The Department of Cognitive Science at 星空传媒 offers a Master of Arts in Cognitive Linguistics. Read on to learn more about our program.
What is Cognitive Linguistics?
Prospective students often wonder how cognitive linguistics is different from neurolinguistics (how language is represented in the brain), psycholinguistics (the psychological processes of language production and understanding), 鈥渞egular鈥 linguistics (the study of language), or from cognitive science (the study of the mind).
Cognitive linguistics is a way of doing linguistics. Cognitive linguists believe that language is not separate from other cognitive processes like memory, attention, categorization, social cognition, etc., and that language is influenced by the way the body interacts with the world. Practitioners often use tools and theories like conceptual metaphor theory, conceptual integration, cognitive grammar, construction grammar, embodied cognition, etc. There are many neurolinguists, psycholinguists and cognitive scientists who work within cognitive linguistics.
Why Earn an MA in Cognitive Linguistics?
Cognitive linguistics provides tools that bring language and cognition together, making it possible to study very disparate topics (how joint attention is involved in reading novels, which metaphors are most effective in getting people to change their minds, how teaching can be improved through the use of gesture) in a productive way. Our faculty are experts in the field of cognitive linguistics. Our program is designed to be very flexible. Students who come to this program tend to:
- Already be in the workforce, but believe greater knowledge of cognitive linguistics can benefit their careers.
- Have a BA/BS and want to go on to a PhD (or MD or JD, etc.) program but don鈥檛 have the background or research experience they need to be competitive.
- Want to explore this field and aren鈥檛 yet certain what their path is.
Faculty work with MA students beginning in their first semester to help them take a strategic approach to their time in the program. We will help you move towards your goals, whatever they are.
Discover the MA in Cognitive Linguistics
Admissions Criteria
Closed for applications. We are not accepting new applications for admission in Fall 2024.
We only admit students we believe will flourish in the program, and we only admit about five students per year. Because our students are often working already or bridging between their undergrad and grad experiences, students don鈥檛 have to achieve a specific GPA or GRE score to be considered for admission. There are also no requirements for an undergraduate degree鈥攐ur students come from many fields, including linguistics, psychology, computer science, English, comparative literature, etc. The admissions committee looks for a fit between our program and the candidate.
To decide if the program is right for you, we encourage you to do the following:
- Check out the information above to clarify how cognitive linguistics is different from related areas.
- Check out the program from a or the papers in the . Does this work seem interesting to you?
- Look at the research of our faculty. Are there people you might like to work with?
- Contact Vera Tobin, the director of the MA program, to discuss the program: vera.tobin@case.edu. After the formal application process, we often arrange an interview (via Zoom for candidates who aren鈥檛 local) to answer any outstanding questions.