LING-PHD - Linguistics (PhD)

Through the completion of advanced coursework and strong methodological and analytical training, the Ph.D. program prepares students to make original contributions to knowledge in linguistics, to articulate the results of their work, and to demonstrate its significance to linguistics and related fields.  At every stage in the program, students are encouraged to present and publish their research and to develop active professional profiles. 

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The department is committed to providing academic advising in support of each graduate student's scholarly and professional development. The advising relationship should entail collaborative engagement by both the adviser and the advisee. Faculty advisers guide students in key areas such as selecting courses, designing and conducting research, navigating degree requirements, exploring academic and professional opportunities, and preparing for their post-Ph.D. careers. Graduate students are active contributors to the advising relationship, proactively seeking academic and professional guidance and taking responsibility for informing themselves of policies and degree requirements for the Ph.D. program. An important part of the advisee-adviser relationship is that students learn to advocate for themselves; this includes discussing expectations for the adviser/advisee relationship with the adviser and revisiting these expectations periodically to ensure mutual understanding.

Advisers and Advising Meetings

A department faculty member serves as the Graduate Studies Adviser (GSA). Typically, the GSA keeps track of the general degree progress of all M.A. and Ph.D. students, offers advice on meeting department and University milestones, coordinates departmental advising and TA assignments, and approves special petitions.

Each student has an individual adviser (also referred to as a second adviser in the pre-candidacy stage), usually chosen based on shared research interests, who advises on coursework, training in research methodologies, research projects, and professional development. Entering students are assigned a second adviser for their first two quarters in the program. The second adviser helps first year students make the transition to graduate school and take the initial steps towards their long-term goals. Beginning with Spring Quarter of the first year, the student’s current Qualifying Paper Committee Chair serves as the second adviser. On completion of these papers, the student chooses a faculty member as Chair of their dissertation Reading Committee; this faculty member becomes the main adviser. Throughout their graduate career, students are also encouraged to consult with other faculty, including the members of their Qualifying Paper and Reading Committees.

In order to meet the department’s advising expectations, twice a year each student and their adviser meet for a holistic, structured discussion of the student’s recent progress, short-term plans, and longer-term academic and professional goals and to discuss the steps that the student should take to meet these objectives. The GSA usually joins the discussion with students in the earlier stages of the Ph.D. program. Students who receive department Summer funding are also expected to fill out a Summer Commitments Agreement that lays out their activities, priorities and goals for the summer, and to discuss these with their adviser.

Students are expected to meet regularly with their advisers and to keep them informed about their academic progress. Each student and their adviser should mutually agree on the frequency of these meetings when the advising relation begins and reassess their frequency at the start of every quarter.

Additional resources

The Department of Linguistics Ph.D. Handbook provides additional information. Students are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Policies and Best Practices for Advising Relationships at Stanford. Additional resources on advising are offered by VPGE. For a statement of University policy on graduate advising, see the Graduate Advising section of the Bulletin.

The Ph.D. is conferred upon candidates who have demonstrated the ability to conduct substantive, independent research in Linguistics. Through completion of advanced coursework and rigorous methodological and analytical training, the doctoral program prepares students to make original contributions to knowledge in linguistics, to articulate the results of their work, and to demonstrate its significance to linguistics and related fields.