3.6.1.10 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Focus / Concentrations: Theoretical, Artificial Intelligence
Department / College: Department of Linguistics and Philosophy
Some people (mostly MIT people) would have you believe that MIT is the best linguistics grad school in the universe. This may or may not be true. However, there’s no debating that MIT is one of the top programs, and they provide a very generous financial package to all of their grad students.
MIT’s strengths lie in the core areas of abstract linguistics: syntax, semantics, phonology, etc. If you’re interested in sociolinguistics, you may not want to apply here. If you’re interested in cognitive stuff, you might want to check out the MIT cognitive science department, or the psycholinguistics track within the linguistics dept. The grad students at MIT tend to be on the nerdy, intense side. They like to participate a lot in class and work very very hard.
For many, the letters M-I-T evoke hallowed images of sacred linguistics deeds performed in obscure, obtuse rooms. (I don’t know what I just wrote either.) But given its reputation, MIT is remarkably accessible regarding the kind of programs it offers. In addition to offering traditional courses in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and psycholinguistics), MIT “interfaces with philosophy and logic, speech science and technology, computer science and artificial intelligence, and study of the brain and cognition.” And MIT doesn’t even require a GRE score.
But alas my query to a professor at MIT (not Chomsky) went unanswered.
applelinguist
January 8, 2010 at 2:53 pm
[...] Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) [...]
3.6.1 Theoretical Linguistics Programs « Applelinguist … the apple that started it all
January 8, 2010 at 2:59 pm