There are four requirements for the degree of MA in TESOL: 

(a) Course work
(b) Language proficiency
(c) Comprehensive examinations
(d) The MA thesis

The following guidelines provide information on how and when these requirements can be satisfied: 

1. Course Requirement

- Graduate students pursuing the MA in TESOL are required to take a minimum of 24 credit hours of course work.
- A minimum grade-point average of 3.00 on a 4.5 scale is required for graduation.
- Students without previous background in TESOL or linguistics are encouraged to take “Introduction to Linguistics 
for Language Teachers.” and/or relevant courses (i..e., prerequisite courses).

1) Required Courses: Research Methods in ELT

2) Elective courses may be chosen from those listed in the course descriptions.

2. Language Proficiency Requirement

Students must pass an English proficiency exam and an additional foreign language proficiency exam administered by the Graduate School.

3. Comprehensive Examinations

All students are required to take comprehensive examinations: two from electives courses offered.

4. MA Thesis 

A student pursuing the MA degree must present a thesis related to the field of TESOL. The MA thesis is intended  to demonstrate the student’s ability to identify substantive purposes and research questions, to present appropriate  literature review for theoretical background related research questions, to develop an appropriate research design, to  assemble a body of data and analyze it and to present results and discussions.

An MA student is strongly advised to choose a thesis topic and an academic advisor from a faculty member of the  Department during the second semester. The academic advisor guides the student in planning and conducting the  thesis. 

The MA thesis must be written in English and should be of publishable quality. Three copies in firm binding should be submitted to the thesis committee at least two weeks before the date of defense. 

Successful defense of the MA thesis is required for final approval of the MA thesis. The candidate needs to present a thesis proposal (논문지도I) at least one semester prior to the defense.

The MA thesis must be in a format acceptable to the Department and the Graduate School. See Resources on the homepage - [Style Manual and templates for Thesis and Dissertations].

There are five requirements for the degree of PhD in TESOL: (a) course work; (b) language proficiency;

(c) comprehensive examinations; (d) conference presentations or publication; and (e) the PhD dissertation.

The following guidelines provide information on how and when these requirements can be satisfied:

1. Course Requirement

Graduate students pursuing the PhD in TESOL are required to take a minimum of 36 credit hours of course work.

There are no required courses, but the students are strongly advised to take the following three courses such as Research Methods in ELT, Seminar in Research Methods, and Qualitative research and data analysis.

A minimum grade-point average of 3.00 on a 4.5 scale is required for graduation.

2. Language Proficiency Requirement

Students must pass an English proficiency exam and an additional foreign language proficiency exam administered by the Graduate School.

3. Comprehensive Examinations

All students are required to take comprehensive examinations: three from electives courses offered.

4. Conference Presentation and Publication

The internal regulation for conference presentation and publication requirements in order to qualify as Ph.D candidates in prior to the dissertation defense is as follows:

1) Ph.D candidates are required to present at least one paper at national or international conferences.

2) Ph.D candidates are required to publish at least one article in an international journal indexed in the Arts & Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI), Science Citation Index (SCI), Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, or in a domestic journals accreditted by the National Research Foundation (NRF) and submit proof of publication.

*In case where there are co-presenters or co-authors other than the advisor, such presentation or publication will be counted as one-half.

5. PhD Dissertation 

A student pursuing the PhD degree must present a dissertation related to the field of TESOL. The PhD dissertation is intended to demonstrate the student’s ability to identify substantive purposes and research questions, to present appropriate literature review for theoretical background related to the research questions, to develop an appropriate research design, to assemble a body of data and analyze it, and to present results and discussions. In particular, the PhD dissertation must show originality and creativity in the field of study which will be refereed by the dissertation committee.

A PhD student is strongly advised to choose a dissertation topic and an academic advisor from the faculty members of the Department during the first semester. The academic advisor guides the student in planning and conducting the dissertation. The academic advisor also arranges the PhD dissertation committee. The PhD dissertation committee is responsible for the approval of the dissertation proposal and its final product. The candidate needs to present dissertation proposals (논문지도I&II) to the committee in fulfillment of the course.

The dissertation must be written in English and should be of publishable quality. Three copies in firm binding should be submitted to the dissertation committee at least two months before the date of defense. Successful defense of the PhD dissertation is required for final approval of the PhD dissertation.

The PhD dissertation must be in a format acceptable to the Department and the Graduate School. See Resources on the homepage - [Style Manual and templates for Thesis and Dissertations].