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.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
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: this course is not currently offered. 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 Comprehensive examination. | ||
| EDEC 702 | Proseminar in Education 2. | 2 |
Proseminar in Education 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. Introduction to experimental research methods for linguists. | ||
| PSYC 650 | Advanced Statistics 1. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A course in advanced statistics with specialization in experimental design. | ||
| PSYC 651 | Advanced Statistics 2. | 3 |
Advanced Statistics 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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: this course is not currently offered. 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. | ||
| LING 655 | Theory of L2 Acquisition. | 3 |
Theory of L2 Acquisition. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Interlanguage grammars and the role of Universal Grammar in second language acquisition. | ||
| LING 751 | Advanced Seminar: Experimental 1. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar: Experimental 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced seminar on current experimental research in linguistics. Topic varies by year. | ||
| LING 752 | Advanced Seminar: Experimental 2. | 3 |
Advanced Seminar: Experimental 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An advanced seminar on current experimental research in linguistics. Topic varies by year. | ||
| 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. | ||