Graduate Alumni

The department graduated its first PhDs in 1991. More than sixty-seven students have earned doctoral degrees since then. The majority of alumni went on to full time employment in linguistics — most in an academic setting, some in industry. Among those who hold academic positions, at least twenty are tenured, several are or have been department chairs, and two have won NSF Young Investigator Awards.

The department is proud of its job placement record. PhD alumni of the department hold tenured or tenure-track positions at Stanford, Yale, the University of Chicago, USC, Georgetown University, NYU, UC Berkeley, and Johns Hopkins University, among other places.

The graduates of our MA program pursue a wide variety of career options. While some have entered other doctoral programs, either in linguistics (theoretical and applied) or in related fields (computer science, library and information sciences), others have found employment in teaching, journalism, government, or in the information technology sector.

Institutions with UCSC Linguistics Alumni

Brown University

Brandeis University

El Colegio de México

Georgetown University

Johns Hopkins University

Kobe College

Kobe Shoin Women’s University

Kyushu Institute of Technology

New York University

Oakland University

Stanford University

Swarthmore College

Universitat Pompeu Fabra

University of Arizona

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, San Diego

University of Chicago

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Massachussets, Amherst

University of Minnesota

University of Oklahoma

University of Rochester

University of Southern California

University of Toronto

University of Tromsø

University of Vermont

University of Vermont

University of Utah

College of William and Mary

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Last modified: Jun 18, 2025