Qualifications Required for Acceptance into the Program

1. Previous fields of study
Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in one of the following areas:

Linguistics
English, Thai, or any other language
An area related to Linguistics (i.e., Philosophy, Computer Science, Anthropology, Sociology, or Psychology). The Admissions Committee may choose to consider, at its discretion, applicants holding undergraduate degrees in other fields.

2. Undergraduate grade point average
Applicants must have an undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of not lower than 3.00 on a 4.00 point scale1. Applicants with an undergraduate grade point average between 2.50 and 3.00 may be granted probationary admission, subject to the condition that they earn no grade lower than a 3.00 during their first 9 credits of graduate study.

3. Undergraduate credits in linguistics or related fields
Applicants must have at least 9 credits of university level courses in Articulatory Phonetics, Phonology and Grammar, subject to approval by the Admissions Committee. A GPA of 3.00 or higher must have been obtained in these courses.
Applicants lacking the required credits in linguistics may be granted admission with the condition that they complete the pre-requisite course(s) offered by the Linguistics Department with a GPA equivalent to 3.00 or higher.

4. Foreign Language Requirement
Students must demonstrate proficiency in at least one living foreign language. The foreign language requirement may be fulfilled in one of the following ways:

Mother tongue speakers of English

Have taken undergraduate or graduate courses in a foreign language totaling not less than 12 credits and received a grade point average of not less than 3.00. These courses must have been taken not more than 5 years previous to beginning a Master's degree at Payap University.
Pass the P6 Thai examination of the Ministry of Education.
Pass a foreign language examination with a score equivalent to a 2+ on the FSI scale.

Non-mother tongue speakers of English
Within the last two years, by having:

passed the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) with a score of 540 or greater on the paper based test, or
passed the International English Language Test (IELT) with a score of 6.0 or greater, or
an equivalent score on a similar test if acceptable to the admissions committee.

5. Admission status
Applicants may be granted one of two (2) kinds of student status at the time of their admission, namely regular or probationary.

Regular status is granted when an applicant meets all the acceptance requirements in the areas of:

their overall GPA in their previous degree,
in the required prerequisites , and
foreign language ability.

Probationary status may be granted by the Linguistics Department's Admissions committee when:

the applicants' GPA falls between 2.50 & 2.99 and/or
their English score is lower than that required.

6. Transfer of Credits

Transfer of Credits by entering students
Students who have studied linguistics at the graduate level at another institution within the last 5 years may request a transfer of credits according to these regulations.

The student must have received a grade of no less than 3.00 from the original institution in the course that is being transferred.
The content of the course being transferred must closely resemble the content of a course which is offered in the Linguistics curriculum of Payap University. The Linguistics Department will decide whether courses sufficiently resemble the courses at Payap University.
The total number of transferred credits may not exceed 9 credits.
Transferred courses will be recorded with a grade of P in the student's transcript and will not be considered in any grade point average calculations.

Transfer of credits by currently enrolled students
A student who is enrolled in the Linguistics Department at Payap University may request to take a graduate-level course in Linguistics at another institution and transfer any credits earned to Payap University under the following conditions:

The student's advisor and the Linguistics Department Head judge that the course content is necessary to the student's program.
Academic Affairs approves the student's request.
The total number of credits transferred from another institution in this way may not exceed 6 credits.
The grade recorded for the course will be that given by the other institution and this grade will be included in the student's cumulative grade point average.

Application Deadlines

The academic year begins in mid-June and ends in March. The university uses a semester system, with the first semester beginning in June and the second semester beginning in November. Payap University observes a two-week Christmas break.

The Linguistics Department accepts new students only in the first semester. Prospective students who wish to transfer graduate credits from other institutions may be able to begin studies at Payap in the second semester, and should contact the Linguistics Department directly to inquire before submitting an application.

Those who wish to enter the M.A. program in June of a given year, and who:

do not meet the pre-requisite requirements and will have to take our pre-requisite courses, should submit an application to the Linguistics Department no later than October 30 of the previous year.
meet all the pre-requisite requirements, should submit an application to the Linguistics Department no later than March 15 of that given year.

Application Forms

Application forms can be obtained in the following ways:

Download the application from the website.
Download the Linguistics Department's Reference Letter form from the website.
Request the forms by e-mail from the Linguistics Department.
Request forms in person at the Graduate School, Payap University.

Send completed applications to:
Linguistics Department
Payap University
Chiang Mai 50000
Thailand

The application processing fee is 500 Baht for those residing in Thailand, and US $40 for those residing overseas.