Program Location
Education Building
Start Term
Fall Semesters
Program Type
Thesis
Schedule
Full-Time/Part-Time
Credits
23 Credits
Average Duration
Up to 6 Years
Administered by
Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE)
This interdisciplinary program explores how people learn and use languages across different contexts. Students study language development, multilingualism, and the social and cognitive factors that influence language learning to inform educational practice and policy.
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Full Program Details from the Course Catalogue
Educational Studies (Ph.D.): Language Acquisition
Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Program Description
Students must satisfy all program requirements for the Ph.D. in Educational Studies. The Ph.D. thesis must be on a topic relating to language acquisition.
Thesis
A thesis for the doctoral degree must constitute original scholarship and must be a distinct contribution to knowledge. It must show familiarity with previous work in the field and must demonstrate ability to plan and carry out research, organize results, and defend the approach and conclusions in a scholarly manner. The research presented must meet current standards of the discipline; as well, the thesis must clearly demonstrate how the research advances knowledge in the field. Finally, the thesis must be written in compliance with norms for academic and scholarly expression and for publication in the public domain.
Required Courses (14 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 700 | Proseminar in Education 1. | 2 |
Proseminar in Education 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Students will be exposed to a wide range of educational theory and research as faculty members present the theoretical underpinnings, methodologies, and applications of their various programs of research. | ||
| EDEC 701 | Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. | 0 |
Ph.D. Comprehensive Examination. Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Comprehensive examination. | ||
| EDEC 702 | Proseminar in Education 2. | 2 |
Proseminar in Education 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 First-year doctoral students will be exposed to more advanced level of educational theory and research to experience the multidisciplinary nature of educational inquiry. | ||
| EDEC 703 | Ph.D. Colloquium. | 4 |
Ph.D. Colloquium. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Second-year doctoral students will have formal and informal opportunities to present their work for critical discussion and dialogue. Students will also discuss fundamental issues and questions in the field of education. | ||
| LING 710 | Language Acquisition Issues 2. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination and discussion of the leterature on a selected topic in language acquisition. | ||
| PSYC 709 | Language Acquisition Issues 1. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Advanced area seminar on a topic in language acquisition issues. | ||
| SCSD 712 | Language Acquisition Issues 4. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 4. Terms offered: Fall 2025 An examination that must be passed by all doctoral candidates in order to continue in the doctoral program. | ||
Complementary Courses (9 credits)
3 credits of graduate-level statistics from the courses below:
Students who have taken an equivalent course in statistics, or are currently taking an equivalent course as part of their Ph.D. program requirements, will be deemed to have satisfied this requirement for the Language Acquisition Option.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDPE 676 | Intermediate Statistics. | 3 |
Intermediate Statistics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Concepts and procedures of conducting basic descriptive and inferential statistics, including analysis of variance, correlation, and regression models. Provides experience with data-analysis tools. | ||
| EDPE 682 | Univariate/Multivariate Analysis. | 3 |
Univariate/Multivariate Analysis. Terms offered: Winter 2026 General linear model as a unified data analytic system for estimation and hypothesis testing that subsumes regression, analysis of variance, and analysis of covariance for single dependent variables. Introduction to generalizations involving multiple dependent (criterion) variables. Applications oriented toward education, educational psychology and counselling psychology. Experience with data-analysis tools. | ||
| LING 620 | Experimental Linguistics: Methods. | 3 |
Experimental Linguistics: Methods. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Introduction to experimental research methods for linguists. | ||
| PSYC 650 | Advanced Statistics 1. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in experimental design. | ||
| PSYC 651 | Advanced Statistics 2. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 A course in advanced statistics with specialization in multivariate techniques. | ||
3 credits selected from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 706 | Textual Approaches to Research. | 3 |
Textual Approaches to Research. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Survey a range of research strategies including philosophical, theoretical, historical, narrative, and autobiographical methods of textual analysis. | ||
| EDEC 707 | Interpretive Inquiry. | 3 |
Interpretive Inquiry. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Focus on issues of voice, reflectivity, and representation when using interpretive frameworks in qualitative research. | ||
At least 3 credits selected from the following list:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDSL 620 | Social Justice Issues in Second Language Education. | 3 |
Social Justice Issues in Second Language Education. Terms offered: Winter 2026 An examination of social identity, non-dominant languages, and power relations among speakers, and their impact on the nature of second/additional language teaching, learning and use, from the perspective of critical applied linguistics. Topics range from the micro level of the individual to the macro level of language planning and policy-making. | ||
| EDSL 623 | Second Language Learning. | 3 |
Second Language Learning. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in second language acquisition theory and research and their relevance to teaching a second language. | ||
| EDSL 624 | Educational Sociolinguistics. | 3 |
Educational Sociolinguistics. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in the social, cultural and political dimensions of English second language learning and teaching. | ||
| EDSL 627 | Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research. | 3 |
Instructed Second Language Acquisition Research. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Seminar in second language classroom-centred research focusing on instructional procedures and practices in relationship to learning outcomes. | ||
| EDSL 632 | Second Language Literacy Development. | 3 |
Second Language Literacy Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theory and research related to the teaching and learning of second language literacy. The orientation is on reading and writing as a socio-cognitive activity. | ||
| LING 651 | Topics in Acquisition of Phonology. | 3 |
Topics in Acquisition of Phonology. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination of theoretically informed work on the first language acquisition of phonology. | ||
| PSYC 545 | Topics in Language Acquisition. | 3 |
Topics in Language Acquisition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Psychological mechanisms and theories of first language acquisition in infancy and early childhood. Topics such as: infant speech perception, acquisition of grammar, word learning, pidgin and Creole languages, critical and sensitive periods, genetic and evolutionary bases of language. | ||
| PSYC 735 | Developmental Psychology and Language. | 3 |
Developmental Psychology and Language. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Advanced area seminar on a topic in developmental psychology and language. | ||
| SCSD 619 | Phonological Development. | 3 |
Phonological Development. Terms offered: Fall 2025 Theories and research related to normal and abnormal phonological development in children will be studied. | ||
| SCSD 632 | Phonological Disorders: Children. | 3 |
Phonological Disorders: Children. Terms offered: Winter 2026 The nature of phonological disorders and clinical approaches for their remediation in children will be presented. | ||
| SCSD 637 | Developmental Language Disorders 1. | 3 |
Developmental Language Disorders 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025 The nature of developmental language disorders and the assessment of language competence and performance in both speaking and non-speaking children will be studied. | ||
| SCSD 643 | Developmental Language Disorders 2. | 3 |
Developmental Language Disorders 2. Terms offered: Winter 2026 Major theories of language disorders are translated into intervention principles used in language treatment programs. Adaptations of intervention techniques to suit specific disorders (including augmentative communication) will be explored. | ||
| SCSD 652 | Advanced Research Seminar 1. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 1. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Pro seminar in which current research topics in communication disorders will be discussed. | ||
| SCSD 653 | Advanced Research Seminar 2. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 2. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Pro seminar in which current research topics in communication disorders will be discussed. | ||
| SCSD 654 | Advanced Research Seminar 3. | 3 |
Advanced Research Seminar 3. Terms offered: Fall 2025, Winter 2026 Current research topics in communication sciences and disorders. | ||
Elective Course (0-2 credits)
0-2 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDPE 713 | Language Acquisition Issues 5. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 5. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Seminar on language science controversies and their associating literature, and practical implications in education and learning in general. | ||
| EDSL 711 | Language Acquisition Issues 3. | 2 |
Language Acquisition Issues 3. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Review of language acquisition issues. | ||
Graduate Supervision
(Note that individual supervisors may list further details, such as when they are taking new students and application instructions in the Graduate Supervision section at the bottom of their individual profile pages.)
Eligibility (Admission Criteria)
Applicants should meet the following requirements:
- Possess a Master's degree.
- A minimum CGPA of 3.0 out of 4.0, or a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 out of 4.0 in the last two years of full-time studies. International applicants can look up grade equivalencies on McGill’s Future Graduate Students website.
- Have relevant practical or research experience informing your proposed area of research. You will be asked to demonstrate this eligibility criterion in your supporting documents.
- Proficiency in English. Applicants to graduate studies whose mother tongue is not English and who have not obtained an undergraduate or graduate degree from a recognized foreign institution where English is the language of instruction, or from a recognized institution in Canada or the US (anglophone or francophone), must submit documented proof of proficiency in oral and written English.
- IELTS with a minimum overall band of 7.0; (with a minimum writing score of 7.0); or
- TOEFL:iBT (Internet-based test) – total score of 92 with a minimum score of 22 each for the Writing and Speaking sections and a minimum of 20 each for the Reading and Listening sections and PBT (paper-based test) – 580
(The Department reserves the right to evaluate the applicant's language proficiency before initial registration and at the time of application.)
Applicants without an Education degree or who do not meet the minimum requirements should include a clear rationale and supporting documents, as applications are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Application Process & Required Documents
All applications are done through McGill's Graduate Applicant Portal. The application steps and instructional video are on the University's Future Graduate Students website. The following documents must be part of your application: (Note that all uploaded documents to the portal must be in PDF format.)
1. A complete application form (accompanied by your application fee payment). You will be asked to name up to three (3) potential supervisors as part of your application. (See the Graduate Supervision section above for more details.) Be sure to fill in your citizenship and residence status correctly, as this affects potential tuition and fee charges, as well as funding considerations.
2. A copy of your unofficial transcripts from all previous university-level studies (undergraduate and graduate). Official transcripts are required to be submitted by those who gain admission to the program. (Instructions on sending official transcripts will be sent upon acceptance.)
3. A current working CV/resume. Follow the advice for standard academic CVs (and not the standards for business professionals). You should be able to find examples and templates by searching reputable online sources.
4. Letters of Reference: Within the online application, applicants must provide valid institutional e-mail addresses for two (2) references. At least one reference must be from a university-level instructor; the other may be from an administrator in an educationally relevant context. McGill University will contact the referees directly to submit their letters of reference.
5. Research Statement: (1,000 words in APA format). Your Research Statement should address the following prompts:
- What problem or issue do you propose to research during your PhD? Why is that problem or issue important to address?
- How do your research interests build on your previous studies, professional experience, and/or lived experiences? (Please reference any existing publications that has inspired your research interests.)
- How do you think your research ambitions can be supported by your potential supervisor?
6. Research Summary: (200 words) A succinct summary of your research statement. This document will be reviewed by prospective supervisors.
7. English Language Proficiency Test Score (if applicable): Please arrange for test scores (TOEFL, IELTS) to be sent to McGill directly from the testing agency. You must indicate the McGill University institution code: 0935.
Application Deadlines
- Fall Admission: December 1
As the deadline is firm, please make sure you start your application process early, leaving yourself with enough time to secure the essential components needed for your submission, in particular the transcripts, references, and test scores which can take several weeks to obtain.
What to Expect After Submitting your Application
Applications are first processed by the department, with recommended applications sent to Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS) for further review. Once your application has been fully processed, you'll receive an email notification confirming your status. Successful candidates will be asked to confirm their acceptance via their Graduate Applicant Portal.
