Linguistics

[ Major] [ Minor] [ Ph.D.] [ Professors] [ Courses]

OFFICE: 3016 Applied Physics and Mathematics Building, Muir College
http://ling.ucsd.edu

In what ways do languages differ, and in what ways are all human languages alike? These are the basic questions that the science of linguistics seeks to answer.

In formulating hypotheses about language it has been found that languages have intricate structure at a number of different levels. Phonetics studies the sounds of speech and how they are produced and perceived. Phonology studies the principles by which the sounds of a language are organized into a system and combined into syllables and larger units. Morphology studies the principles by which smaller units of meaning are combined into words. Syntax is the study of the principles by which words are combined into larger units such as phrases and sentences. Semantics studies meaning—the meanings of words and the ways the meanings of words are related to the meanings of larger units such as the phrase, the sentence, and the discourse. Linguists attempt to discover to what extent the principles at each level vary across languages, and to what extent they are universal.

Because language provides a window into the human mind, linguistics plays a central role in the study of human cognition and figures prominently in the field of cognitive science. We know, for example, that all normal children succeed in learning language relatively quickly at a time when their other cognitive abilities are still developing. The universal properties of human language that linguists discover can be used to provide models of this process, to explain why it occurs so rapidly, and to make specific predictions about the way it unfolds. The results of linguistic research can also be tested directly in experimental studies of how language is represented and processed in the mind (psycholinguistics) and brain (neurolinguistics). Language can also be studied in terms of its function as a cognitive system shared by an entire society; sociolinguistics investigate the ways in which the language we use is affected by our social environment.

The Department of Linguistics offers a series of lower-division courses designed to introduce non-majors to the scientific study of language in the broader perspective of a liberal arts education. These are LIGN 3 (Language as a Social and Cultural Phenomenon), LIGN 4 (Language as a Cognitive System), LIGN 7 (Sign Language and Its Culture), LIGN 8 (Languages and Cultures in America), and LIGN 17 (Making and Breaking Codes). These courses may be used to satisfy the Marshall College disciplinary breadth requirement. Lower-division linguistics courses may be used to satisfy the social sciences requirement at Muir College and Revelle College, and they partially fulfill the requirements for a program of concentration in Warren College. In addition, certain linguistics courses satisfy the American Cultures requirement in Revelle College and the cultural diversity requirement in Muir College and Warren College. LIGN 17 (Making and Breaking Codes) satisfies the Thurgood Marshall Computational Skills requirement in addition to the formal skills requirement in Warren College and in the Human Development Program. This course also satisfies the Structured Reasoning requirement in Sixth College. Students should consult their college advising offices to determine which linguistics courses satisfy these other requirements.

Linguistics courses are relevant to a wide range of fields of study at UCSD, including anthropology, cognitive science, communication, computer science, human development, law and society, psychology, and sociology, as well as areas such as African studies, Chinese studies, ethnic studies, Judaic studies, Latin American studies, and others. In some cases certain linguistics courses count toward a major or minor in one of these departments or programs. Students should consult with a faculty advisor in linguistics and the other department or program when deciding on their course of study.

Students are often able to participate in the UC Education Abroad Program (EAP) and UCSD’s Opportunities Abroad Program (OAP) while still making progress toward the major. Students considering this option should discuss their plans with the department undergraduate advisor before going abroad. Detailed information on EAP/OAP is found in this catalog under the heading “Education Abroad Program.”

The Department of Linguistics oversees the Linguistics Language Program, which offers basic language instruction in Arabic, ASL, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Courses from the Language Program satisfy general-education requirements, as well as the Department of Linguistics language requirement. Graduate students who require a reading knowledge of French or German may enroll in LIFR 11 or LIGM 11, respectively.

The department also offers language instruction for individuals who grew up in an English-speaking environment while speaking a different language at home (Arabic, Armenian, Cantonese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Tagalog, and Vietnamese; other languages may be added to this list if student demand is sufficient). Instruction in these languages is designed to raise students’ linguistic and cultural competence to professional levels. Finally, directed self-instruction is available for a wide variety of languages through LIDS 19.

Note: Please check with the department office for updates concerning programs and course offerings.

The Major Program

General Requirements

Every linguistics major (except the language studies major) must satisfy the undergraduate language requirement and must successfully complete a minimum of twelve upper-division courses, including six required courses and at least five upper-division linguistics electives. (One elective pertaining to the study of language may be taken outside the department, subject to faculty approval.) In addition to the general major, the department offers a set of enriched major programs in various specializations.

Except for LIGN 199, no course taken on a Pass/Not Pass basis may be counted toward a linguistics major. No more than one quarter of LIGN 199 may be counted toward a linguistics major. At least six of the required upper-division linguistics courses counted toward the major must be taken in residence at UCSD. A letter grade of C– or better is required for every course counted toward a linguistics major, including courses taken to satisfy the department’s undergraduate language requirement.

Required Linguistics Courses

Linguistics 101 is required as an introduction to the field and serves as the prerequisite to certain other courses. Students who choose a linguistics major should enroll in it as early as possible.

Every major program in linguistics (except the language studies major) must include the following required courses covering basic areas of the field:

Students are advised to take these required courses as early as possible, since the background they provide may be needed for other upper-division linguistics courses. Check individual course listings for prerequisite information.

Linguistics Electives

Restricted Courses

Note to Revelle and Warren students.

Revelle: For Revelle College only, the classification of the linguistics major as humanities, natural science, or social science must be determined on the basis of each student’s specific program. The classification of the major program will in turn determine what areas will be acceptable for the noncontiguous minor.

Warren: For Warren College only, any courses taken in departments other than linguistics may not overlap with the student’s outside area(s) of concentration.

Undergraduate Language Requirement

Linguistics majors must demonstrate proficiency in one foreign language.

Proficiency in a foreign language may be demonstrated in three ways:

  1. By passing the reading proficiency examination and the oral interview administered by the Department of Linguistics in French, German, Italian, or Spanish; or
  2. By successfully completing a course given at UCSD representing the fourth quarter (or beyond) of instruction in any single foreign language with a grade of C– or better; or
  3. By scoring four or greater on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam.

Students are encouraged to satisfy this requirement as early as possible in order to be able to use the language for reference in linguistics courses. Students with native language competence in a language other than English may petition to have English count as satisfying the proficiency requirement.

General Major (12 courses)

The general major in linguistics requires satisfaction of the undergraduate language requirement and successful completion of twelve upper-division courses:

Specialized Majors

Every student with a specialized major must consult the faculty advisor in the Department of Linguistics to have approved an individual curricular plan to satisfy the major requirements for the option chosen. Each specialized major requires satisfaction of the undergraduate language requirement and successful completion of upper-division requirements as specified below. The specialization will be reflected in the wording of a degree, e.g., “B.A. in Linguistics (with Specialization in Language and Society).”

Cognition and Language (12 courses)

Language and Society (12 courses)

Language Studies Major

Students majoring in language studies must consult with the language studies faculty advisor to approve an individual curricular plan.

The language studies major is designed for students who wish to pursue the study of a particular language from a variety of perspectives. To this end, students will take courses in linguistics and literature, as well as electives in linguistics, literature, culture, and area studies. This major provides preparation for a variety of careers that make use of second language skills. Depending on the elective emphasis, these include international business/law, teaching, translation, interpreting, linguistics, and foreign service. Each language studies major will specialize in one language of concentration. In principle, this could be any language other than English. However, some languages may require that some coursework be completed outside UCSD. Hence, it is recommended that language studies majors consider a year abroad. Students whose language of concentration is American Sign Language will need to consult the faculty advisor for individualized requirements; these students may also consider an exchange year at Gallaudet University.

Requirements:

Lower-division preparation:

Upper-division requirements:

Note: At least two of the upper-division courses must be conducted in the language of concentration. Students are encouraged to increase their academic exposure to their language of concentration by taking one-unit seminars in the language and by participating in the EAP program.

  1. 6 upper-division linguistics courses, as follows:

    • LIGN 101: Introduction to Linguistics
    • 3 courses chosen from:
      • LIGN 110: Phonetics
      • LIGN 111: Phonology I
      • LIGN 120: Morphology
      • LIGN 121: Syntax I
      • LIGN 130: Semantics
      • LIGN 145: Pidgins and Creoles
      • LIGN 150: Historical Linguistics
    • “Structure of” language of concentration course (e.g., LIGN 143 Structure of Spanish). If no such course is available, the student must consult with the undergraduate advisor regarding a possible substitution.
    • One additional upper-division LIGN course.
  2. 2 upper-division courses in the literature of the language of concentration

  3. 4 additional upper-division courses that deal with general linguistics, the language of concentration (e.g., literature), or the corresponding culture/area studies (e.g., anthropology, economics, history, political science, sociology), subject to approval of the faculty advisor.

    Approved courses for this requirement include the following (Note: some of these courses may have prerequisites):

    Linguistics: Any upper-division courses (except those used to fulfill requirement A).

    Literature: Any upper-division courses related to the language of concentration (except those used to fulfill requirement B).

    Area Studies: Approved courses are listed by language of concentration; other languages of concentration are possible in principle, but probably require coursework outside of UCSD.

    ASL

    • COM/HIP 124: Voice: Deaf People in America

    Chinese

    • ANRG 170: Traditional Chinese Society
    • ANRG 173: Chinese Popular Religion
    • HIEA 120: Classical Chinese Philosophy and Culture
    • HIEA 121: Medieval Chinese Culture and Society
    • HIEA 122: Late Imperial Chinese Culture and Society
    • HIEA 130: History of the Modern Chinese Revolution: 1800–1911
    • HIEA 131: History of the Modern Chinese Revolution: 1911–1949
    • HIEA 132: History of the People’s Republic of China
    • HIEA 133: Twentieth Century China: Cultural History
    • HIEA 137: Women and Family in Chinese History
    • HIEA 167: Special Topics in Modern Chinese History
    • POLI 130B: Politics in the People’s Republic of China
    • POLI 131C: The Chinese Revolution
    • POLI 132B: Politics and Revolution in China and Japan
    • SOCD 188B: Chinese Society

    French

    • HIEU 129: Paris, Past and Present
    • HIEU 131: The French Revolution: 1789–1814
    • HIEU 153A-B: Nineteenth-Century France—Twentieth-Century France
    • POLI 120C: Politics in France

    German

    • HIEU 132: German Politics and Culture: 1648–1848
    • HIEU 154: Modern German History
    • HIEU 155: Modern Austria
    • HIEU 177: Special Topics in Modern German Thought
    • HIEU 177A: The Two Germanies Since 1945
    • PHIL 106: Kent
    • PHIL 107: Hegel
    • PHIL 110: Wittgenstein
    • PHIL 182: Marx and Marxism
    • POLI 120B: The German Political System
    • POLI 120D: Germany: Before, During, and After Division

    Hebrew

    • ANRG 150: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Israel
    • ANRG 162: Peoples of the Middle East
    • HINE 100: The Ancient Near East and Israel
    • HINE 102: The Jews in Their Homeland in Antiquity
    • HINE 103: The Jewish Diaspora in Antiquity
    • HINE 170: Special Topics in Jewish History
    • HINE 186: Special Topics in Middle Eastern History
    • POLI 121: Middle East Politics

    Italian

    • HIEU 119: Modern Italy: From Unification to the Present
    • HIEU 120: The Renaissance in Italy
    • HIEU 121: Early Modern Italy
    • HIEU 122: Politics Italian Renaissance Style
    • HIEU 124: The City in Italy
    • POLI 120I: Politics in Italy

    Japanese

    • ECON 163: Japanese Economy
    • HIEA 110: Japan Through the Twelfth Century
    • HIEA 111: Japan: Twelfth to Mid- Nineteenth Centuries
    • HIEA 112: Japan: From the Mid-Nineteenth Century through the U.S. Occupation
    • HIEA 113: The Fifteen-Year War in Asia and the Pacific
    • HIEA 114: Postwar Japan
    • HIEA 115: Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Japan
    • HIEA 116: Japan-U.S. Relations
    • HIEA 160: Colloquium on Modern Japanese History
    • HIEA 161: Representing Japan
    • POLI 132B: Politics and Revolution in China and Japan
    • POLI 133A: Japanese Politics: A Developmental Perspective
    • POLI 133E: Public Policy in Japan
    • SOCD 158J: Religion and Ethics in China and Japan

    Russian

    • HIEU 134: Russia: Ninth Century to 1855
    • HIEU 156: Russia: 1855 to the Present
    • HIEU 178: Special Topics in Modern Russian History
    • POLI 126AB: Politics and Economics in Eastern Europe
    • POLI 130AA: The Soviet Successor States
    • POLI 130AC: Seminar: Post-Soviet Politics
    • POLI 130AD: The Politics of the Russian Revolution
    • POLI 147A: Soviet Foreign Policy

    Spanish

    • ANRG 133: Politics and Modernity: Urban Cultures in Latin America
    • ANRG 134: The Cultures of Mexico
    • COM/SF 140C: Comparative Media Systems: Latin America and the Caribbean
    • COM/CUL 110: Cinema in Latin America
    • ECON 161: Latin American Economic Development
    • ECON 162: Economics of Mexico
    • ETHN 129/USP 135: Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy
    • ETHN 132: Chicano Dramatic Literature
    • ETHN 133: Hispanic-American Dramatic Literature
    • ETHN 135A: Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1848–1960
    • ETHN 135B: Contemporary Latino/a- Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1960 to Present
    • ETHN 136: Topics in Chicano/a-Latino/a Cultures
    • ETHN 138: Chicano/a and Latino/a Poetry
    • ETHN 139: Chicano Literature in English
    • ETHN 145: Spanish Language in the United States
    • ETHN 180: Topics in Mexican American History
    • HIEU 138: Imperial Spain, 1476–1808
    • HIEU 151: Spain since 1808
    • HIEU 165: Special Topics in Early Modern Spain
    • HIEU 175: Selected Topics in the History of Nineteenth- and Twentieth- Century Spain
    • HILA 100: Latin America-Colonial Transformations
    • HILA 101: Latin America: The Construction of Independence 1810–1898
    • HILA 102: Latin America in the Twentieth Century
    • HILA 103: Revolution in Modern Latin America
    • HILA 107: State and Society in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Latin America
    • HILA 108: Economic History: Continuity and Change in Latin America
    • HILA 112: Economic and Social History of the Andean Region
    • HILA 113: Lord and Peasant in Latin America
    • HILA 114: Dictatorship in Latin America
    • HILA 115: The Latin American City, A History
    • HILA 116: Encounter of Two Worlds: Early Colonial Latin America
    • HILA 117: Indians, Blacks, and Whites: Family Relations in Latin America
    • HILA 120: History of Argentina
    • HILA 121: History of Brazil
    • HLA 122: Cuba: From Colony to Socialist Republic
    • HILA 126: From Columbus to Castro: Caribbean Culture and Society
    • HILA 131: A History of Mexico
    • HILA 132: A History of Contemporary Mexico
    • HILA 161: History of Women in Latin America
    • HILA 162: Special Topics in Latin American History
    • HILA 163/263: The History of Chile, 1880–Present
    • HILA 164/264: Women’s Work and Family Life in Latin America
    • HILA 166: Cuba: From Colony to Socialist Republic
    • HILA 170/270: Topics in Latin American History, 1820–1910
    • HILA 171/271: Topics in Latin America History, 1910
    • LATI 120: Special Topics in Latin American Studies
    • THHS 109: African Heritage in Contemporary Drama: African, Caribbean, and African-American
    • THHS 110: Chicano Dramatic Literature
    • THHS 111: Hispanic-American Dramatic Literature
    • POLI 134B: Politics in Mexico
    • POLI 134C: Politics in Mexico
    • POLI 134D: Selected Topics in Latin American Politics
    • POLI 134G: Politics in the Andes
    • POLI 134I: Politics in the Southern Cone of Latin America
    • POLI 134R: Political Parties in Latin America
    • POLI 146A: The U.S. and Latin America: Political and Economic Relations
    • POLI 146E: U.S.-Latin American Relations: Security Issues
    • SOCC 151M: Chicanos in American Society
    • SOCD 188D: Latin America: Society and Politics

Honors Program

The department offers an honors program for outstanding students. Those students who have a 3.75 GPA in linguistics (3.25 overall) at the end of their junior year are eligible to participate. Students interested in participating in the honors program should consult with their department advisor: admission to the program requires nomination by the advisor and approval of the department faculty.

The honors program requires that two graduate linguistics courses be taken as part of the twelve required courses for the major, and further requires one quarter of LIGN 199H. During one of the two graduate courses, the student, in consultation with the instructor and a faculty advisor, will begin a substantial research project which will be continued during the quarter of 199H and will culminate in an honors paper. Responsibility for proposing possible projects and completing necessary paperwork rests with the student. Upon successful completion of the requirements the designation “with distinction”, “with high distinction”, or “with highest distinction” will appear on the student’s diploma.

Independent Study and Directed Group Study in Linguistics for Majors

Upon presentation of a written study proposal or project, and with the consent of the instructor and the advisor, linguistics majors with at least a 3.5 GPA in the major courses may request permission to undertake independent study in linguistics (LIGN 199). No more than one such course (to be taken Pass/Not Pass) may count toward the major.

The Minor Program

The Linguistics minor consists of LIGN 101, plus six additional courses in linguistics, at least four of which must be upper-division.

For all courses counted toward the linguistics minor, the student must receive letter grades of C– or better. Courses counted toward the minor may not be taken on a Pass/Not Pass basis, except LIGN 199. Only one quarter of LIGN 199 may be counted toward the minor.

The Language Studies minor consists of seven courses, at least five of which must be upper- division:

Literature: One upper-division literature course is required in the language of concentration. This will require proficiency as well as lower-division prerequisites. Therefore, the lower-division courses of the minor may consist of prerequisites for the upper-division literature requirement. American Sign Language students may substitute a non- literature upper-division elective with approval of the faculty advisor.

Linguistics: LIGN 101 is required. In addition students must take a “Structure of” language of concentration course (e.g., LIGN 143 Structure of Spanish). If no such course is available, the student must consult with the undergraduate advisor regarding a possible substitution.

Other: Two additional courses that deal with general linguistics, the language of concentration (e.g., literature), or the corresponding culture, subject to approval of the faculty advisor are required.

The Ph.D. Program

The UCSD Ph.D. program in linguistics offers rigorous training in multiple areas of theoretical linguistics, including syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, and morphology. The department is particularly strong in the study of interface areas, including syntax/semantics, phonetics/ phonology, and phonology/syntax. Research conducted in a variety of theoretical frameworks is integrated into the graduate curriculum. Students receive a firm foundation in both formal and cognitive/functionalist approaches to syntax and semantics. In phonology, basic training includes segmental and autosegmental phonology, constraint-based phonology, syllable theory, metrical theory, and theories of the phonology-morphology interface. The first two years of graduate study are devoted primarily to gaining a strong background in these core theoretical areas.

This theoretical strength of the department is matched by strength in both language study and experimental science. The range of languages represented in faculty research encompasses American Sign Language (ASL), Caucasian, Chinese, Finno-Ugric, Germanic, Greek, Persian, Romance, Semitic, Slavic, and Uto-Aztecan. The departmental concern with the empirical facts of language is reflected in a field methods requirement for graduate students as well as in the graduate student language requirement (conversational ability in one language other than English and reading ability in one language other than English). The department has a tradition of working with native speakers of a wide variety of languages. The department’s language laboratory maintains a library of written and recorded materials permitting independent study of dozens of languages; it also includes computers for self-instruction in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The Linguistics Language Program (LLP) provides basic foreign language instruction for the entire campus, and many linguistics graduate students are employed as TAs in the program. Aside from providing a source of funding, the LLP provides graduate students with valuable teaching experience.

The department houses laboratories devoted to experimental studies of language with emphasis on phonetics, event-related brain potentials (ERPs), computational linguistics, and signed languages. The focus of experimental research in the department is the mutual dependence between mechanisms of language processing and theories of phonology and syntax. Linguistics graduate students may supplement their theoretical studies with experimental research; in addition to departmental laboratories, graduate students have access to experimental laboratories concerned with language issues in other departments.

The department has a strong commitment to, and is an active and integral part of, the cognitive science and neuroscience communities at UCSD. Most linguistics faculty have joint appointments in the Department of Linguistics and the Cognitive Science Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program, and participate in the Department of Cognitive Science graduate core course in language (Cognitive Science 201D) as well as in the all-campus Interdisciplinary Program seminar (Cognitive Science 200) on a regular basis. Graduate students in the Cognitive Science Department frequently participate in Linguistics graduate courses, and Linguistics graduate students regularly attend courses in the Cognitive Science Department on neuroscience, child language acquisition, aphasia, neural networks, and semantics and cognition. Linguistics graduate students are eligible to pursue a joint degree in Cognitive Science and Linguistics within the Interdisciplinary Program. Areas of secondary specialization that are especially well represented in the cognitive science community at UCSD and related institutes include child development, connectionist modelling, distributed cognition, language disorders, neuroscience, philosophy, and psycholinguistics.

The department has access to rich informational resources; in addition to the extensive linguistics holdings in the main library, the department maintains a collection of research reports, dissertations, and unpublished papers. Access to the libraries of other universities exists through interlibrary loan.

Preparation

Since linguistics is a highly technical and analytic field, linguistics students will find their undergraduate training in mathematics and the natural sciences especially valuable. Undergraduate work in certain of the social sciences and humanities, particularly psychology, anthropology, philosophy and literature, is also good preparation for linguistics. The ideal candidate for admission will have both experience with foreign languages and some knowledge of the fundamentals of contemporary linguistic theory. Students who, upon admission, are deficient either in their formal linguistics preparation or languages will be advised by the department on how to make up the deficiency. New graduate students will be admitted only in the fall of any academic year.

Language Requirements

A candidate for the Ph.D. degree must demonstrate: (1) Conversational ability in one language other than English. (2) A reading knowledge of any one language other than his or her native language, subject to faculty approval.

Required Courses

Candidates for the Ph.D. must pass certain linguistics graduate courses prior to taking the qualifying examination. All graduate students must take a common core of ten courses. These are:

All required courses (except 293) must be taken for a letter grade.

Evaluations

A graduate student is formally evaluated by the entire faculty at particular stages during the first three years of graduate study. The first evaluation (at the end of the third quarter of graduate study) pertains chiefly to performance in courses. The second (or comprehensive) evaluation (at the end of the sixth quarter) determines the student’s fitness to continue in the Ph.D. Program It takes into account performance in course work and ability to engage in original research in one area of linguistics as demonstrated in a research paper. The third evaluation (at the end of the ninth quarter) focuses primarily on a second research paper (which must be in a different area of linguistics from the first).

Qualifying Examination

Candidates for the Ph.D. Degree must pass an oral qualifying examination which tests the student’s knowledge in the area of specialization. Prior to taking this examination, the student must pass the comprehensive evaluation, satisfy all language requirements, successfully complete all required courses, and demonstrate—through research papers—the ability to carry out independent, dissertation-level research. Students must take the qualifying examination by the end of the fourth year of graduate work.

Colloquium Presentation

Sometime prior to the thesis defense, a student must present a paper orally at a professional gathering. The colloquium requirement is intended to enable a student to develop the skills necessary for organizing research results for oral presentation. The requirement is generally met by presenting a department colloquium or by presenting a paper at a professional meeting. In either case, a faculty member must certify the acceptability of the presentation.

Dissertation

The candidate for the Ph.D. will write a substantial dissertation incorporating the results of original and independent research carried out under the supervision of the doctoral committee. The candidate will be recommended for the doctor of philosophy degree after having made a successful oral defense of the dissertation before the doctoral committee in a public meeting and after having the final version of the dissertation accepted by Geisel Library.

Apprentice Teaching

As part of their preparation for a future academic career, graduate students in linguistics at UCSD are given special opportunities to participate in teaching programs under the supervision of a professor. Depending on qualifications, students may conduct conversation or analysis classes in lower-division language courses (LLP and HLP), or may assist a professor in the teaching of an undergraduate linguistics course.

Other Degrees

Candidates for the Ph.D., who have not previously earned a master’s degree, may be granted the M.A. in linguistics after: 1) satisfactorily completing twelve required courses; all but LIGN 293 must be taken for a letter grade; 2) passing the comprehensive evaluation at the end of the sixth quarter; and 3) demonstrating a reading knowledge of any language except English, subject to faculty approval.

Candidates for the Ph.D. may also be granted the C.Phil. upon completion of all degree requirements other than the dissertation.

Departmental Ph.D. Time Limit Policies

The time a student takes to complete the Ph.D. depends on a number of factors, including previous preparation and the amount of time spent in teaching or other job commitments. Several policies set an upper limit to the length of the program. All degree requirements other than the dissertation must be completed by the end of the fourth year of graduate work. Total instructional support (TAships, etc.) cannot exceed six years; total university support cannot exceed seven years. Total registered time at UCSD cannot exceed eight years.