Because ESOL teachers are expected to have a high degree of competence in written English, all new graduate students, both native and non-native English speakers, are required to take the department's Writing Proficiency Exam. If the results of the exam indicate that additional work in written grammar and composition is needed to enable a student to perform at the level expected for this field, he or she will be expected to do independent supplementary work on writing or to take and pass one of the special studies courses, SS 500 or SS 501, described below. All graduate programs in the department require as a prerequisite a minimum of three semester units of acceptable Bible or theology coursework at the upper division or graduate level in addition to the specified foundational units. The M.A. in Applied Linguistics also has a foreign language requirement in addition to the foundational units. Foundational units may be taken concurrently with regular program courses but should normally be completed by the end of the first year.
Students normally begin their program in the fall.
Practice teaching is required, but there is no comprehensive examination. The M.A. Applied Linguistics program consists of 33 units of graduate work beyond the foundational units. Students entering the M.A. Applied Linguistics program without the stated foundational work will be required to take three units each of Introduction to Linguistics, Phonetics or Phonology, Syntax and Bible, or their equivalents, in addition to the regular program. M.A. Applied Linguistics students will also be required to demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in a foreign language. Both Master of Arts degrees require a comprehensive examination.