Linguistics MA: Track B (without thesis)

The Linguistics MA without a thesis (Track B) consists mostly of seminars, which can be chosen freely from the graduate seminars offered each year; and a small number of advanced BA elective courses.

The full requirements are:

  • Prerequisite courses (השלמות): up to 12 credits, decided upon by the MA Departmental Committee based on the student's background
     
  • 1 required theoretical course (584/587/589/591)
  • 2 MA elective courses (5xx) / Pro-seminars or Seminars (8xx/9xx)
  • 3 Seminars (8xx/9xx)
  • 4 Pro-seminars (8xx/9xx)
  • Linguistics Colloquium (8680)
  • Final oral exam (889) 

Additional Requirements:

  • Attendance at Department colloquia is obligatory
  • Long papers must be submitted in 3 graduate seminars (long paper = 30 pp.; short paper = 7-8 pp.)
  • All exceptions to the requirements are subject to written approval by the advisor/coordinator/chair
  • Students who have not fulfilled all the departmental requirements (all final grades must be in the file) will not be permitted to take the final exam
Final Oral Exam

At the end of the last year of Linguistics MA studies, all non-thesis track students must undergo an oral examination based on a set of reading material agreed upon with a faculty member, or on original research performed by the student. Both the reading list and the date of the examination are to be approved in advance. Please contact the Linguistics Graduate Coordinator ahead of time in order to schedule the examination.

Instructions for preparing for the final examination in Linguistics MA:

  1. The Linguistics MA student will choose a topic and get it approved in advance by a faculty member. This may be a new topic not discussed at length in any course taken by the student; on a topic they studied for a seminar paper but with some new research or new related papers not included in the seminar paper; a comparison between two papers that the student wrote; etc. In no case should the student simply present a seminar paper.
  2. The Linguistics MA student will prepare a short (up to 15 minutes) presentation on the chosen topic, using handouts or slides; simply reading from the handout is not appropriate.
  3. The objective is to raise questions that go beyond personal experience, showing that the articles chosen have given the student original insights or that the student can integrate the material in the articles, with an emphasis on originality and creativity.
  4. The final grade on the exam will depend on:
    • the extent of learning from the readings and studies in Linguistics beyond simple repetition shown by the student.
    • the extent to which the student can engage the examiners in discussion of Linguistic-related issues.