• Do not wait until the last minute to compile all your materials. Plan to send in your application well before the January 15 deadline.
• Contact your letter writers well in advance to give them the time to compose your letter of recommendation.
• Have a trusted friend or loved one proofread your writing sample, personal statement and CV. It is better that s/he finds the dangling participle than if the application committee does.
• Do not forget to complete the Application for Graduate Awards; you need funding!
• There is an important distinction to make between FLARE and SLA. Students completing their doctorates will receive a degree in Second Language Acquisition from the Department of Foreign Language Acquisition Research and Education. When filling out the application, note that the department is FLARE; the degree is SLA.

More information regarding admissions may be found on The University of Iowa's FLARE departmental page and Graduate Admissions page.

Before throwing yourself into the application process, please note these four criteria that you must meet in order to be considered for acceptance into the FLARE program.

1. You must have a MA from an accredited university in a field related to Second Language Acquisition.
2. Your grade point average in work towards your Master’s must be 3.50/4.00 or higher.
3. You must be able to speak and write English and another language at a professional level.
4. Your primary focus within SLA is NOT the acquisition of English as a second language (ESL).

PhD Program Requirements: Degree Completion

The beauty of the FLARE program is that it is interdisciplinary; therefore, students have options. You may choose one of three specializations for your PhD: Linguistics, Language Program Direction, or Technology.
A wide range of courses are offered through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Education. Doctoral students have the chance to take classes through the Departments of Asian Languages and Literature, French and Italian, German, Linguistics, Rhetoric, Spanish and Portuguese, and Speech Pathology and Audiology, as well as from the Department of Teaching and Learning, and Psychological and Quantitative Foundations.

In order to graduate, students must complete 72 credit hours, with a maximum of 33 coming from the MA. The distribution of courses is as follows: 39 semester hours (13 courses) of foundation courses, 15 hours (5 courses) of specialization courses and 18 hours of dissertation work.

An extremely helpful chart documenting all the course offerings and requirements for each specialization can be found on the FLARE department page.
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Financial Support

As an applicant who needs funding, one of the most important things that you can do is to complete the Application for Graduate Awards. By filling out this form, you alert the application committee to the fact that you would like to be paid while studying. Funding opportunities include teaching and research assistantships through various departments, as well as the elusive fellowship. It must be noted that teaching assistantships are the most common form of funding, and doctoral students usually teach beginning or intermediate language courses. More information about funding can be found on the Financial Assistance page of the University of Iowa Graduate College Admissions site.

The Essentials – The city’s website provides an extremely useful introduction to what Iowa City has to offer.
Click here to learn more.

Climate – If you like experiencing all four seasons, then Iowa City is for you. Iowa City is located in the heart of the Midwest, which means cold winters, mild springs, hot, humid summers and crisp autumns. Seasonal allergy sufferers take note: spring and summer pollen counts can be high.

Housing

Iowa City ’s site provides a comprehensive guide for renting apartments.

In addition, The University of Iowa Campus Information Center, located in the Iowa Memorial Union, is a great resource for incoming students looking for housing and information about Iowa City and The University of Iowa.

Finally, while it is not an extremely popular option, graduate students also have the opportunity to live in university residence halls. The Graduate Admissions site provides a list of links to help, if this form of housing interests you.

Helpful Housing Hints:

1. The closer an apartment is to the downtown/campus area, the more expensive it will be. Most apartments on or near Oakcrest Street., for example, are within walking distance to campus and tend to be more reasonably priced than apartments on Burlington Street.

2. South Johnson Street, while close to downtown, is considered to be a “party” area. Mostly undergraduates rent apartments on this street, so you may wish to keep this in mind when searching for a new home.

3. Cambus provides The University of Iowa with free transportation around campus. Click here to see routes and schedules.

4. Iowa City has a good public transportation system, with buses running all over town. Iowa City Transit bus passes are available for students at the UI Parking Ramp. The cost is $50 per semester (Aug. 1 –Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 –May 31), and you will need to provide a copy of your semester schedule to receive student pricing. Click here to visit the ICT website for routes and schedules.