Admission to the Linguistics Graduate Program

Application forms

On-line application for admission to the Linguistics Graduate Program is required. Please visit the web pages of the Admissions Office (they have different pages for domestic graduate students and international graduate students).

Admissions criteria

The general criteria for admission to graduate programs are set by the Graduate School; those should be consulted by applicants, but briefly, these are: an earned bachelor's degree from an accredited university (or the foreign equivalent) with at least a 3.00 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00-point scale) and a minimum of 3.30 (4-pt-scale) in any graduate work undertaken. An undergraduate major in linguistics is not required to enter the linguistics graduate program at Ohio State, although a record of undergraduate courses in linguistics (and related subjects such as psychology, philosophy and foreign languages) is obviously an advantage in a competitive admissions review.

Components of the application packet

All students applying for admission to the graduate program in linguistics must take all three portions of the Graduate Record Examination, and score reports from ETS must be received by the application deadline. This requirement cannot be postponed or waived. Note also that the GRE analytical score must be for the more recent analytical writing test and not from the older multiple choice format test. Therefore, applicants who last took the GRE before 1999 need to retake the test.
 

As detailed in the Graduate School Admission Guidelines, a complete application consists of (i) the application form (which must be submitted electronically), (ii) all undergraduate and previous graduate transcripts, (iii) GRE score reports, (iv) three letters of recommendation, (v) the "personal statement", (vi) a brief CV or resume (no more than two pages), and (vii) a non-refundable application fee. International students whose native language is not English (and who have not earned a college degree in an English-language university) are required to submit TOEFL scores; again, see the Graduate School guidelines for details.
   Applicants may want to use our Checklist for Applicants to make sure their applications are complete.
 

Timetable and deadlines

The review procedure for applications involves all departmental faculty and takes place only once a year: applicants are reviewed in January for admission commencing the following Autumn (or Summer) quarter. The deadline for international applicants is November 30th. The deadline for domestic applicants is December 15th. Applications may be submitted at any time, but those coming in after the deadline will almost always be deferred until the next cycle.
   Applicants are typically notified of the decision on their admission in March, although in special cases the decision cannot be made until later. See also the information on Financial Aid.
   For any remaining questions about the graduate program and admission procedure not answered on this website contact the Graduate Studies Committee gradprogling.ohio-state.edu or write c/o Department of Linguistics, The Ohio State University, 1712 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.