|
The Ph.D. SLA/IT program, located
in Tampa, Florida at the University of South Florida, is a
unique cooperative effort of the College of Education and
College of Arts and Sciences. Its goal is to prepare students
both for careers in academia and in the instructional technology
industry.
It has been designed in response to a demand for combined
expertise in Second Language Acquisition/Foreign Language Education and Instructional Technology as reflected
in current and anticipated trends and job announcements in
the field.
Besides its areas of emphases, the program provides a curriculum
in statistics, research design, educational foundations, linguistics,
and curriculum and instruction.
Why Choose SLA/IT
Assistantships
and Fellowships
We have been able to place 100% of SLA/IT students in search of an
assistantship either in the Department of World Languages, INTO USF, the Department of Secondary Education, or the Florida
Center for Instructional Technology. Applicants with particularly high
GRE scores may be nominated for the University Graduate Fellowship,
which offers a $10,000 stipend, and for the Leslie C. Robins Dean’s
Excellence Award, which offers a stipend of $5,000 per year, for a total
of four years, and a tuition waiver.
Interdisciplinarity
SLA/IT is not only unique in its merging of two disciplines but also
in the fact that the program is jointly offered thanks to the collaboration
of faculty in two separate colleges—the College of Education and
the College of Arts and Sciences. This arrangement presents students
with the fruit of academic cross-fertilization, thus enriching and strengthening
the SLA/IT program.
Placement
after Graduation
Approximately half our SLA/IT
students come from outside the U.S., most securing university
positions in their home countries following completion
of the doctoral program. In the U.S., SLA/IT graduates
hold academic positions at schools such as De Paul University,
University of Illinois at Carbondale, University of Alaska,
and University of Central Florida.
Family-like Atmosphere
Students and faculty frequently characterize the SLA/IT program as a "family."
Our cohort system contributes significantly to this sense of community by creating the
means by which each new group of students can rely on one another both inside and outside of class.
New cohort members are also assigned SLA/IT student mentors to help ease the transition into doctoral study.
The sequence of SLA/IT Research Labs, which begins in the first semester of doctoral study,
also provides a friendly "space" in which students and faculty forge a special bond through on-going
research collaboration. Annual end-of-year sessions between each student and a group of faculty allow
for continued mentoring, and an annual picnic or formal reception hosted by the SLA/IT faculty
strengthens the community even further.
Research
The 4-semester sequence of 6 Research Labs
brings each cohort together with faculty in seminar format to move collaboratively
through the process of conceiving, designing, implementing, and reporting
on independent research undertaken by each student. As a result, even
before commencing work on the dissertation, SLA/IT students can place
scholarly publications and conference presentations on their vitae.
Faculty, through the various courses they teach, may also invite student
collaboration in preparing book manuscripts or grant proposals.
Tuition
Florida residents pay $430.85 per
graduate credit hour ($855.37 for non-residents)—a bargain
considering tuition in comparable programs which can be
as high as $778 per graduate credit hour for residents and
$1,530 for non-residents.
Time
to Graduation
Most SLA/IT students move through the program in 5 years—approximately
3 years for coursework and 2 for the dissertation—although some
have completed the entire process in 3 or 4 years.
Graduate Student Association
SLAQ (the Second Language Acquisition graduate
student group) offers opportunities to interact with members of previous
cohorts. SLAQ provides a forum for faculty presentations, rehearsals
for proposal defenses, and discussions of recent conference experiences,
all of which are invariably accompanied by pizza. SLA/IT doctoral students
may also receive funding to attend national and regional conferences.
Cost
of Living
Tampa’s cost of living falls below the
national average.
Climate
The average high temperature
is a delicious 82 degrees Fahrenheit while the average
low is 63 degrees Fahrenheit and an average of only 3
days per year colder than 32 degrees Fahrenheit. That
includes 240 sunny days in a year and no snow—a
perfect climate in which to enjoy many great outdoor venues
such as white sandy beaches and world-famous theme parks.
|