applied Linguistics. Research papers are 8,000-10,000 words in length including text, references, tables, figures, and appendices.
For option 2, the advisory committee will assign a single question arising from extensive consultation with the student reflecting the individual student's research focus, as defined through a series of courses, approved independent research, participation in research groups or labs, outside publications, or a combination of these. The student is to complete the essay within exactly one week, but is free to employ data collected and analyzed ahead of time.
The proposal for the dissertation must be approved by the student's research committee. Proposals should include pilot studies. The research committee may have the same membership as the advisory committee or the student may choose different members. The advisor for the dissertation will be a faculty member in the Department of Second Language Studies and a member of the Graduate Faculty. One of the three other members of the committee will be based in a the minor department or in the department of the student's language concentration. The student will defend the proposal at a public colloquium.
Students are required to complete a dissertation that constitutes an original and significant contribution to the field of Second Language Studies. The dissertation must be successfully presented to the research committee in an oral defense as described in the University Graduate School Academic Bulletin.
The minor consists of a minimum of four courses (12 credit hours) in Second Language Studies. Courses should be at the 500 level or above. A grade point average of 3.0 (B) or better must be achieved in these courses. All SLS minors must include S532. The prerequisite for S532 is a graduate level course in morphosyntax; if taken in SLS this prerequisite will count toward the minor. A specific program for satisfying the minor requirement must be developed in consultation with the student's minor advisor.
Admission to the M.A. program will be based on evaluations of:
Students not satisfying requirement (4) may be admitted, but may be required to do course work prerequisite to introductory graduate courses.
All students will complete a total of 30 credits. These will include five courses of the M.A. core plus at least two additional Second Language Studies graduate courses. All students will additionally complete one of three tracks. The M.A. core includes five of the six core courses for the Ph.D. in Second Language Studies:
Students will complete two additional elective courses in Second Language Studies that will be chosen in consultation with their advisors. Students planning to go on to the doctoral program will want to take elective courses in the master's program that will satisfy requirements for the doctorate.
Each student will select one of the following three tracks: (i) a Second Language Studies track consisting of at least 9 additional credits in the Second Language Studies Department, (ii) a Linguistics track consisting of at least 9 credits in courses in the Linguistics Department, and (iii) a foreign language track consisting of at least 9 credits in a foreign language department.
Reading knowledge of one foreign language approved by the department.
Optional, maximum of 4 credit hours.
None!
Students who have completed the M.A. in Second Language Studies at IUB must at that point be approved for admission to the Second Language Studies Ph.D. program.
The M.A. in TESOL and Applied Linguistics prepares teachers to work with adult learners of English in a wide range of ESL and EFL settings. The program is rooted in the intimate connection between research and practice in language learning and teaching. It melds linguistic, pedagogical, and contextual dimensions of classroom language learning, and emphasizes informed professionalism in the teacher's work. The program aims to produce highly competent language teachers who know how language classrooms work and who understand the complex interrelationships among classroom teaching, second language acquisition, curriculum and program design, materials development, assessment, and teacher development. All students will complete a total of 30 credits.
At Indiana University you will have the opportunity to study and work with TESOL leaders and professionals. Our faculty share their teaching innovations and research findings at the annual international TESOL conference, TESOL affiliate meetings, and other professional conferences in such areas as pragmatics, international teaching assistants (ITAs), conventional expressions, second language writing, language teacher education, corrective feedback, and language testing. You will also have the opportunity to gain hands-on teaching experience by teaching ESL in our community outreach program “English in the Evening” (TESOL Practicum), and qualified applicants may also teach in our Intensive English Program and the English Language Improvement Program .
Our graduates have gone on to successful careers teaching in IEPs and other ESL/EFL programs in the US and abroad and include Dudley Reynolds, Past-President of TESOL (MA/PhD) and Ahmar Mahboob, current co-editor of TESOL Quarterly (PhD)!
Admission to the M.A. program will be based on evaluations of:
Students not satisfying requirement (4) may be admitted, but may be required to do course work prerequisite to introductory graduate courses.
Reading knowledge of one foreign language approved by the department.
Optional; maximum of 4 credit hours.
None.
View Typical M.A. TESOL/Applied Linguistics Program Schedules here.We suggest one in each of the areas of language and culture, pedagogy, and language analysis. We encourage students to take one course at the 600 level. Electives are chosen in consultation with the advisor.
The Certificate in TESOL and Applied Linguistics is a practical two-semester program designed to enable students to work as successful teachers of the English language to adult speakers of other languages. The Certificate requires twenty (20) credit hours of course work and a level of English language proficiency commensurate with effective teaching of English.
At Indiana University you will have the opportunity to study and work with TESOL leaders and professionals. Our faculty share their teaching innovations and research findings at the annual international TESOL conference, TESOL affiliate meetings, and other professional conferences in such areas as pragmatics, international teaching assistants (ITAs), conventional expressions, second language writing, language teacher education, corrective feedback, and language testing. You will also have the opportunity to gain hands-on teaching experience by teaching ESL in our community outreach program “English in the Evening” (TESOL Practicum), and qualified applicants may also teach in our Intensive English Program and the English Language Improvement Program .
Our graduates have gone on to successful careers teaching in IEPs and other ESL/EFL programs in the US and abroad and include Dudley Reynolds, Past-President of TESOL (MA/PhD) and Ahmar Mahboob, current co-editor of TESOL Quarterly (PhD)!
In the Fall semester, students take:
In the Spring semester, students take:
1 Required for non-native speakers of English who score below Level 2 on the TEPAIC.
2 To be piloted in fall 2016 and spring 2017 under SLST-T500.
Applicants must meet both University and Program requirements.
Review the requirements listed in the Indiana University Graduate School Academic Bulletin.
To apply, please complete the online application for the University Graduate School or the Office of Admissions website. Domestic students can official electronic versions to dsls@indiana.edu, or send official paper transcripts to:
Department of Second Language Studies
Attn: Admissions
Indiana University—Bloomington
Morrison Hall 216
1165 E. Third Street
Bloomington IN 47405
International students should submit their application and official transcripts to the Office of International Services. Additional fees for international students may apply.
The learning of second and foreign languages is a rich and fascinating process involving linguistic, psychological, cultural, and social dimensions. The Indiana University Department of Second Language Studies is dedicated to teaching and research on the structure, acquisition, and use of nonnative language in both instructed and contact contexts.