PhD Opportunities in Second Language Studies

The Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa invites applications to its PhD program from strong candidates with research interests in any area of second language learning, teaching, analysis, and use. A limited number of graduate assistantships are available to support candidates for up to four years. Assistantships typically include teaching experience in our English Language Institute and undergraduate SLS courses in candidates’ areas of expertise, as well as research engagement when appropriate opportunities arise. For the Fall 2021 admissions cycle, applications are especially encouraged from candidates with research interests in the following areas:

Area: Language Testing and Assessment

A successful PhD applicant will have research interests in language testing and assessment. Those with research interests that bridge language assessment and language learning or examine fairness in language assessment are especially encouraged to apply. We value work on the assessment of any language (e.g., English, Korean) and any knowledge/skill area (e.g., vocabulary, integrated skills). Successful candidates will have a solid foundation in language testing and quantitative research methods (i.e., prior coursework in these areas). For further inquiries, please contact Dr. Dan Isbell (disbell@hawaii.edu).

Area: Second Language Speaking and Listening

A successful PhD applicant will have research interests in L2 speaking and listening, with emphasis on the attainment of mutual intelligibility in multilingual multicultural interaction. Areas of research foci may include (but are not limited to) identifying linguistic measures and social factors that promote or hinder speech intelligibility and exploring how to effectively implement intelligibility research findings into language curriculum development. Candidates who are interested in pursuing mixed-methods research are strongly encouraged to apply. Proficiency in acoustic analysis (e.g., PRAAT) and statistical analysis (e.g., R) is considered a plus, but not required. For further inquiries, please contact Dr. Dustin Crowther (dcrowth@hawaii.edu).

All applicants must submit completed application packages by January 1, 2021. See https://www.hawaii.edu/sls/graduate/phd/phd-admissions/ for details.