1. Background Information
1. Mission Statement
2. History and Rationale
3. Established Areas of Emphasis
4. Program Characteristics and Activities
   1. Curriculum
   2. Students
   3. Faculty
   4. Outreach
   5. Administration and Staffing

2. Information for Applicants
1. Nature and Purpose
2. Specializations
3. Entrance Requirements
4. Application Procedures
5. Admission Criteria

3. Degree Requirements
   1. Course Work
   2. Core Courses
   3. Courses in Program Specializations
   4. The Minor
   5. Statistics Requirement
   6. Independent Studies
   7. Auditing Courses
   8. Dissertation
      1. Dissertation Committee
      2. Dissertation Proposal
      3. Public Presentation of Dissertation Proposal
      4. Human Subjects Review
      5. Dissertation Style
      6. Final Oral Examination
   9. Professional Activities SLAT
   10. Student Association (SLATSA)
   11. Satisfactory Academic Progress
   12. Leave of Absence
   13. Minimum Enrollment

4. Examinations and Forms Required by the Graduate College
   1. Overview
   2. Qualifying Exercise
   3. Doctoral Plan of Study
   4. Second Language Proficiency
   5. Comprehensive Examination
   6. Candidacy
   7. Final Oral Examination

5. Advising and Mentoring Policies and Procedure

6. Student Reports and Evaluations

7. Student Support
   1. Internal Sources of Funding
   2. Time Limit for Internal Financial Support
   3. External Sources of Funding

8. SLAT Program Bylaws

9. Graduate Student Grievance Procedure
10. SLAT Courses Available

C3. Courses in Program Specializations

One program specialization is required, to be selected from the four areas below, consisting of a minimum of 18 units. A list of specific courses that will count for each program specialization is available from the SLAT Advisor. Courses listed may be changed or augmented by action of the SLAT Executive Council.

(l) L2 Analysis (grammar; contrastive linguistics/interlanguage studies; phonology; morphology; syntax)

This specialization allows a student to focus on the development of theory and the formal analysis of linguistic and textual aspects of second language acquisition. This specialization includes relationships between second language acquisition processes and language change.

(2) L2 Use(discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, language policy and language planning, rhetoric, pragmatics, variation, socio-cultural factors)

This specialization focuses on the analyses of sociolinguistic, socio-political and socio-cultural factors in the use and acquisition of a second language.

(3) L2 Processes and Learning (Second Language Acquisition--theory and research, foreign language learning and research, interlanguage)

This specialization offers students an opportunity to investigate cognitive, linguistic and social processes involved in second language learning and second language processing, from a theoretical or applied point of view.

(4) L2 Pedagogical Theory and Program Administration (ESL/FL methods, ESL/FL curriculum development, ESL/FL testing and evaluation, teaching ESL/FL reading and writing, educational technology)

This specialization provides an opportunity for students to study current theoretical approaches to second/foreign language curriculum design, program design and pedagogy, and language proficiency assessment.

C4. The Minor

Students may minor within one of the four specialty areas (L2 Analysis, L2 Use, L2 Processes and Learning, or L2 Pedagogical Theory and Program Administration) offered by the SLAT Program or in any field approved by the SLAT Advisor. A SLAT minor consists of a minimum of twelve units in one of the SLAT specialty areas that have been approved by the SLAT Advisor and appropriate subcommittee chair. Only the minor in Pedagogical Theory and Program Administration has specific course requirements for the minor, which are as follows: four three-unit courses that cover a minimum of two (2) of the eight areas of L2 Pedagogy listed in “Appendix ‘A’ SLAT Courses Available”. These areas are: L2 Teaching Methods; Theory and Practice; Curriculum Theory and Development; CALL Technology and Design; Testing and Evaluation; Teacher Development Supervision and Assessment; Program Development; Administration and Evaluation; Research in L2 Teaching and Learning; and Statistics. Students who wish to minor in a field outside of SLAT (e.g., German Studies; Language, Reading and Culture; Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English) should contact the department or program in which they wish to minor early on in their studies to ascertain department or program?specific requirements for a Ph.D. minor. Students should be aware that some departments require more than the minimum number of hours specified for a minor by the SLAT Program. Normally students who major in Pedagogical Theory and Administration should not minor in Language, Reading and Culture since these courses overlap; however, this can be done with the SLAT Advisor’s approval.

C5. Statistics Requirement

The core course in statistics is normally EDUC 600 (Quantitative/Inferential Methods in Education). This course presupposes knowledge of basic statistical concepts. Those students who need to learn or review these concepts should consult with the SLAT Advisor to decide on appropriate prerequisite work, which could include taking a course for credit, auditing an undergraduate course, or forming a study group. For more information, see the “Guide to the Statistics Requirement” in Appendix E.

C6. Independent Studies

Only under very special circumstances will independent studies (courses numbered 599, 699, or 799) be available in areas covered by regularly scheduled courses. Courses required for the SLAT core can be satisfied only through a letter grade, A, B or C (Please note that a course taken on pass/fail basis will not count for the Ph.D.).

Special topics not regularly covered in scheduled courses can be taken on an independent studies basis for varying credits. Grades available for such courses are: S/P, C, D, E, K, W. It is the responsibility of individual students to find a faculty member willing to supervise their work. The SLAT Advisor must approve Independent Studies courses. For this purpose, please submit a completed “Independent Studies Authorization” form.

No more than six (6) credit hours of 599, 699 or 799 can be applied to fulfill requirements of the SLAT Ph.D.

C7. Auditing Courses

Audited classes do not receive graduate credit and, therefore, do not fulfill the registration requirement to be considered a graduate student.

C8. Dissertations

Students who are writing dissertations normally register for SLAT 920 Dissertation. Each SLAT faculty member is assigned a different section number of SLAT 920. Students should register for the section number assigned to their dissertation director. The SLAT Advisor has a list of faculty members’ 920 section numbers. Alternatively, students may, if they wish, register for 920 units in the home department of the Chair of their Dissertation Committee. However, 920 units should not be mixed; that is, students should avoid registering for some SLAT 920 units and some departmental 920 units.

Dissertation Committee

Within six months after successful completion of the Comprehensive Examination, students should select and get approval of their Dissertation Committee.

1. The Committee should consist of at least three and normally not more than five faculty who are members of the SLAT Interdisciplinary Committee, including one faculty member who will be designated Chair. The Chair must be a “regular” SLAT faculty member (see SLAT Faculty). One member of the Dissertation Committee (not the Chair) may be a non-member of SLAT if the Dissertation Chair and SLAT Program Director agree that the faculty member will serve a unique and significant role on the Committee, subject to approval from the SLAT Executive Council and the Graduate College.
2. The student should discuss dissertation research plans with all potential members of the Committee to get their input and to determine if they are willing to serve as Committee members. Faculty members on the Dissertation Committee will often include faculty who served on the student’s Comprehensive Examination Committee, but carry-over from one committee to the other is neither automatic nor necessary.
3. The student must submit the form headed ‘Dissertation Committee’ (see Appendix B) to the SLAT Program Director for approval, including the signatures of the faculty members being proposed, and accompanied by a 250 word abstract of the proposed dissertation research. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee must approve the abstract. The SLAT Program Director will determine if faculty representation on the Dissertation Committee is appropriate for the proposed study. S/he may make substitutions or additions to the Committee as warranted, in consultation with the student and other SLAT faculty.
4. Any request for change in the membership of the Dissertation Committee after it has been approved must be justified in writing, and must be approved by the SLAT Program Director in consultation with the Dissertation Chair.

Dissertation Proposal

1. No later than six months after completing the Comprehensive Examination, submit an abstract of your proposal, along with a memo from the Chair of the Dissertation Committee stating that the Chair considers the proposal ready for public presentation, to the SLAT Program Office. This should be done at the time you schedule a date for the public presentation (at least ten working days before the presentation). It is assumed that all members of the Committee have been consulted regardinga working draft of your proposal. A final version of the proposal, together with the Dissertation Proposal form signed by all members of the Dissertation Committee, should be submitted to the SLAT Program Office within thirty days of the public presentation. The purpose of requiring the final version of the Dissertation Proposal AFTER the public presentation is to allow the writer to incorporate suggestions made at the presentation into the final version of the proposal.
2. The Dissertation Proposal should be no more than twenty pages (double-spaced) in length. It should include the following information:

a) An explicit statement of the major hypotheses to be tested or questions to be examined.
b) The potential importance/significance of the research, the relation of the project to the literature on the topic, and to major theoretical issues in the field.
c) An explicit description and justification of the research methods to be used.
d) The availability and quality of data for the research.
e) Plans for completion of the research, and a time-line that includes an estimate of the time that will be required for completing data analysis and the dissertation write-up.
f) A bibliography of approximately two pages listing sources most important to the dissertation topic.

1. The purpose of the Dissertation Proposal is to demonstrate to the Dissertation Committee that:

a) The problem selected is of the appropriate scope, importance, and relevance for a dissertation;
b) The student controls the core literature for the topic selected; and the student has selected a reasonable approach (theoretical and methodological) to follow in solving the problem, at least in the initial stages of research.

1. The Chair of the Dissertation Committee is encouraged (but not required) to convene one or more meetings of the Committee to deliberate on a student’s Dissertation Proposal prior to approval. In any case, students should seek advice and input from all members of the dissertation committee.
2. A copy of the final version of the Dissertation Proposal with the signatures of all Dissertation Committee members indicating their approval should be submitted to the SLAT Program Office (see the Dissertation Proposal Form in Appendix B)
3. It should be kept in mind that successful passage of the final dissertation defense will require approval of the Dissertation Committee (more than one negative vote will result in a grade of “fail”). It is clearly in a student’s best interests to clarify and resolve potential issues related to research questions, scope of data collection and methodology at an early stage and throughout the process. Such clarification is especially critical in an interdisciplinary field, where committee members may not share basic theoretical and methodological assumptions.

Public Presentation of Dissertation Proposal

Candidates must present their dissertation proposal at a public forum within six months of passing the Comprehensive Examination. This is usually during the semester following the Examination. A six-month extension of the time period can be granted by the Program Director in consultation with the Dissertation Director. Extension for a longer period requires that the candidate petition the Executive Council. The student should schedule the presentation with the SLAT office no later than ten working days before the presentation.

Human Subjects Review

Before any research involving human subjects is conducted for the dissertation (including observing or interviewing), students must obtain Human Subjects approval both from SLAT and from the University Human Subjects Committee. All procedures and forms involved with the use of human subjects can be found at: http://www.irb.arizona.edu/irb.html.

• All study personnel including the dissertation director, must complete the “Human Subjects Training Program” and have that training documented for Internal Review Board review.
• Fill out the Human Subjects Approval Form (HSA), available on line at: http://www.irb.arizona.edu/forms_behavioralsci.html .

a) Return a draft copy of the completed HSA form to Shaun O’Connor in TOB 211.
b) A member of the SLAT Human Subjects Committee will review the proposal. Although the committee tries to approve as quickly as possible, please allow at least one week for this process to take place.
c) Submit two final copies of the form to the SLAT office for SLAT approval.The committee will keep one copy for their records and return the other copy to you with the signature of the chair of the committee.
d) Obtain the SLAT Program Director’s signature on the form.

• Next, obtain approval from the University Human Subjects Committee.

a) You may mail your proposal over to the campus-wide Human Subjects Committee for their approval. Their address is Human Subjects Committee, 1350 N. Vine Avenue, CAMPUS (for information, call Ruby M. Stine, Program Coordinator, at 626-6721).
b) RECOMMENDED: Alternatively, you may walk the proposal over to the University Human Subjects Committee for approval (southeast corner of Vine and Drachman).
c) When the University Committee approves your project, they will send you a letter stating their approval or indicating that it does not need their approval.

• Turn in a copy of your approval letter to the SLAT Office.
• Obtain any additional signatures as required (for instance, research involving any Native American subjects would require additional approval from the U of A Office of Indian Affairs). Only after the approval letter and any additional required signatures are on file in the SLAT Office may you begin research involving human subjects.

Dissertation Style

Subject to the approval of the Graduate College, SLAT Executive Council, and Chair of a dissertation committee, dissertation style and format may follow the established professional conventions of any of the cooperating departments (e.g., MLA, LSA, APA). Graduate College regulations are outlined in a separate publication.

Final Oral Examination (Dissertation Defense)

Information regarding the Final Oral Examination can be found under Section D7.

C9. Professional Activities

SLAT students are strongly encouraged to join and be active in local, national, and international professional organizations. Information is posted or distributed on a regular basis concerning conferences, organizational memberships, and publication opportunities. Financial support for student presentation of papers at regional and national conferences is provided to the extent possible, and local conferences and colloquia provide additional opportunities for professional growth activities. In rare cases SLAT may provide limited support for other travel purposes, such as dissertation work or professional development during the student's final year. To the extent possible, SLAT will support a portion of each student's professional travel once per academic year. Please note that in order to be eligible for travel support, you MUST apply at the same time for support from the Graduate and Professional Student Council's Travel fund, and submit a SLAT faculty member's recommendation (Appendix B: Recommendations for Student Travel Support).

SLAT faculty will guide students in selection and initiation of research topics, and encourage student publication of high quality papers. Faculty mentors may be asked to provide detailed comments on student manuscripts that are likely to merit publication, as well as to share knowledge in their area of specialization, serve as academic role models, and enhance student socialization to the values, norms, practices, and attitudes of the discipline.