I am an Associate Professor of Linguistics and Data Science at New York University, and a Research Scientist at Google. At NYU, I direct the Computation and Psycholinguistics Lab ; we use behavioral experiments and computational methods to study how people learn and understand language. We also develop methods for evaluating, understanding and improving computational systems for language processing.
I am accepting PhD students for Fall 2025 through either Linguistics or Data Science; I look forward to reading your applications! Please read the FAQ before contacting me about PhD admissions.
For Fall 2023, I am accepting Ph.D. students through the Data Science program . I also encourage students with relevant interests to apply to the Linguistics program . I especially welcome applications from students who are interested in adult experimental psycholinguistics, in the computational study of human language processing and acquisition, and in how such computational study can contribute to the development of robust and data-efficient artificial intelligence systems. To keep things fair for all applicants, I don't meet with prospective students outside of the admissions process, and will not review application materials emailed directly to me. I am happy to answer questions that are not addressed by the Ph.D. program website.
Representative publications
Marten van Schijndel & Tal Linzen (2021). Single-stage prediction models do not explain the magnitude of syntactic disambiguation difficulty. Cognitive Science . [ link ] [ pdf ]
Tal Linzen (2020). How can we accelerate progress towards human-like linguistic generalization? ACL . [ pdf ]
R. Thomas McCoy, Robert Frank & Tal Linzen (2020). Does syntax need to grow on trees? Sources of hierarchical inductive bias in sequence-to-sequence networks. TACL. [ arXiv ]
Tal Linzen , Emmanuel Dupoux & Yoav Goldberg (2016). Assessing the ability of LSTMs to learn syntax-sensitive dependencies. TACL . [ pdf ]
Talks available online
How can we accelerate progress towards human-like linguistic generalization? (ACL position piece; July 2020).
Neural networks as a framework for modeling human syntactic processing (AMLaP keynote; September 2020).
Talk at Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (December 2018).
Linguistics (LING-GA)
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Doctor of Philosophy Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
Pursue scholarship that builds on your interests in language development and multilingual education. This doctoral program will advance your knowledge of language education pedagogy, intercultural communication, research methodologies and educational foundations. You’ll conduct research in language development and pedagogy and prepare for a career in academic, multilingual, and bicultural settings.
Degree Details
Official degree title.
Phd in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
What You'll Learn
You’ll combine courses on the foundation of Teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and research methods as you explore the value of multilingualism and multiliteracy, emphasizing respect for and appreciation of all languages and cultures. You’ll explore:
- Development of English as a new or foreign language, pedagogy, and research
- How to implement alternative research methodologies
- Intercultural communication
- Educational foundations
Your Academic Experience
Research opportunities.
Located in one of the most diverse urban settings in the world, NYU is an ideal facility for conducting educational research. As a doctoral student in our program, you will research and prepare your dissertation while working closely with your faculty mentor.
Doctoral Seminars
Your doctoral course work dedicated to TESOL will be supplemented with departmental content seminars and a dissertation proposal seminar. Open to doctoral students enrolled in any department or program at NYU, these seminars foster deep conversations on relevant literature and texts, and reflections on issues and research in the field. You’ll work on a paper or project, refine your scholarly voice, and define a dissertation focus.
Careers and Outcomes
Upon completion of your doctorate, you’ll be prepared for a career as a researcher or teacher educator in TESOL in colleges and universities; a curriculum specialist, developer, or evaluator in government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.
Funding for Full-Time PhD Students
If you are accepted as a full-time NYU Steinhardt PhD student without an alternate funding source, you are eligible for our competitive funding package, which includes a tuition scholarship and living stipend. Learn more about our funding opportunities .
Online Info Session
In this session, NYU faculty share information about the PhD programs in the department of Teaching & Learning, including the PhD in Teaching & Learning, PhD in English Education, PhD in Bilingual Education, and PhD in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. Faculty provide an overview of the programs and answer questions from potential applicants.
If you have any additional questions about our degree, please feel free to contact Shondel Nero at [email protected] .
Take the Next Step
Advance your personal and professional journey – apply to join our community of students.
New York University
Linguistics.
The New York University Linguistics Department has established itself as a top linguistics program in the United States and the world, covering an extensive range of subfields including: phonetics/phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, morphology, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics.
Description
Requirement, about the program.
The Linguistics Department has 18 core faculty members, 1 Global Distinguished professor, and several visiting professors and scholars each year, with 8 laboratories and research groups. Click below for more information about our labs and research groups.
Child Language Lab
Machine Learning for Language Group
Morphology Research Group
Neuroscience of Language Lab
Phonetics and Experimental Phonology Lab
Semantics Group
Sociolinguistics Lab
Syntax Research Group
There are 35-40 graduate students and a dynamic undergraduate program offering a linguistics major and minor, as well as six joint majors. The research and study programs offered are interdisciplinary and global with faculty departmental affiliations in Africana Studies, Anthropology, Center for Data Sciences, Communicative Sciences and Disorders, Computer Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Social and Cultural Analysis; and strong connections to NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU Accra and NYU Paris.
Applicants must possess a bachelor's degree with CGPA > 2.50/4.00 OR 3.0-3.5/5.00
A copy of your international Passport Bio-Data Page.
WAEC Certificate
Undergraduate Certificate (ND & HND)
Undergraduate Transcript (ND & HND)
Passport Photograph
English Proficiency TOEFL (60 IBT), IELTS (5.5)
Curriculum Vitae
Two reference letters.
Statement of Purpose in English (A letter that states the Applicant’s Purpose for choosing the Program ).
Addition Information
$44,060 per year
- Refund Policy
- Privacy Policy
- Cookie Policy
IMAGES
COMMENTS
The Ph.D. program in Linguistics is for students interested in a career in research. Students receive a solid training in the fundamentals of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics (see faculty groupings and links to personal pages below).
The PhD program in Linguistics is for students interested in a career in research. Students receive a solid training in the fundamentals of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics (see faculty groupings and links to personal pages below).
The New York University Linguistics Department has established itself as a top linguistics program in the United States and the world, covering an extensive range of subfields including: phonetics/phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, morphology, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics.
Linguistics at the CUNY Graduate Center. Our Ph.D. and M.A. programs ready students for opportunities in academia, private industry, public service, and more. We offer coursework, laboratory experience, and research supervision in theoretical, experimental, descriptive, and applied linguistics.
I am an Associate Professor of Linguistics and Data Science at New York University, and a Research Scientist at Google. At NYU, I direct the Computation and Psycholinguistics Lab; we use behavioral experiments and computational methods to study how people learn and understand language.
Students interview a native speaker of an unfamiliar language to study all aspects of the language’s grammar: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics. We evaluate and organize real, non idealized linguistic data and formulate generalizations that serve as the basis for research.
Through ethnographic methods and with an eye toward semiotic analysis, linguistic anthropologists at NYU explore how language and other communicative forms and practices partake in social life, politics, economics, cultural formations, and historical processes.
Pursue scholarship that builds on your interests in language development and multilingual education. This doctoral program will advance your knowledge of language education pedagogy, intercultural communication, research methodologies and educational foundations.
The Ph.D. program in Linguistics at the New York University is for students interested in a career in research. Students receive a solid training in the fundamentals of phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics.
Linguistics. The New York University Linguistics Department has established itself as a top linguistics program in the United States and the world, covering an extensive range of subfields including: phonetics/phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, morphology, neurolinguistics, language acquisition, and computational linguistics.