Frequently Asked Questions

This M.A. program is uniquely designed to find professional applications for the study of language and communication. It features an individualized curriculum to develop skills in linguistics, focusing on sociolinguistics and its applications. MLC students have the opportunity to sub-specialize in an additional area of Linguistics, or to draw broadly from many approaches to shape their program of study. 

Additionally, MLC students participate in professional socialization events and career education activities targeted for linguists, designed to enable them to better articulate how their skills and training are of particular value in workplace settings, institutions, and professions which depend largely upon language to accomplish their goals.

Georgetown Linguistics is one of the oldest, largest, and most diverse Linguistics departments in the discipline. Since 1949, we have been committed to the broad and deep study of language in all its forms. Our world class faculty specialize in all areas of linguistics, including Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics, Phonetics, Phonology, Syntax, Semantics and Historical Linguistics. Research opportunities for students, within and outside the classroom context, are available, and faculty are committed to mentoring graduate students both at the Master’s and PhD levels.

MLC students can take classes that are taught by any of faculty in the Linguistics Department. Your “core courses” in sociolinguistics are taught by the sociolinguistics faculty. Faculty from other Georgetown programs, departments and schools, and local experts from the Washington D.C. community also teach and participate actively in our curriculum. Visit the Georgetown Linguistics Faculty page for more information about our faculty.

Professional socialization, advising, and coursework are three pillars of the MLC.

• Events. Throughout the year, MLC students participate in professional socialization and career education events targeted for linguists. The MLC Career Talk Series brings 3-4 speakers every semester to talk about how they use their linguistic training in their career in business, government, nonprofit or tech organizations. The Annual Linguistics Career Mixer introduces students to panels of linguists working across sectors to learn about job opportunities for linguists.
• Advising. The MLC Director holds regular individual student meetings every semester which involve tailored academic and career development and mentoring. 
• Coursework. The MLC proseminar course, held in the Spring, is designed to enable students to better realize their professional goals. Students develop tailored materials articulating how their skills and training are of particular value in the workplace settings of their choosing (for example, resumes and questions for informational interviews).