How to start thinking about grad school

Below is a basic outline to help you as you prepare to apply to linguistics graduate programs, all adapted from advice compiled by Gretchen McCulloch, Dr. Kristin Denham, and Dr. Judith Pine, 

Reach out to linguistics advisor Kristin Denham, denham@wwu.edu, with any questions about considering and applying to linguistics graduate programs.

Before you apply

Questions to ask

  • Why do you want to go? (Discuss this with your advisors and professors)
    • You love linguistics? You like linguistics and want a better chance of getting a linguistics-related job? You don’t know what else to do? ...
  • Is location important to you?
    • Are you willing to move anywhere? Are you wiling to live in that place for 2-7 years? What is the cost of living there? If you’re planning an academic job, are you willing to live anywhere that you get a job?
  • What are the financial options? 
    • Many competitive graduate programs, especially PhD programs, will fund your graduate school by waiving tuition and paying you a stipend to be a TA or RA. If that’s not the case, does taking out a loan make financial sense? Working part-time? Can you apply to a fellowship or scholarship? ...
  • Is your goal to earn an MA or PhD?

Use spreadsheets to compare pros/cons of different options

Dana Gravseth presents her research at Scholars Week 2024.

Network and get experience

  • Attend conferences
  • Get teaching/tutoring experience
  • Consider attending institutes (CoLang, LSA Summer Institute) or working on research teams to explore linguistic research
  • Talk to faculty at Western about interest areas

In photo, Dana Gravseth presents her research at Scholars Week 2024.

Students studying in a library at a big university

Deciding where to apply

  • Research program reputation
    • time to degree
    • post-degree placement
    • faculty expertise and availability
    • percentage of students funded
  • Find faculty who are currently doing work that is interesting to you. Check out their papers and other available published work (including websites, blogs, etc.) 
  • Reach out!
    • Talk to faculty
    • Talk to current students at those schools
    • Talk to alumni of the schools
    • Visit if you can 
  • Research application criteria and deadlines 
  • Look at program requirements for first-year coursework and prepare early to get ahead

Application components

Two hands, one holding a pen, about to write something on a blank note card.

Letters of recommendation

  • Build relationships with professors who know what you’re interested in and can provide guidance as well as a strong letter
  • Select referees thoughtfully 
    • Can they talk about you in positive ways?
    • Will what they have to talk about fit the narrative you have developed?
    • What weight will their recommendation carry?
    • Be sure the referee knows your answers to:
      • Why this program?
      • What will I be doing? 
  • Give professors plenty of time in advance, and write a thank you note after
  • WWU’s Guidelines for Obtaining Letters of Recommendation for Graduate School

Personal statement

  • Read each prompt carefully and make every effort to understand and respond to it.
  • Develop a coherent narrative that tells the reader:
    • Who are you, in a scholarly sense?
    • Why are you right for their program? 
      • Your accomplishments and skills
    • Why is their program right for you? 
      • Your research on their program 
  • WWU’s Guide to Writing Personal Statements

"The grad school 'personal' statement is actually a research statement. The admissions committee wants to know that you have some idea what research involves and what kind of research you are interested in doing."

Gretchen McCulloch - All Things Lingistic

Other resources

Watch

Read

We recommend reading Gretchen McCulloch's article So you wanna go to linguistics grad school? Part II: Picking a school and how to apply found on her blog All Things Linguistic.