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Ph.D. Program: Slavic Linguistics

The Ph.D. program in Slavic linguistics provides comprehensive training in Slavic linguistics, organized into three broad special fields: grammatical analysis and theory (theoretical models and their application to synchronic Slavic linguistics); the history of Slavic languages, viewed as both a systemic and a cultural phenomenon; and comparative Slavic philology. The program involves several components.

Coursework

Coursework in the Ph.D. program in Slavic linguistics consists of at least one core course in each of the three fields named above: Advanced Structure of Slavic Languages, History of the Russian Literary Language, Comparative Slavic Linguistics; three semesters of the second Slavic language and two semesters (or the equivalent) of a third Slavic language; and additional research seminars or courses from the three special fields. Ph.D. students often choose to take courses in the Department of Linguistics and other departments as well as courses in Russian and other Slavic literatures and cultural history.

Independent Research Project

Students are asked to present an extended written research project on a topic of their choice, prepared in a form appropriate for publication in a scholarly journal. The project normally develops out of prior work in a research seminar. (It may lead to exploration of a dissertation topic.) The project must be completed and approved by a committee of relevant faculty prior to the Ph.D. qualifying examinations.

Language Skills

Students who entered the program with a M.A. from another institution are asked to pass a reading and oral examination in Russian during their first year at Berkeley.

Linguists must demonstrate a reading knowledge of both French and German before taking the Ph.D. exams.

Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations

The Ph.D. qualifying examinations consist of three four-hour written examinations, one in each of the three fields, and one three-hour oral examination.

Dissertation

Following successful completion of the Ph.D. examinations, a student selects a dissertation topic and prepares a prospectus. The student (advanced to Ph.D. candidacy) then proceeds to write a dissertation under faculty guidance. Completion of the Ph.D. degree usually takes four or more years: ideally, two years of course study and two years writing the dissertation.