Master of Arts in Linguistics is offered by the Department of Linguistics in the K.M. Institute of Hindi and Linguistics of the University.

The purpose of M.A. programme in Linguistics is to acquaint the students with the theoretical aspects of the extremely fascinating area of Language Sciences and train them for research in this field of the study of natural languages. This course outline is prepared keeping in view that the students should have a sound background in different theoretical and methodological orientations of the field. At the same time, Linguistics being an empirical science, they should be well-equipped to look at and analyse the naturally occurring data and contribute to the ongoing research. Thus every course will include theoretical discussions as well as practical training for data analysis.

The programme is designed in such a way that the compulsory courses introduce the students to a wide range of areas and methodologies in which linguists work and the optional courses provide a more in-depth study of these areas. Thus, while being aware of different orientations in the field, the student could select areas of their interest for a more in-depth knowledge in that area through the optional courses.

M.A. in Linguistics is a 2-year full time programme spread over 4 semesters. In any semester, 20 credits is the normal workload for coursework (excluding internships, dissertations, etc). A student may register for extra credits upto a maximum of 30 credits per semester and a minimum of 10 credits per semester. A total of 96 credits is to be earned across 4 semesters, including 76 credits from the core courses, elective courses, remedial courses, the project/internship and dissertation.

There will be a Capstone Project (leading to the development of a real-life application) or an Internship of at least 1 month in industry or academia, to be completed across the first two semesters. The students will also need to complete a dissertation spanning across the last 2 semesters of the program (but submitted in the last semester of the program). The report of the project or the work done during the internship may be integrated in the dissertation to be submitted at the end of the program. The electives throughout the 4 semesters can be opted from the ones offered by the department as well as from any other department subject to the condition that a minimum of 76 credits is earned from the departmental core / elective courses and the project / internship in the 3rd or the 4th semester and dissertation across the last two semesters. Rest of the 20 credits may be earned from the departmental electives or open electives (from any department in the University other than those jointly offering the programme) or a combination of these.

Regulations related to tutorial-based remedial courses – All the students are required to opt for at least one group of these courses. The group is to be opted in the first semester based on the student’s requirements / preference as well as the advise given by the tutor-guardian of the student based on his/her assessment of student’s need / requirement. Once opted, all the four course of the group is to be completed by the student across the four semesters – this group cannot be changed in the middle of the programme, except in exceptional cases of non-availability of faculty to teach the course or its irrelevance for the student concerned. In addition to the compulsory selection of one group, a student may select at most one more group based on his/her requirements / preference as well as the advise given by the tutor-guardian of the student based on his/her assessment of student’s need / requirement. The same conditions as above will apply for this group also.

The normal evaluation pattern of the courses will be as follows -

Continuous Assessment: 40%

End-Sem Exam: 60% (written exam of minimum 3 hours)

It is to be noted that the question paper setting and assessment for the end-sem exam will be carried out by the concerned course instructor.

For the course ALI102, Introducing Phonetics and Phonology, the evaluation pattern will be as follows

Continuous Assessment: 40%

End-Sem Exam: 45% written exam of 2 ½ hours + 15% practical/oral exam of ½ hour

For the course ALI107, Field Methods and Language Documentation, the evaluation pattern will be as follows

Field Work Report/M.A. Dissertation: 60% (evaluated by BOTH external examiner and course instructor(s))

Presentation (based on the report/dissertation): 40%

For all the tutorial courses i.e. ALI133 and ALI149 – ALI164, the evaluation pattern will be decided by the concerned course instructor in consultation with the departmental committee before the start of the semester subject to the condition that it must include minimum of 40% continuous assessment.

Minimum Eligibility: Graduation in any discipline with 45% or equivalent (for admission in 1st year) or Diploma in Linguistics from the Institute (for lateral entry in the 3rd semester)

Number of Seats: 30

Mode of Admission: Entrance Exam / Interview / Merit (as decided by the admission committee)

Semester Fees**: Rs. 3,275 per semester

Examination Fees**: Rs. 2,070 per semester

Dissertation Fees (if applicable)**: Rs. 2,000 (one time)

**Subject to revision and updation by the relevant bodies of the University / state government / any other competent body