Language, Literacy, and Culture, Ph.D.

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Degree Requirements

Students develop their program of study for the Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture in consultation with their LLC program advisor and their dissertation research advisor.

The program requires completion of 12 credits of introductory courses, 15 credits of specialized courses, 12 credits of additional research methodology courses and, once students achieve candidacy, at least 18 credits of dissertation research.

Introductory Courses (4 courses)

Specialization Courses (at least 5 courses required)

These courses should build the theoretical foundations for research.

LLC 606 - Social Inequality and Social Policy [3]
LLC 610 - Theorizing Identity in Multi-Cultural Contexts [3]
LLC 611 - Constructing Race, Class and Gender [3]
LLC 612 - Language, Race and Ethnicity [3]
LLC 613 - Language, Gender and Culture [3]
LLC 616 - Cyberspace, Culture and Society [3]
LLC 621 - Immigration, Race, and Society [3]
LLC 622 - Inequality in Education [3]
LLC 635 - Socio-Cultural Theories of Learning and Human Interaction [3]
LLC 640 - Multi-Disciplinary Approaches to Race, Society and Culture [3]
LLC 647 - Online Voice and Community [3]
LLC 660 - Theoretical Approaches to Intercultural Communication [3]
LLC 680 - Theories of Feminism [3]
LLC 750 - Topics in Language, Literacy and Culture [3]
LLC 892 - Independent Study in Language, Literacy and Culture [2-3]
Courses not listed here may be acceptable but must be approved by LLC advisors and/or the LLC curriculum committee. For additional course offerings you may check LLC participating departments, other UMBC graduate programs, and other universities.

Research Methodology Courses (at least 3 courses required)

Quantitative and mixed methods research

LLC 645 - Quantitative Research Methods I [3]
LLC 646 - Quantitative Research Methods II [3]
additional courses to be decided with advisor

Qualitative with social science focus

LLC 645 - Quantitative Research Methods I [3]
LLC 650 - Ethnographic Methods [3]
LLC 750 - Topics in Language, Literacy and Culture [3]
LLC 601 - Intercultural Pragmatics [3]
MLL 602 - Ethnography of Communication [3]
GWST 695 - Research Seminar in Women’s Studies [3] Critical Interpretation (to be developed)
additional courses to be decided with advisor

Qualitative with humanities focus

Typical courses include:

LLC 650 - Ethnographic Methods [3]
LLC 750 - Topics in Language, Literacy and Culture [3]
LLC 601 - Intercultural Pragmatics [3]
MLL 602 - Ethnography of Communication [3]
GWST 695 - Research Seminar in Women’s Studies [3]
additional courses to be decided with advisor

Dissertation Research Courses (at least 3 courses required)

LLC 898 - Pre-Candidacy Doctoral Research [3]
1 course minimum with LLC advisor when taking comprehensive exams. 3 credits, students are billed for 1 credit.
LLC 899 - Doctoral Dissertation Research [9] (2 semesters or 18 credit hours)
2 semesters minimum with research advisor. 9 credits per semester, students are billed for 2 credits.

Additional courses

LLC 891 - Internship in Language, Literacy and Culture [3-6]
This Service-Learning Internship allows students to “give back” while developing new skills. Students will find a placement that allows them to engage in a service-learning project that relates to their research and professional interests. Projects could be conducted in non-profits orgs, national associations, community-based orgs, or schools. Students could also have an internship placement with a professor at UMBC in order to teach or conduct research. The internship should be a special project, not just part of a regular job. Internships should be completed when a student is far enough along to know what her/his research is, and it can be a research pilot. The work of the internship should be equivalent to a 3-credit course load. The internship requires a short proposal to be submitted for approval by students’ dissertation and LLC advisors, and once the internship is completed students will submit a final report to the site supervisor and faculty advisors.
LLC 648 - Research Writing and Design [3] (optional but often recommended)
LLC 890 - Research Proposal Seminar [3]
(optional but recommended by most research advisors in order to draft the dissertation proposal)

Note

Attendance in all of these advanced graduate seminars is essential. Most classes meet 4:30-7, and some meet 7:10-9:40. A student must be able to take multiple 4:30 classes. Requirements are based on the catalogue at the time of matriculation.