Joint BA/MA Degree Program in Linguistics with TESL Focus

Beginning Fall 2001, the Department is offering an exciting, innovative program which enables qualified undergraduate majors pursuing a BA in Linguistics to receive an MA in Linguistics with TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) Focus in only one year beyond the BA. Normally, earning the MA in Linguistics at Iowa requires two years of study after the BA.

Having the MA degree provides important advantages in the TESL job market. The MA is the professional degree for teachers of ESL in colleges and universities in the United States. Earning this degree therefore affords many more job opportunities in the US and abroad than does the BA with TESL Focus.

Application and Admission

Students wishing to enter the program must meet the following requirements:

· be a University of Iowa undergraduate student majoring in Linguistics,

· complete at least 80 hours of undergraduate work (typically at the end of the 5^th semester),

· have a minimum GPA of 3.5 at the time of submitting the application.

Applicants to the program must submit a statement of purpose indicating why they seek admission and what their short-term career goals are and must submit to the Department an application to the Graduate College. Students who wish to apply for the program should discuss their plans with their academic adviser.

The joint degree program includes course requirements that differ slightly from the regular undergraduate major, specifically in replacing elective course work with designated classes. Four of the courses are counted toward both the BA and MA degrees. The program requirements compared to the regular major and MA degrees are outlined below.

The BA Curriculum

The BA consists of 24 semester hours of study, but students take specific courses instead of electives and 12 semester hours counted for the BA would also count for the MA. The following table outlines the major requirements for the standard BA in Linguistics and those that comprise the BA in the joint degree program.

Current Standard Undergraduate Major Requirements		Requirements for Undergraduate Major in the Joint Degree Program
Course name & number	hours	Course name & number	hours
Introduction to Linguistics 103:100	3	Introduction to Linguistics 103:100	3
Articulatory & Acoustic Phonetics 103:110	3	Articulatory & Acoustic Phonetics 103:110	3
Syntactic Analysis 103:111	3	Proseminar: Morphosyntax 103:200	1
		Introduction to Syntax 103:201	3
Phonological Analysis 103:112	3	Introduction to Phonology 103:203	3
Course in language history	3	Course in language history	3
elective	3	The Structure of English 103:141	3
elective	3	Methods of Teaching English as a Second Language 103:145	3
elective	3	Syntactic Theory 103:202	3
Total	24 s.h.	Total	25 s.h.

The shaded cells are those courses that count toward both the BA and the MA. Instead of taking Syntactic Analysis (103:111) to fulfill the BA syntax requirement, students in this program take Proseminar: Morphosyntax (103:200) and Introduction to Syntax (103:201), which are the first two parts of the mandatory three-course sequence for MA students. Likewise, instead of taking Phonological Analysis (103:112) to fulfill the BA phonology requirement, students take Introduction to Phonology (103:203), the first course in the graduate two-course sequence in phonology.

The MA Curriculum

The standard curriculum for the MA in Linguistics with TESL Focus and the curriculum for students pursuing the MA in the proposed joint degree program are outlined below. The table compares the course sequence for the two years of the standard MA with the 4^th year and the 5^th year of the joint program (under the assumption that students enter the program in their 4^th year of study).

Current Graduate Requirements/TESL Focus		Graduate Requirements in Joint Degree Program
Year 1		Year 4
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
Articulatory & Acoustic Phonetics 103:110	3	taken as part of BA
The Structure of English 103:141	3	taken as part of BA
Proseminar: Morphosyntax 103:200	1	taken as part of BA
Introduction to Syntax 103:201	3	Introduction to Syntax 103:201	3
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
Methods of TESL 103:145	3	Methods of TESL 103:145	3
Syntactic Theory 103:202	3	Syntactic Theory 103:202	3
Introduction to Phonology 103:203	3	Introduction to Phonology 103:203	3
Summer Session		Summer Session
Practicum in Teaching English as a Second Language 103:107	3	Practicum in Teaching English as a Second Language 103:107	3
Year 2		Year 5
Fall Semester		Fall Semester
Generative Second Language Acquisition 103:173	3	Generative Second Language Acquisition103:173	3
Phonological Theory 103:204	3	Phonological Theory 103:204	3
elective	3	elective	3
Spring Semester		Spring Semester
elective	3	elective	3
linguistic typology or structures course	3	linguistic typology or structures course	3
		elective	3
Total	37 s.h.	Total	33 s.h.

Again, the shaded cells in the table highlight the courses that count for both the BA and MA degrees. Also, all MA recipients must passed the MA Comprehensive Examination, generally taken during Year 2. Students in the joint degree program take the examination during Year 5. Given the nature of the MA with TESL focus, students in the joint program will not write a thesis as part of the 5-year program.

Financial Aid

Students who successfully take the Practicum in Teaching English as a Second Language 103:107 during the summer session will be eligible to apply for ESL teaching assistantships. These assistantships not only provide financial support but will also give students valuable teaching experience, which will make them highly competitive in the TESL job market. Iowa graduates with the MA in Linguistics with TESL Focus have been very successful finding good jobs. Since 1993 they have gone on to teaching jobs at the University of Arkansas, the University of Maryland, the University of Missouri, Ohio University, the University of Oregon, Coe College, Dana College, among other US institutions. Others have taken ESL jobs in the Czech Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia and other countries around the world.

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