Linguistics Graduate Student Orientation
August 22, 2013
http://www.slate.illinois.edu
Director – Prof. Melissa Bowles
 Interdisciplinary
PhD certificate, with faculty
and students from 3 Colleges and 11
departments across campus
Anthropology
Communication
East Asian Languages and Cultures
French
Germanic Languages and Literatures
Linguistics
Psychology
Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese
Educational Psychology
Curriculum and Instruction
Speech and Hearing Science
 To
provide a focal point and catalyst for
bilingualism, foreign/second language and
heritage language research and practice at
UIUC.
 By promoting coordinated teaching,
research, and outreach activities through
which students and faculty can engage
intellectually and professionally.
 Approximately 30 faculty and 100+ graduate
students
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Annual SLATE Graduate Research Symposium (every
May)
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SLATE Conference Travel Grants
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Poster presentations by SLATE students
Invited talks by UIUC and outside researchers
(1 competition in Fall, 1 in Spring)
2- $250 awards made each semester to support graduate
student travel to present research at conferences
Annual reception
Sponsored courses/seminars
Lecture Series featuring invited speakers
Professional development workshops (publishing,
interviewing, etc.)
Reading and research groups
Conference sponsorships
 http://www.slate.illinois.edu/students/
 Certification
requires a formal program of
study, similar to a minor, and it allows
students to add the designation “SLATE” to
their CVs and job application letters.
 Certification is offered in conjunction with a
degree at the doctoral level only. Since
SLATE is not its own degree-granting
program, students must be enrolled in and
fulfill degree requirements for their major
degree.
http://www.slate.illinois.edu/students/require
ments/
 Required coursework:

Linguistics/Language Structure (2 courses)
 Sociolinguistics/psycholinguistics (1 course)
 Second Language Studies (2 courses)
 Research Methods (2 courses)
For more information and course lists, see
http://www.slate.illinois.edu/students/requirements
/coursework/
Dissertation Topic:
The student’s dissertation must involve some aspect of
second/foreign/heritage language research or
teaching.
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 If
you are interested in SLATE, please register
early in your career, preferably before you
begin taking courses to count toward the
coursework requirements and definitely
before beginning to write your dissertation!
 Benefits of registering EARLY:
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You will get advising about which SLATE courses
to take and how best to meet your program and
SLATE’s requirements
You will be kept informed about SLATE activities
and events and become part of the intellectual
community
 Register
by filling out a simple online form:
http://www.slate.illinois.edu/students/forms/
(Stage 1 Form)
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When you register, you will be added to the
SLATE e-mail listserv, where you will receive
information and updates about events.
 With
questions about SLATE, please e-mail:
slate@illinois.edu