from finance to linguistics (true story)

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I have a completely atypical background and an equally atypical idea of what I want to do, which I will attempt to explain as best as possible.</p>

<p>So I am currently finishing up my Master’s Degree in finance at a top university in France (I got a Bachelor’s in social and political science at the same school – in France it is an integrated 5-year program)
I have some finance experience under my belt, but I recently realized my undying love for linguistics, and decided I wanted to do grad school in the US, in order to work on improving automatic translation algorithms and eventually start my own company in that field (yes!).</p>

<p>I initially wanted to do a Master’s, since I do not intend to go on and do research/be a professor, but I found out that most linguistics programs are PhD’s only, although they sometimes award a Master’s en route... so PhD it is (heck, you get full support anyways).</p>

<p>My dream is pretty much to go to Stanford; they have everything I am looking for: top-notch linguistics, computer science, cognitive science departments (from what I saw it is possible to cross-register through their special programs and centers), and even a tech ventures program with entrepreneurship courses.
I am not too crazy about computer science and programming per se, I was actually thinking of teaming with a computer genius there and start the next Google… you guys should all invest!</p>

<p>I am basically crazy about languages and that’s what got me into linguistics in the first place. I have French and Mauritian citizenships (yes, from that tiny island down south), and I speak French, Mauritian Creole, near-native English, fluent Spanish, I am taking Russian and took 5 years of German back in high school. I plan on starting to learn Biblical Hebrew and Italian as soon as I am done with Russian :)</p>

<p>I attended Penn for a year as an exchange student but didn’t take any linguistics classes there (I know, I know, I am so mad at myself too, but I couldn’t because of various restrictions and requirements). I however took Russian and Spanish classes there, and might be able to get recommendations from my old professors.</p>

<p>My biggest concern is for my lack of background and research in anything even remotely close to linguistics, although I taught myself through books (I bought the entire shelf at the Penn bookstore before leaving). I wonder whether this will be a problem for competitive schools.
Also, applicants are supposed to submit a writing sample, such as a thesis or a term paper. I haven’t written anything of the sort in years, so I was thinking of writing an entirely new paper on a linguistics topic (perhaps about Mauritian Creole).</p>

<p>My grades are good by French standards (no GPA system), but I am also concerned about the fact that the only recommendations I can get are from completely unrelated fields: my finance professors, past employers…</p>

<p>Do you think I have a shot at the best schools with this kind of background? I know it is atypical, but I am extremely motivated and I have a crystal-clear idea of what I want to do as a career and what I need to do in order to attain it.</p>

<p>Should I try and get a Master’s in linguistics at a lesser-know institution or directly in Europe before applying to top schools or should I aim directly at PhD’s?</p>

<p>Can you suggest any mid-range schools as ‘safeties’? I am aiming quite high, since I don’t think it’s worth crossing the Atlantic for programs that are not that good. I could easily go to another school in France or elsewhere in Europe. I am looking at Pittsburgh since they have ties with Carnegie Mellon for joint programs.
I am looking for schools that have, in addition to a strong linguistics department, good computer science, psychology, neuroscience… departments. As for sub-fields in linguistics, I am interested in computational linguistics, sociolinguistics, pyscholinguistics, neurolinguistics.</p>

<p>Since I am also interested in applied linguistics, I was wondering about applying to specific applied linguistics programs, such as Teachers College at Columbia. Do you guys have any thoughts on that?</p>

<p>I also wonder about applying to schools that have top linguistics programs, but that are not that highly rated in other fields (such as UMass, Ohio State, UC Santa Cruz… or even Georgetown).</p>

<p>Sorry for this rather lengthy story, and thanks to all for your help!</p>

2

<p>Hold on!</p>

<p>You said you have never taken a linguistics class. Are you sure you are really interested in the field?</p>

<p>You have mentioned a love of individual languages, but linguistics is not really quite the same as philology. I only took one introductory class, and was very surprised because it was not what I expected at all.</p>

<p>You can be a linguist without speaking more than one language, at its core it is an abstract analytical discipline having more to do with the likes of computer science (ex. Chomsky and context free grammars) than cultural / specific language studies.</p>

<p>Have you considered majoring in a rigorous translation program for your target languages? Perhaps it would be more rewarding.</p>

<p>As for schools, I’ll recommend mine! McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Excellent life science and psychology depts and a supposedly strong linguistics program. The CS department is small but pretty good (that’s what I’m studying). There are a ton of strong language depts too (I have some experience with the Russian one and they offer a lot of difficult and intense courses.)</p>

<p>Additionally as a French citizen you would pay <em>Quebec tuition</em> (the province has an agreement with France), which is something like $3000 a year. Practically free compared to the US. </p>

<p>Check it out :)</p>

3

<p>I’m applying to Applied Linguistics as well as TESOL programs, but here are my schools for Applied Linguistics: UCLA, Georgetown, Columbia, Teachers College , Pittsburgh, Boston U. I’m applying for a Masters degree. There are bunch of programs that have Ph.D programs-but most require a bachelors or masters in linguistics.</p>

4

<p>PerpetualStudent: yes, I am pretty sure I want to do linguistics! I sit through some introductory linguistics classes at Penn during the add and drop period, and was so mad when I realized I couldn’t take them… I am also reading a lot on the subject, and I am loving every page of it!</p>

<p>I am definitely applying to McGill, and to other schools in the UK, but I was looking for some advice on the US schools.
But since we’re at it, is it easy/allowed to cross-register in other departments at the grad level?</p>

<p>somebodynew: thanks a lot!</p>

5

<p>any other input?</p>

<p>thanks!</p>

6

<p>Look up the Applied Linguistics website for UCLA: [UCLA</a> Department of Applied Linguistics and TESL - Home](<a href=“http://www.appling.ucla.edu/]UCLA”>http://www.appling.ucla.edu/)</p>

<p>Decide if you want a theoretical linguistics (formal linguistics) or a more functional linguistics education.</p>

<p>Names at UCLA you can look up and see if you like what they’re doing:</p>

<p>John Schumann
Susan Curtiss</p>

<p>Also check out this page for faulty members that you feel may be within your field of interest: [UCLA</a> Department of Linguistics–Faculty in Other Departments](<a href=“http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/OtherFaculty.htm]UCLA”>http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/OtherFaculty.htm)</p>