About
About SLATE
SLATE: What is it?
SLATE is a multidisciplinary doctoral program for students with an interest in second language acquisition and bilingualism/foreign/second language teaching. Students cannot earn a Ph.D. in SLATE; instead, students in this program earn a Certificate of Advanced Study in Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education in conjunction with a Ph.D. in one of the cooperating units. For information on application and specific requirements, please open the "FOR STUDENTS" tab above.
Students in the SLATE program can work with affiliated faculty from a number of different academic units across the campus. Co-operating faculty hold appointments in various units in the College of Education, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and College of Applied Health Sciences including the following:
- Anthropology
- Communication
- Curriculum and Instruction
- East Asian Languages and Cultures
- Educational Psychology
- French
- Germanic Languages and Literatures
- Linguistics
- Psychology
- Slavic Languages and Literatures
- Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese
- Speech and Hearing Science
Other units also offer courses relevant to the interests of students in SLATE.
SLATE: What are the benefits of being in this program?
Students in the SLATE program receive a Certificate of Advanced Study in SLATE. This document, along with the documentation provided by your transcript, provides evidence that you have credentials in addition to those demonstrated by your earned doctorate. Thus, you can show potential employers that you have competency in the field of second language acquisition, through your participation in the SLATE program.
In addition to earning this credential, SLATE students become members of a group with shared interests in Second Language Studies that goes beyond the faculty and students in your own department. Each semester, SLATE sponsors lectures by well-known scholars in the field; other activities such as student brown bag seminars, when SLATE students have an opportunity to share their work with other students, are also planned for the future.
Where can I get answers to other questions about the SLATE program?
SLATE maintains a website which contains information about program requirements, cooperating faculty, students in the program, and up-coming SLATE events.
SLATE also informs students of changes in program requirements, new SLATE courses, and lectures of interest to SLATE students through the SLATE Listserv.
You can also ask questions by e-mailing the SLATE virtual office at slate@illinois.edu. If you want to talk to someone in person, you can call (217) 244-3250 to speak to the Program Secretary, Kathryn Schilson or to the Program Director, Dr. Melissa Bowles. Most questions about SLATE can be answered by your SLATE advisor or one of the other SLATE cooperating faculty.