Doctoral studies

"Nowhere in the world are PhD students given the opportunity to study and work with so many internationally renowned scholars."

The PhD program was originally developed by Basil Hatim with the support of Advisory Council members such as Carol Chappelle, the late Eugene Nida and late Christopher Candlin. It was substantially revised by Juliane House who is also the Director of the Program. As a student in the Program you will benefit from the teaching and guidance of such internationally renowned scholars as:

 

About the Program

One can do doctoral studies at the institution and gain a PhD in Language and Communication or PhD in Applied Linguistics based on the focused research they will do. Doctoral studies feature eight core courses on topics such as Research Methodology, Discourse Analysis, Critical Applied Linguistics, Text–Discourse–Genre Analysis, and Communication across Cultures. (See the course catalog for a complete list of courses and course descriptions).

Building on the common foundation of these courses, students can then specialize in areas such as Second Language Education, Discourse Analysis, Intercultural and Professional Communication, and Translation and Interpreting. Since both core courses and discipline-specific strands are all firmly research and discourse-focused, there is also an opportunity for creative and constructive interaction between strands. In this way, graduates gain a much broader perspective on language in use than their own area of specialization allows them.

Flexibility for Working Professionals

The PhD program is a highly flexible program that combines short-term intensive courses delivered via our eLearning platform with ongoing guidance and supervision from faculty as students write their project and qualifying papers, conduct research, and complete their thesis. The structure of the program thus means that students who already work can continue doing so while enrolled in this program. Indeed, working professionals in the program are encouraged to draw upon their work experience to highlight issues of professional practice in their coursework, and conversely, to apply insights newly gained in the Ph.D. program to challenges they face in their work. Students’ work experience has been in fields such as second language education, translation and interpreting, law, business, political science, diplomacy, linguistics, and other areas in which language and communication is of prime importance.