(See also our FAQs on academic and practical questions.)
The summer of 2019 will be the last time that SIL offers classes on the UND campus.
UND’s priorities have been shifting away from social sciences and languages to STEM fields, while at the same time the costs and challenges of continuing the SIL program have gradually increased. It seemed better to phase out the program in a carefully-planned way now than to wait until a crisis developed. Now is especially a good time, since Dallas International University and the Canada Institute of Linguistics are in a position to absorb many new students starting in summer 2020.
The summer of 2019 will be the last summer of regular SIL-UND classes on the UND campus. After that, the program will focus on enabling UND MA students in Linguistics to complete their degrees over the next couple of years.
We plan to offer a full program of SIL-UND courses at UND in 2019, including Packages A & B, the Literacy Megacourse, courses in sign languages, and other advanced courses. Here is the
full list. We will have a guest speaker, and maybe even an alumni reunion!
Yes. Please plan to join us for an intensive summer of linguistics, and spread the word to your friends. It’s your last chance, and we think it will be great!
We do not plan to move SIL-UND to a new location. Two other SIL schools will be offering summer linguistic programs similar to SIL-UND: CanIL is considering expanding their current summer program. Dallas International University plans to set up a new summer program in 2020. This will maintain the current opportunity for students to choose between two summer programs in North America. People who begin their linguistic studies with SIL-UND in 2019 will be able to continue with CanIL, DIU, or other campuses where SIL courses are offered.
MA Program in Linguistics
Yes. SIL and the University of North Dakota take our responsibility to our current MA students very seriously. We will work with each student to ensure that they have the opportunity to complete their UND degree.
Unfortunately not, no new students will be accepted into the MA program.
Other degree programs that are similar to the SIL-UND MA can be found at
Dallas International University (which includes GIAL), the
Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL), and
BIOLA University. CanIL allows students to take many classes in the summer, and DIU is investigating an MA that would be mostly or entirely on a summer schedule. We recommend that you check out these three programs. Contact them and see what they can do for you. If you’re willing to study outside of North America, have a look at SIL International’s
full list of cooperative training programs. If you want to consider M.A. programs outside the SIL system, see the section below about Other Linguistic Training.
Literacy Megacourse
The Literacy Megacourse will be offered as originally planned, but people will not be able to use it to earn the Graduate Certificate in Community-based Literacy. Students may take the Megacourse as non-degree students, and students already in the M.A. program may use it as part of their program of study for the degree. We will also award participants with pieces of paper (“certificates” in a more traditional sense) certifying completion of the Megacourse; these will not carry any official accredited status in North America but may be useful to students from other countries.
The Literacy Megacourse is offered at
Dallas International University in a 12-week session each spring. Its content is also available at the
Canada Institute of Linguistics, although spread out over an entire school year among separate courses.
Sign language courses
SIL-UND has a unique set of Sign Language linguistics courses, which focus on preparing students to do field research on understudied signed languages. We will offer our full set of Sign Language Linguistics courses at UND in 2019, except for Sign Language Translation.
After the 2019 summer, SIL expects to move these courses to another institution. SIL’s Global Sign Languages Team is looking for a new location where these courses can be offered starting in summer 2020. Please watch this space for information.
Other linguistic training
- The Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) in Vancouver, British Columbia, offers similar training during the summer, fall and spring.
- Dallas International University (which includes GIAL) offers courses in a modular format during 20-week fall and spring bimesters. Starting in January 2020, they are switching to a semester system (Sept-Dec, Jan-Apr), with special one-month intensive sessions in May and August, and a nine-week summer session.
- Biola University offers both undergraduate and graduate linguistics courses in the fall and spring.
- Houghton College and Moody Bible Institute incorporate introductory SIL-approved classes in their undergraduate curriculum.
For options outside of North America, see the SIL International Training website.
There are many fine linguistics programs in other universities in North America, although the applicability of their training to field linguistic work with minority language communities varies, and most operate during the regular school year. Two possibilities to check into are available in the summer:
- CoLang is a six-week summer institute offered in even-numbered years. It focuses on practical skills for working with minority language communities in language description and revitalization. It has strong participation of language community members. CoLang 2020 will be held at the University of Montana.
- The Linguistic Society of America offers its Summer Linguistics Institute in odd-numbered years, providing graduate-level education that is especially suitable for students who have some background in linguistics already. The 2019 Summer Linguistics Institute will be held at the University of California, Davis.
The LSA also maintains a searchable database of Linguistics Programs and Departments where you can research other possibilities.
Whether and how credits transfer to another institution is primarily a decision of the institution receiving the credits. You will need to apply to the other institution’s degree program and then see about transferring coursework from UND. SIL-UND can help by providing advice to students and providing information about its courses (e.g. syllabi) that can assist the receiving institution in making its decision. We suggest you contact the school that you want to transfer credits to, in order to learn their policies and how they might apply to you.