The Graduate Certificate program in Second Language Studies (SLS) provides an opportunity at KU for graduate students of foreign language, literature, and culture and theoretical linguistics, to add a concentration in applied linguistics and language teaching. 

Admission to Graduate Studies

An applicant seeking to pursue graduate study in the College may be admitted as either a degree-seeking or non-degree seeking student. Policies and procedures of Graduate Studies govern the process of Graduate admission. These may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.

Please consult the Departments & Programs section of the online catalog for information regarding program-specific admissions criteria and requirements. Special admissions requirements pertain to Interdisciplinary Studies degrees, which may be found in the Graduate Studies section of the online catalog.

Admissions

Current graduate students in any Languages, Literatures, and Cultures department, Linguistics, or School of Education are eligible to apply. Others interested in the certificate should contact Graduate Program Coordinator, Aley Pennington, or Academic Director for the SLS certificate, Nina Vyatkina, to determine eligibility. For more information on admission to a graduate certificate program, see the policy on Graduate Certificate Programs - Eligibility and Admission Criteria.

CURRENT KU STUDENTS:

A student must be in good standing with their graduate degree program in order to participate in the certificate program. The application process entails completing the online application and submitting materials required for the Second Language Studies (SLS) Certificate:

• A C.V. or Resume.
• A personal statement declaring your interest in Second Language Studies and its relationship to your graduate course of study and/or career objectives.
• One letter of recommendation from your graduate degree program.
• A KU Advising report in lieu of an official transcript.

Please see the Online Application for more information.

NON-KU STUDENTS OR KU ALUMNI: 

Non-KU students or KU Alumni must have a previously completed advanced degree in an applicable field. The application process entails completing the online application, payment of the application fee, and submitting materials required for the Second Language Studies (SLS) Certificate:

• A C.V. or Resume.
• A personal statement declaring your interest in Second Language Studies and its relationship to your graduate course of study and/or career objectives.
• Two letters of recommendation from persons familiar with your academic work or potential for graduate study.
• Official transcripts from any institutions where coursework related to study in your second language was completed.

The certificate will be awarded to MA or Ph.D. students who successfully complete 4 graduate-level courses across disciplines (12 credits total):

1. LING 715 Second Language Acquisition I
2. LA&S 720 Introduction to Language Teaching Research or another approved* related graduate-level course offered by Linguistics, CLAS languages, literatures, and cultures departments, or by the School of Education.
3. A graduate-level course in Linguistics, or another approved* related graduate-level course offered by Linguistics, CLAS languages, literatures, and cultures departments, or by the School of Education.
4. Elective course in Second Language Studies. This could be fulfilled by a Teaching Methods course required of GTAs teaching in language departments and by other approved related graduate-level courses, including those offered by the School of Education. Commonly approved courses include but are not limited to:
   1. FREN 550 & FREN 704
   2. LING 709
   3. SLAV 522 & SLAV 824
   4. C&T 818, C&T 820, & C&T 822
   5. SPAN 801 

A student who has prior coursework deemed equivalent to any of the required courses may replace these with approved electives.

*Graduate-level course equivalents will be approved by the Linguistics Academic Administrator for the Second Language Studies certificate program for Linguistics students and by the Academic Director for the Second Language Studies certificate program for all other students.