PhD Program Requirements

Direct-Entry PhDU Program Coursework

The Direct-Entry PhD program consists of coursework, one language requirement, two General Papers, and a thesis. By the end of Year 3, students will complete 7.5 Full Course Equivalents (FCEs):

• 0.5 FCE, LIN2101H - PhD Junior Forum (Credit/No Credit) 
• 2.5 FCE, to include if not taken previously: 
  • LIN1104H - Quantitative Methods (or equivalent) 
  • LIN1121H - Phonological Theory 
  • LIN1131H - Introduction to Syntactic Theory 
  • LIN1145H - Semantics 
  • JAL1145H - Field Methods 
• 0.5 FCE from the following group:
  • LIN1070H – Language Processing (with the permission of the instructor) 
  • LIN1106H – Introduction to Experimental Design 
  • LIN1107H – Computational Methods 
  • LIN1112H – Phonetic Analysis 
  • LIN1156H – Language Variation and Change Theory 
  • LIN1211H – Advanced Phonetics 
  • LIN1255H – Advanced Language Variation and Change I 
  • LIN1256H – Advanced Language Variation and Change II 
  • LIN1271H – Advanced Psycholinguistics I 
  • LIN1272H – Advanced Psycholinguistics II  
  • LIN1276H – Topics in Speech Perception 
  • JLP2451H – Language Acquisition 
  • JLP2452H – Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory 
• 2.0 elective FCEs; of these 0.5 FCE elective may be taken outside the Department of Linguistics, upon consultation with the Graduate Chair 
• 1.0 FCE, LIN2201H - Generals Paper I 
• 1.0 FCE, LIN2202H - Generals Paper II 

Students must take at least 1.0 FCE at the 1200 level, of which 0.5 must be in Phonology, Syntax, or Semantics. Courses are chosen in consultation with the Graduate Chair.  

In order to remain in good standing, students must maintain a median mark of at least A- in all graded components of the program. 

PhD Junior Forum (Year 1) 

Year 1 PhD and Direct-Entry PhD students are enrolled in Junior Forum (LIN2101H), a professional development course completed in the first term of study.  A credit/no credit grade is assigned.  

Research Groups (GP) 

Students writing their Generals Papers (GP) may be called on to present at the relevant research group and report on their progress at least once per year.  

Independent Study Courses 

Only under very exceptional circumstances, a student may take an independent study course (Reading Course - LIIN1503H; Research Course LIN1505H) as an elective. No more than 0.5 FCE of the program requirement can be fulfilled by an independent study course. Students must get the preliminary approval of the Graduate Chair before approaching the instructor. Once the permission of the Graduate Chair and the instructor has been secured, the following form must be submitted, appended with a syllabus, for final approval and enrollment.  

Timeline

Time to Completion

The Program Length for the Regular-Entry PhD is 4 years and for the Direct-Entry PhD, 5 years; however, many students take an additional year or two to complete their program. The Time Limit for the Regular-Entry PhD is 6 years and for the Direct-Entry PhD 7 years. There is partial funding, known as Doctoral Completion Award (DCA), available for these additional two years. In the past few years, the DCA for the first of these two years has come close to the guaranteed funding. The DCA in second year is significantly lower and varies depending on available funds and student needs in a given year. Students who need to continue their studies past the Time Limit need to request a program extension with a rationale; these are subject to approval by the department and the School of Graduate Studies (SGS). No funding is available beyond the Time Limit.  

Generals Papers

Every PhD student must write two Generals papers, completed by the end of the second year of the program for regular entry PhD students and by the end of the winter term of the third year for direct entry PhD students. Students beginning a Generals paper register for LIN2201Y for the first paper, and LIN2202Y for the second. For students starting from 2021, it takes three terms (12 months) to complete each paper and students complete both by the end of Year 2 for regular entry PhD students and by the end of the winter term of Year 3 for Direct-Entry PhD students. 

If a student fails to complete a Generals paper in three terms (12 months), they need to request an extension, which will only be granted with a compelling rationale. The expectation is that, like any other course, the Generals Paper is completed and assigned a grade within the allotted timeframe. Extensions should be the exception and not the norm,  

The two Generals Papers (GPs) must be written in two distinct areas of Linguistics, with distinctness verified by the supervisor of the second GP, with the approval of the Graduate Chair. As a basic requirement, the two GPs should be supervised by different faculty members, with no more than one committee member shared between the two committees.  

At the beginning of each GP, students must submit to the Graduate Chair a GP Enrolment Form which establishes the topic of the GP, its area, the supervisor and the second reader of the GP committee. GP Enrolment Forms must be submitted before the research gets underway and no later than October 31 for Regular Entry PhD students and June 30 for Direct Entry PhD students

Supervision

For each paper, a committee of three faculty members is set up: a supervisor, a second reader, and a third reader. The student chooses the supervisor in consultation with the Graduate Chair. The supervisor chooses the other two members, in consultation with the student. The student should meet regularly with the supervisor and the second reader while writing the Generals paper. The third reader is involved in the defense stage of the paper.  

Presentations

As outlined above, students will make presentations to the relevant research groups. This presentation will allow students to receive feedback on their work prior to completion. 

Completion and Defense

Evaluation of the Generals paper is based on two components: the paper itself, and an oral defense. The committee members have two weeks to read the paper, and then the student meets with the committee in a closed examination. The student makes a very brief presentation, and the members of the committee then question the student. Questions are not necessarily limited to the immediate topic of the paper but may deal with relevant background or related questions. At the end of this meeting, the committee members discuss the paper and the defense, and arrive at one of the following decisions, which is communicated to the student at the end of the meeting: 

1. The paper passes as it stands
2. The paper passes with minor revisions
3. The paper fails

The committee also decides on a grade for the paper, with B- being the minimum passing grade. If the paper passes as it stands, the student need only submit the paper. If the paper is judged to pass with minor revisions, the student has one week to make the required changes. These are submitted to the supervisor, whose responsibility it is to see that they have been done satisfactorily. If the supervisor determines that they have been, the paper passes. If not, the paper fails. In case of failure, the supervisor prepares a written report indicating the areas of weakness. The student receives a copy of the report. If a paper fails, the student consults with the supervisor and the Graduate Chair in order to decide whether to continue with the same topic or to attempt a different topic. In any event, two acceptable papers must be completed and successfully defended. 

When the supervisor has approved the final version of the paper, the supervisor notifies the Graduate Chair and graduate administrator, using the Generals Paper Completion Form. A PDF copy of the final paper should be sent to the Graduate Office. Completed Generals Papers are available in the departmental library. 

Criteria for passing the Generals Paper

The paper must be a work of original research of high quality, which has the potential to be developed into a journal article. Factors to be taken into account in evaluating both the paper and the student's oral defense include the following: 

1. Knowledge of literature and major issues
2. Originality and creativity
3. Judgment and critical ability
4. Form and presentation

In evaluating criterion (d), the committee may take into account the extent to which the paper is suitable for initial submission as a journal article. 

Publication in a Journal

A student who has had a recent article published in a refereed journal may submit the article as a Generals paper. Such papers are treated like all other Generals papers. A committee is set up, and the supervisor and the second reader decide if the article is suitable as a Generals paper, and what further work, if any, is required. The paper is defended as described above. Publication in a journal does not in and of itself make a paper an acceptable Generals paper, nor does rejection by a journal make a paper unacceptable. 

Candidacy

It is a regulation of the School of Graduate Studies that doctoral students in a four-year PhD program must achieve candidacy by the end of Year 3, as stated in the SGS Calendar. In order to achieve candidacy in the Department of Linguistics, a student must have completed all of their coursework, both Generals papers, and the language requirement. In addition, they must have an approved thesis topic, a supervisor and a supervisory committee. A regular-entry PhD student who has not achieved candidacy by August 31 of Year 3 and a direct-entry PhD student who has not achieved candidacy by August 31 of Year 4, is not in good academic standing and may be denied further registration in the program. In highly exceptional circumstances, a student who has not achieved candidacy on time may be permitted to register for up to 12 additional months, at the discretion of the department. Further extensions require approval of the School of Graduate Studies and are very rarely granted. 

Students who, for acceptable reasons, do not complete the oral and written thesis proposal by the end of Year 3 for Regular Entry PhD and by the end of Year 4 for Direct Entry PhD must nevertheless have an approved thesis topic, a supervisor, and a supervisory committee before the end of Year 3 and Year 4, respectively, in order to remain in good academic standing. This requirement will normally be satisfied at the time of May Progress (above) in that year, by which time the student has identified a thesis topic, a supervisor, and a supervisory committee. It is understood that supervisor and committee may change as the student prepares the written thesis proposal. 

Thesis

Each student completes a doctoral dissertation in one of the Department's areas of research. During Year 3, the student must determine their thesis topic and complete preliminary work before making a thesis proposal in the spring.

Monitoring students' progress through the program 

In the first two years of the four-year PhD program and the first three years of the five-year direct-entry PhD program, the student undertakes coursework and fulfills the two Generals papers requirements. At the beginning of each year until a student achieves candidacy, at the time of registration, the student and the Chair review the student's progress through the program, ascertain whether the student has completed all requirements to date, and discuss the student's plans for the coming year. 

Every PhD and Direct-Entry PhD student is required to have a supervisor at all stages of enrolment in the doctoral program. Prior to candidacy, the supervisor will be their current Generals Paper supervisor. If the student is not enrolled in any Generals Paper, the Graduate Chair will act as nominal supervisor. For students who have achieved candidacy, and established a supervisory committee, it is the supervisor's responsibility to ensure that the student's progress is appropriately monitored.  

May Progress Meetings 

As stated in the SGS Calendar, “a student is expected to meet with [the supervisory] committee at least once a year, and more often if the committee so requires. At each meeting, the supervisory committee will assess the student's progress in the program and provide advice on future work.” These meetings must be recorded in the student's file and on ROSI.  

In the Department of Linguistics, this formal requirement is fulfilled by the May Progress Meeting (also referred to as May Monitoring). All PhD students meet with their supervisory committee at the end of the winter term each year, to discuss their progress in the program.  For students who have not yet achieved candidacy, the committee will be comprised of their Generals Paper supervisor and first reader, in addition to the Graduate Chair. Should the student not be enrolled in a Generals Paper, the committee will comprise of the Graduate Chair and two other faculty members. 

In preparation for the May Progress meeting, all students should submit to the committee an updated copy of their CV, a May Progress form with the student portion completed, and their previous May Progress form. The committee and the student then discuss the student's progress in the program, and the committee provides advice on future work. The meetings are normally chaired by the supervisor, but any committee member may act as chair. 

After the meeting, the committee completes the appropriate May Progress report. Copies are provided to the student, the Graduate Chair and to the graduate administrator. The supervisor discusses the report with the student, and the student may respond in writing.  

The supervisory committee may meet more frequently than once per year, as deemed necessary by the committee. It should be borne in mind that these meetings do not replace the regular meetings between the student and the supervisor. 

Repeated failure to achieve satisfactory progress in May Progress may jeopardize a student’s status in the program. Satisfactory progress is determined based on the goals and recommendations outlined in the May Progress report from the previous year. If the student’s progress is found to be less than satisfactory, a detailed 6-month timeline should be provided in the form and the committee should meet again in six months. At this meeting, a second May Progress report will be completed. If progress is found to be less than satisfactory again, a second 6-month timeline should be provided, and the committee will meet again at the end of those six months. If the student’s progress is not found to be satisfactory at that point, program termination procedures will be initiated. If at either of the aforementioned meetings progress is deemed to be satisfactory, termination procedures will not be initiated. In other words, termination procedure is only initiated after two consecutive unsatisfactory progress reports.