Spring semester admission deadline: October 15th
Fall semester admission deadline: June 15th

Graduate assistantships (e.g. teaching assistantships or research assistantships) are given out at the beginning of each academic year. 
If you are applying for a Fall semester and wish to be considered for an assistantship, please submit your application, supplemental materials, and Financial Support Application by May 20th. 

Part 1

The first step in applying to our graduate programs is to submit an application with the UNT Toulouse Graduate School.

  • Domestic MA/MS and GAC Applicants:
    • Apply to UNT
    • You may find step by step instructions for applying to UNT here.
       
  • International MA/MS and GAC Applicants:
    • Apply to UNT
    • You may find step by step instructions for applying to UNT here.
       
  • For current UNT graduate students applying to a GAC program:
  • MA/MS applicants may download a printable departmental checklist for applying here.
  • GAC applicants may download a printable departmental checklist for applying here.

Part 2

After the completion of Part I, each applicant should submit the following supplementary documents to the Department of Linguistics by clicking the button below, or by sending directly to ling-admissions@unt.edu.

  • A 500-word personal statement describing the applicant's interests in Linguistics, purpose in working toward an MA/MS, and which faculty members at UNT you might like to work with and why;

  • Writing sample. This could be a term paper from an undergraduate class or an independent study paper on some topic in Linguistics or related subject. Paper lengths might vary from 5-15 pages or more. The purpose of the writing sample is to give the committee an idea of the applicant’s abilities to write, deal with complex ideas, and craft an argument on an academic topic. Please be sure the paper is proofread and does not contain plagiarism or rely on AI.

  • A current vita or resume.

  • Three letters of recommendation (or two letters if you are applying for a Graduate Certificate)

Letters should be sent directly from the recommenders themselves, not sent or uploaded by the applicants.

Applicants should ask for three letters of recommendation to be sent to ling-admissions@unt.edu.

Academic letters from former professors are preferred and should be sent on official letterhead. A professional letter is also an option if it addresses topics from an applicant’s work history that might predict success in graduate study.

SUBMIT DOCUMENTS ONLINE

Eligibility

To be eligible for admission to the MA/MS with a major in Linguistics, applicants must have at least a 3.0 GPA on the last 60 hours of undergraduate semester credit hours prior to receiving a bachelor's degree, or a 2.8 GPA on all undergraduate work. Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in English by meeting one of the criteria as described on the UNT Admissions page linked here, with the exception that the Department of Linguistics considers competitive scores on the Internet-based TOEFL examination to be in the range of 88 and above, and on the IELTS to be 6.5 and above. The department conducts a holistic review of all application materials and does not decline students based solely on a single factor of a given application. 

 
Departmental Financial support

Beginning full-time students who meet all qualifications may apply for financial assistance from the UNT office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships. In addition, beginning and continuing students may apply for financial assistance from the Department of Linguistics. This assistance can be in the form of teaching assistantships, graduate assistantships, or research assistantships. The positions are competitive and awarded through an application process. Information regarding departmental assistantships may be requested from the Department of Linguistics chair.

 
Foreign language requirement

All candidates pursuing a master's degree in linguistics must have a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language. As evidence of such foreign language, a student may present the results of a standardized examination or have completed the sophomore year of a foreign language, or the equivalent, provided that the grade point average on all language courses is 2.75 or higher. Students must meet the foreign language requirement before completing their last semester.