The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program in Applied Linguistics is a response to societal needs resulting from the status of English as the language of international communication. This worldwide use of English in programs and institutions of higher education has created needs in two areas:<br><br>Research on an assortment of interrelated topics, including language learning by adults who will use English for academic purposes, effective teaching of adult language learners and the nature of English as an academic language.<br>Doctoral faculty who can teach in educational programs that prepare master's level teachers of English as a Second/Foreign Language.<br>Ph.D. students may focus on a range of topics. Research, for example, may be related to issues in second language writing, reading, listening or speaking, analysis of academic language, assessment, teacher cognition, classroom dynamics, sociolinguistics, or the role of culture in second language acquisition.