Communication Sciences and Disorders: Language Acquisition (Ph.D.)

Offered by: Commun Sciences & Disorders (Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences)    
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy

Program Requirements

This unique interdisciplinary program focuses on the scientific exploration of language acquisition by different kinds of learners in diverse contexts. Students in the Language Acquisition Program are introduced to theoretical and methodological issues on language acquisition from the perspectives of cognitive neuroscience, theoretical linguistics, psycholinguistics, education, communication sciences and disorders, and neuropsychology.
For details go to: www.psych.mcgill.ca/lap.html.

Students who have completed a Master’s degree with research thesis in Communication Sciences and Disorders or a related area are admitted at level PhD 2. High-caliber students who have not completed a research thesis at the Master’s level can enter the Qualifying Year Program (admitted at level PhD 1), which includes extra requirements (coursework and a research project) at the onset of the program.

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 (12 credits)

For both PhD 1 and PhD 2:

Complementary Courses (9 or 26 credits)

For both PhD 1 and PhD 2:

• 6 credits of statistics courses at the 500 level or higher, pre-approved by the supervisor and the graduate program director.
• At least 3 credits at the 500 level or higher in language acquisition courses that have been approved by the Director of the Language Acquisition Program. For a pre-approved list go to: https://www.mcgill.ca/scsd/programs/rt/phd/language-acquisition-courses.

For PhD 1 students, 0-2 credits from the following:

In addition to the above, students entering at PhD 1 must take the following 15 credits:

Plus 6 credits, of graduate-level courses pre-approved by the supervisor and the graduate program director.