You’re here because you’re interested in working with me. Great! You probably fall into one of the categories below:

Undergraduate students

• If you’re an undergraduate at Edinburgh and you’d like me to supervise your fourth-year dissertation:
  • Send me an email, ideally before September of your fourth year, with a few sentences about your proposed dissertation topic and the courses you’ve taken on background.
  • I’m willing to advise fourth-year dissertations on any topic related to endangered languages, language revitalization, language in interaction, child language acquisition, or Indigenous languages of the Americas.
  • I’m not an appropriate supervisor for topics in adult second language acquisition (unless it’s in a language revitalization context).

• If you’re a student anywhere and would like to participate in my research:
  • University HR regulations prohibit me from hiring undergrads and limit how much work I can accept from undergrads on a volunteer basis.
  • I’m happy to talk with you about volunteer options that are available – email me.

MSc students

• If you are a current MSc student at Edinburgh LEL and would like me to supervise your MSc dissertation, I’m happy to discuss possible topics.
• At the MSc level, I have many suggested topics (and data sets) that I’d like a student to explore. You do not need to put together a proposal- just schedule a time to talk.
• Students in all MSc programs offered by LEL are welcome.
• I’m also happy to discuss the Edinburgh MSc with prospective applicants. If interested in working with me, you may apply to any MSc offered by LEL. Most of our MSc’s accept ‘conversion’ students without previous degrees in linguistics (although you will need to have some courses or extensive self-study).

Prospective PhD students

If you’re planning to apply for the Linguistics & English Language PhD at Edinburgh:

• For me to consider your application as the primary supervisor, there needs to be a reasonable fit between my research interests and yours. The fit is close enough if:
  • • You are interested in an Indigenous language of the Americas
    • OR
    • You are interested in children’s acquisition of an Indigenous language anywhere in the world.

• If one of the above applies to you, send me an email introducing yourself and your proposed PhD project in maximum two paragraphs (300 words). This will allow me to  see if the research fit is close enough that I’d be willing to read a longer proposal. Do not send your full proposal.

Students from outside the UK and Europe:

• Be aware that the Edinburgh PhD has NO COURSEWORK. Therefore, at the time you apply, you must either have a master’s degree in linguistics (or a closely related field, e.g. linguistic anthropology), or be enrolled in a master’s program leading to this degree.
• A bachelor’s degree with an honors thesis (USA) or additional honours year (e.g. Australia) is not a master’s degree and doesn’t provide enough background for our program outside truly exceptional circumstances. If this is currently your only degree, you need to start an MSc (UK) or MA/MS (other countries) before applying to the PhD.

MSc/MA/MS and PhD students at other institutions

• If you would like to work with one of my datasets as part of your PhD or master’s-level research, I am open to collaborations under specific circumstances. Please work with your advisor/supervisor to contact me and arrange a synchronous meeting.