The Master’s Promotion program in Linguistics offers streamlined admission to the M.A. Program for current UVa undergraduates. There is no online application or application fee, nor are there requirements to take the GRE or submit formal letters of recommendation.
Requirements
Requirements for the M.A. once admitted to the Master’s Promotion are the same as for other Linguistics M.A, students. Students must complete their undergraduate degree at the end of their fourth year and must remain in residence at the University for their fifth year. Master’s Promotion candidates need not be Linguistics majors, although taking at least one Linguistics class before applying is recommended.
The Master’s Promotion Program also allows students to earn graduate credits toward their M.A. while still in undergraduate status. To take advantage of this option, students enroll in up to 6 credits of Linguistics classes at the 5000 level during their final undergraduate year. These classes are NOT double-counted toward the B.A. degree. Taking advance credits in this way is not a requirement to enter the Master’s Promotion.
Application
If interested in pursuing the Master’s Promotion option in Linguistics, the first step is to make an appointment with your major advisor to talk over the suitability of this program for you. Once cleared by your major advisor as a potential Master’s Promotion candidate, you should contact the Linguistics Director Eve Danziger ed8c@virginia.edu for an application interview. In making the appointment, please provide the Director with the name of your academic advisor and of at least one other faculty member who can recommend you. By preference this should be a faculty member who is affiliated with the Linguistics Program.
The application interview should be completed at the latest by May 1 of the year in which you hope to matriculate as an MA student. But students who are interested in taking 5000-level classes for advance M.A. credit while still in their fourth year should begin planning by their third undergraduate year. Decisions about admission to the program will be made by the Linguistics Graduate Committee, with final approval from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Once admitted, students must contact the Graduate Admissions office gsasadmission@virginia.edu to complete online paperwork.