Welcome to Stony Brook’s PhD program in Linguistics!

Below are 10(+1) commandments that you should follow in order to smoothly make it through the PhD program. (Note that these commands are just about success in the program, which is merely one part of being a successful PhD student. You will also have to grow as a scholar and researcher, engage with your field of interest, present your work at conferences and submit it to journals, and so on.)

  1. Thou shalt enroll in 0 credits of LIN 600 each semester.
  2. Thou shalt enroll in at least 1 credit of coursework before the beginning of each semester.
  3. Thou shalt enroll in 9 credits (if G4/G5) or 12 credits (if G3) of course work by the end of week 2 of each semester.
  4. Thou shalt choose your advisor by the end of year 1 in the program and have regular meetings with them each semester.
  5. Thou shalt complete your Qualifying Papers on time (QP-1 by the end of year 2 in the program, QP-2 by the end of year 3 in the program).
  6. Thou shalt advance to candidacy before the beginning of year 4 in the program.
  7. Thou shalt form your Dissertation Committee at the beginning of year 4 and have your Dissertation Proposal Discussion no later than at the end of year 4 in the program.
  8. Thou shalt defend your dissertation by the end of year 5 in the program.
  9. Thou shalt maintain a GPA above 3.0 and have no open Incompletes when changing from G3 to G4 at the beginning of year 2, or when advancing to candidacy at the beginning of year 4.
  10. Thou shalt diligently tend to your duties as a TA/RA/GA and be an active Department citizen.

US citizens and permanent residents also have to pay attention to an 11th commandment: