Master of Arts in Modern Languages

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 1 (for fall entry) or October 1 (for spring entry)

The Department of Modern Languages welcomes student applications with the following materials. Additional details are found on the department website.

1. Complete the Graduate School’s Online Application.
2. Pay the application fee ($60).
3. Submit official transcripts.
4. International applicants whose first language is not English may be required to submit scores from an acceptable English language proficiency test.
5. Upload Supplemental Application materials for the Department of Modern Languages to the link provided by the online application.

• Statement of purpose. If applicable, preferably in the target language (French, German, Spanish)
• Resume or CV.
• Three letters of recommendation: provide contact information for three recommenders 

To be accepted to the M.A. in Modern Languages with a Languages emphasis requires either

• 30 credit hours of course work in the student’s specialization (French, German, or Spanish), or
• 30 credit hours in two or three languages, ancient or modern, provided at least 18 credit hours are in the major language to be studied.

First-year language courses in any language and second-year language courses in the student’s major language do not satisfy this prerequisite.

Students in the M.A. in Modern Languages with an emphasis in Applied Linguistics and TESOL have four options for completing the degree. 

1) 36 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics (Lin);
2) 24 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics and 6-12 credit hours of coursework in a departmentally approved subfield;
3) 24 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics and 6-12 credit hours of thesis work;
4) 18 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics and 18 credit hours of a supervised internship (Lin 688 and 689).

All options require 36 credit hours and must include the following courses:

• Lin 561: Multilingual Development & Education
• Lin 600: Fundamentals of Applied Linguistics
• Lin 603: Seminar in Phonology
• Lin 651: Instructed Second Language Acquisition
• Lin 687: Practicum in TESOL
• One of the following:
  • Lin 511: Dialects of English
  • Lin 552: Evaluation & Policy in Lang Education
  • Lin 571: Intercultural Comm & Education
  • Lin 572: Cultural Dimensions of Language Education

Students in the M.A. in Modern Languages with a Languages emphasis have slightly different requirements for each of the language specializations. There are two options for completing the degree.

1) 36 credit hours of graduate-level course work, of which at least 24 credit hours must be in the emphasis, with an optional subfield.
2) 24 credit hours of graduate-level work in the emphasis and up to 12 credit hours of thesis credits.

No matter the option, students will take 

• Fr/Germ/Span 601: Professional Issues in Graduate Studies,
• Fr/Germ/Span/LiN 651: Instructed Second Language Acquisition 

Students must either pass a written comprehensive exam based on the M.A. reading list or submit and defend a thesis. Both the written exam and the thesis contain an oral component.  

Students in the M.A. in Modern Languages with a Linguistics emphasis have three options for completing the degree.

1) 36 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics (Lin);
2) 24 credit hours of graduate-level course work in linguistics plus 6-12 credit hours of coursework in a departmentally approved subfield; or
3) 24 credit hours of graduate-level coursework in linguistics and 6-12 credit hours of thesis work. Students who wish to choose the thesis option are additionally required to take either Lin 690 or 691.

All options require 36 credit hours, including:

• Lin 603: Seminar in Phonology
• 6 credit hours of theoretical linguistics courses from:
  • Lin 604: Seminar in Morphology
  • Lin 605: Seminar in Syntax
  • Lin 610: Seminar in Sociolinguistics
  • Lin 620: Seminar in Historical Linguistics
• and 6 credit hours of language diversity courses from:
  • Lin 511: Dialects of English
  • Lin 520: Historical Linguistics
  • Lin 552: Evaluation & Policy in Language Education
  • Lin 561: Multilingual Development  and Education
  • Lin 571: Intercultural Communication and Education

The Department of Modern Languages offers the following kinds of financial assistance:

• the Price Scholarship,
• Graduate Research Assistantships, and
• Graduate Instructorships.

Price Scholarship

Recipients of the Wofford Reynolds Price and Opal Read Price scholarship are graduate students who are US citizens and Mississippi residents and qualify based on the criteria of scholastic ability, leadership potential, and financial need. Approximate award is $6,000 per semester for up to two semesters. There is no application process. Recipients are chosen each year from among applicants to the master’s degree programs in French, German and Spanish. 

Assistantship

All applicants to the M.A. program are considered for an assistantship; there is no separate application for this funding. Applicants are considered only after they have been admitted. International students need to apply the earliest in order to complete the application in time to be considered while funds are still available. Visa requirements may take months as well.

Department assistantships provide a stipend of $10,550 per year, a stipend that covers some or all of the tuition and non-residency fee, if applicable, for regular semesters, and subsidized health insurance.

Instructorship

Students take an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) in the first semester of the program. In order to qualify as a Graduate Instructor, the student must score Advanced-Low. A student who scores below Advanced-Low should spend the second semester of the program on a departmentally-approved study abroad program and must re-take the OPI while abroad or upon return in order to be considered for a Graduate Instructorship. Students who are funded as Graduate Assistants and are not native speakers of the language of study may use the assistantship to fund the semester abroad. A student who fails to score Advanced-Low on the second OPI will only be allowed to teach at the discretion of the Director of Basic Language.

The Graduate School’s financial aid webpage lists a variety of funding possibilities, including summer support and a recruiting fellowship program that promotes academic excellence and access to graduate education to groups who are historically underrepresented.