Master of Arts in Linguistics

The Graduate Linguistics Department was founded in 1989, in collaboration between Payap University and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). Today over one hundred graduates from Asia, the Pacific Rim, the Americas and Europe belong to the Linguistics Department alumni.

Southeast Asia hosts many languages belonging to five entirely different language families: Tai-Kadai, Tibeto-Burman, HmongMien, Austroasiatic and Austronesian. Relatively little is known about the number, classification and affiliation of individual languages in the region, and many of them are endangered. Only appropriately trained linguists can investigate these languages, provide guidance to the many communities who aspire to document, preserve and cultivate their cultural heritage, and skillfully translate or train to translate materials into their language. With an eye to meeting this need, the Linguistics Department offers a strong field-linguistics focused degree right in the center of where these languages are spoken.

The Linguistics Department aims to train future linguists who are able to promote the analysis, description and documentation of the languages spoken particularly in Asia, fostering the ability of language communities to develop and maintain their own languages, including the production of quality translation.

Graduates of the program have the knowledge, ability and skill to:

1. Apply linguistic theory to analyze, describe and document any language;
2. Use effective methods of language study and research;
3. Produce quality translation, examine and assess translated documents, and adapt them for successful communication;
4. Assist non-dominant language communities to cultivate and develop their own heritage languages within the context of their national language.

Theses and Independent Studies

• Theses and Independent Studies completed by students at the Linguistics Department.

Curriculum Structure

• Linguistics-2017

Core courses:

• All students must complete six (6) core courses, for a total of eighteen (18) credits.

Elective courses:

• Students will select electives appropriate to their program of study in consultation with their program advisor.
• Students who choose the Thesis option (Plan A2) must choose four (4) elective courses, for a total of twelve (12) credits.
• Students who choose the Independent Study option (Plan B) must select six (6) elective courses, for a total of eighteen (18) credits.
• Both Thesis (Plan A2) students and Independent Study (Plan B) students must take elective courses from the following:
  1. At least one (1) three-credit course from any Group 1 (general electives)
  2. At least one (1) three-credit course from any Group 2 (advanced electives)
  3. From any Group 1 and/or Group 2 and/or any graduate level course offered by an accredited Payap University graduate program with the approval of the Linguistics Department administration.

To fulfill the graduation requirements, students must write a Thesis (Plan A2), or an Independent Study paper (Plan B).

• Students who choose Plan A2 will write and defend a Thesis for a total of twelve (12) credits.
• Students who choose Plan B will write and defend an Independent Study paper for a total of six (6) credits. Students who choose this option must first take a comprehensive examination

Plan A2: Coursework and Thesis

Core Courses	18 credits
Elective Courses	12 credits
Thesis	12 credits
Total Number of Credits	42  credits

Plan B: Coursework and Independent Study

Core Courses	18 credits
Elective Courses	18 credits
Independent Study	6 credits
Total Number of Credits	42  credits

Faculty

	Carlos Benitez, M.A. Head of Department Ph.D. Candidate, University of Leiden, The Netherlands M.A. Linguistics, University of Texas, Arlington carlos_benitez@sil.org (more details)
	Sigrid Lew, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Linguistics, Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Germany, 1993. sigrid_lew@sil.org (more details)
	Tyler M. Heston, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Linguistics, University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA, 2015 B.A. in Linguistics, University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA, 2011 tylerheston@earthlink.net (more details)
	Robert Wyn Owen, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Statistics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 1991 M.A. Linguistics, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2008 wyn_owen@sil.org (more details)
	Douglas M. Fraiser, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Interdisciplinary Ecology (concentration in Anthropology), University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, 2007 (more details)
	Assistant Professor, Audra Phillips, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Linguistics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 2017 (more details)
	Douglas Maxton Inglis, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Linguistics, University of Alberta, Canada, 2014 doug_fraiser@sil.org (more details)
	Taeho Jang, Ph.D. Instructor Ph.D. Linguistics, The Central University for Nationalities, China, 2003 taehojan@gmail.com
	Linda Markowski, M.A. Instructor M.A. Linguistics, Payap University, Chiang Mai, Thailand, 2005 linda_markowski@sil.org (more details)
	Ryan Gehrmann, M.A. Instructor M.A. Linguistics, Payap University, Thailand, 2015 ryan_gehrmann@sil.org (more details)
	Terry Gibbs IT Support B.S. Physics, Colorado State University, USA
	Rattalanna Mingchuea Secretary B.A. English, Payap University, Chaing Mai, Thailand

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