UMass Boston's PhD program in Applied Linguistics is a critically-oriented community of scholars, researchers, and activists dedicated to understanding linguistic diversity in everyday life. Our unique program emphasizes learning-by-doing through mentorship, coursework, and community-engagement. The Applied Linguistics PhD prepares candidates for teaching, research, and public advocacy careers in higher education, government, community, nonprofits, and private organizations.
Our apprenticeship model combines intensive faculty mentoring from the department’s internationally recognized faculty with structured support from a diverse and active doctoral student community. We also draw on the interdisciplinary expertise of our colleagues across Greater Boston and around the world to provide opportunities for community-engaged scholarship. Applied Linguistics doctoral students are involved in a range of local and global projects and initiatives related to our areas of inquiry: bilingualmultilingual education, multilingual language policy, critical applied linguistics, social resources and social contexts in language learning, and sociocultural theory.
Our curriculum is designed to engage future researchers in critical study of language in society. Through the exploration of cutting-edge research methods, students will develop a comprehensive and deep understanding of the theoretical, empirical, and practical dimensions of language use, language teaching and learning, and language policy in local and transnational contexts; and how they interrogate systems of power that produce marginalization, exploitation, and discrimination. Simultaneously, students cultivate their own scholarly identity, develop their inquiries, and generate knowledge to improve life in our schools, communities, and society. Students and faculty collaborate on research projects, manuscripts, advocacy work, and conference presentations throughout the doctoral program.
Our PhD program requires three years of residency. During the first two years, a typical course load is three courses per semester (fall and spring) plus department events including the Colloquium, Roundtables, working groups, and talks; classes are offered between 4 and 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Funding, including tuition, living stipend, and health insurance, is available for up to three years on a competitive basis.
