Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL)

Faculty

Drew Fagan (EdD, Teachers College, Columbia University): Influence of teacher talk on language learning opportunities in classroom discourse; conversation analysis and second/foreign language classroom interactions; factors affecting teachers; preparing mainstream teachers for working with English Language Learners. Dr. Fagan is Clinical Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and Coordinator of the TESOL and Dual Language Education Specialization in the EdD in School System Leadership Program.

Shenika Hankerson (PhD, Michigan State University): African American Language; race, equity, language, and literacy; second language writing; language policies and language rights; critical discourse studies. Dr. Hankerson is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education. 

Jeff MacSwan (PhD, UCLA): Bilingualism; codeswitching, translanguaging; the role of language in schooling; language assessment policy. Dr. MacSwan is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and Co-director of the Multilingual Research Center. 

Laura Mahalingappa (PhD, The University of Texas at Austin): Teacher preparation and development for marginalized students; linguistically responsive pedagogy; first and additional language acquisition; critical language pedagogies; language awareness for teachers and learners. Dr. Mahalingappa is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education.

Melinda Martin-Beltrán (PhD, Stanford University): Sociocultural approaches to second language acquisition focusing on dual language learners (ESOL students); peer interaction; language exchange; and teacher learning to build upon students’ linguistic and cultural diversity. Dr. Martin-Beltrán is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education. 

Sarah C. K. Moore (PhD, Arizona State University): Language policy; equity and access for minoritized language communities; educator professional development and preparation around language teaching and learning; online and virtual educator preparation. Dr. Moore is Assistant Clinical Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and Coordinator of the Online Post-Baccalaureate Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certificate Program.

Loren Jones (PhD, University of Miami): Literacy and language instruction to support culturally and linguistically diverse students; writing development of English learners (ELs); translanguaging to promote literacy development; teacher preparation for working with ELs across content areas. Dr. Jones is Associate Clinical Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and Coordinator of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Certification Programs.

Nihat Polat (PhD, University of Texas at Austin): Applied linguistics; individual differences (e.g., motivation, identity) in additional language acquisition (e.g., writing, syntax) and pedagogy (e.g., SIOP); teacher education (e.g., cognition, dispositions); the education of minoritized multilingual learners (e.g., emergent bilinguals, Muslim students in the U.S.). Dr. Polat is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and TLPL Department Chair. 

Megan Madigan Peercy (PhD, University of Utah): Pedagogies of teacher education; preparation and development of teachers throughout their careers and as they work with language learners; theory-practice relationship in language teacher education; teacher collaborative relationships and learning. Dr. Peercy is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, Co-director of the Multilingual Research Center, and Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives. 

Alejandro Perez Belda (PhD, University of Iowa): World Language teacher preparation; Dual Language Bilingual Education (DLBE); Language Assessment Literacy (LAL); biliteracy development; assessment as a policy tool in bilingual education; Curriculum-Based Measures of Spanish reading (CBM-R) in bilingual education. Dr. Pérez is Assistant Clinical Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education, and Coordinator of the World Language/Dual Language Education Programs.

Kellie Rolstad (PhD, UCLA): Critical language awareness in teacher education; language of schooling; language variation; place-based language education; anti-bias language teaching; unschooling and linguistic social justice; multilingual learning through play; translanguaging/plurilingualism; democratic education. Dr. Rolstad is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Language Education.  

Affiliated Faculty

Elisa Gironzetti (PhD, Texas A&M University-Commerce; PhD, Universidad de Alicante): Applied linguistics; second language and heritage language pedagogy; instructional pragmatics; humor; multimodal discourse analysis. Dr. Gironzetti is Associate Professor in the UMD School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

Francis M. Hult (PhD, University of Pennsylvania; Docent, University of Jyväskylä): Discourse studies; educational linguistics; ethnography; language policy and planning; linguistic landscapes; multilingual education; nexus analysis; sociolinguistics; sustainability; and transdisciplinarity. Dr. Hult is Professor of Education at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Manel Lacorte (PhD, University of Edinburgh): Applied linguistics; second language and heritage language pedagogy, teacher education, classroom interaction and contexts; sociopolitical issues in second language and heritage language teaching and learning. Dr. Lacorte is Professor of Spanish in the UMD School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

Minglang Zhou (PhD, Michigan State University): Chinese as a second/global language; bilingualism and bilingual education; language identity; language contact; the relationship between language, ethnicity, and nation-state in China. Dr. Zhou is Director of the Chinese Language Program and an Associate Professor of Chinese in the UMD School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures.

Typically, applicants to the Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE) program have completed a prior master’s degree in a related subject. However, a master’s degree is not required to apply. Students admitted with a previously completed master’s degree must complete 60 credits of coursework for the PhD. Students who do not have a master’s degree must complete an additional 10 credits. Students are encouraged to select courses in careful consultation with their academic advisor. 

After completing 48 credits of coursework (58 for students with no prior master’s degree) during the first three years, students complete a Comprehensive Exam to advance to candidacy. The Comprehensive Exam is designed around a student’s proposed dissertation research topic and becomes part of the literature review for the dissertation proposal and final dissertation. While working on the dissertation, students are enrolled in an additional 12 credits of Dissertation Research.

Students complete six major components of coursework, as follows:

1. Students from across all specializations of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) come together for the Department Core, comprising two courses (6 credits), taken in the fall semester of the first two years.
   • TLPL794 Foundations of Educational Research I (3 credits). Taken in the fall semester of the first year, TLPL794 is an introduction to the “contested terrain” of education research. It examines major conceptual, methodological and political issues embedded in efforts to carry out education research and focuses on the development of the analytic dispositions and communication skills required to carry out research that meets the variously defined quality, utility and significance standards of scholarship in the field.
   • TLPL795 Foundations of Educational Research II (3 credits). Taken in the fall semester of the second year, in TLPL795 students engage in the process of conceptualizing and completing a rigorous review of a section of literature in their area of specialization.
2. Breadth Requirement (3 credits). Students are required to take one doctoral level course outside of the ALLE area within TLPL, such as Literacy Education, Urban Education, Education Policy, Teacher Education, Technology, or another TLPL area.
3. Students are required to take three of six specific Doctoral Courses (9 credits) taught by ALLE Doctoral Program faculty:
   • TLPL740 Language and Education (3 Credits). Historical and current perspectives on language and ideology; multilingualism, language contact, translanguaging theory. Offered every other Spring, odd years. Jeff MacSwan
   • TLPL743 Teaching English Language Learners: Current and Future Research Directions (3 credits). Research on the preparation of generalists and specialists teaching English Language Learners. Current research and future research directions. Offered every other Fall, odd years. Megan Madigan Peercy
   • TLPL744 Research Foundations of Second Language Education: Examining Linguistically Diverse Student Learning (3 credits). Critically examines theories of second language acquisition and research in applied linguistics relevant to linguistically diverse students and learners of English as an additional language. Analysis of research from linguistic, psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic and sociocultural perspectives, with an emphasis on the social contexts of second language learning and teaching. Offered every other Spring, odd years. Melinda Martin-Beltrán
   • TLPL788C Linguistic Diversity in Schools and Communities (3 credits). Language variation in school settings, linguistic deficit theory, and linguistic social justice. Offered every other Spring, even years. Kellie Rolstad
   • TLPL788P Black Language and Culture (3 credits). History and evolution of Black Language (BL) from a linguistics perspective; BL and culture, geography, gender, sexuality, identity, ideologies, racism, and discrimination. BL and anti-Blackness in societal, educational, and global contexts. Offered every other Spring, even years. Shenika Hankerson 
   • TLPL788V Sociolinguistics (3 credits). Overview of foundational and contemporary topics in sociolinguistics including linguistic variation, language and identity, language and gender, multilingualism, language ideology, raciolinguistics, language planning, language socialization, and language contact and change. Sociolinguistic assumptions, concepts, concerns, theories, and analytic methods. Offered every other Fall, even years. Laura Mahalingappa
4. Students choose four Research Methods courses (12 credits). 
   • One quantitative methods course at or above the level of EDMS 646 (General Linear Models 1) or TLPL 692 (Statistical Literacy for Education Research). 
   • One 600-level, 700-level, or 800-level qualitative methods course aimed at doctoral students, at the introductory or advanced doctoral level (e.g., TLPL791). 
   • Two more research methods courses from advanced qualitative, quantitative, and/or mixed methods, or Discourse Analysis (TLPL793 offered every other Spring, odd years). 
5. Electives. In consultation with the advisor, students choose six courses (18 credits) as electives. (Students admitted without a prior master’s degree take an additional 10 credits of elective courses.) The elective requirement permits students to access the full range of relevant graduate courses throughout the university. In addition, students may take additional ALLE Doctoral Courses, additional Research Methods courses, or TLPL788I as their electives.
   • TLPL788I Language Policy and Education (3 credits). Introduces students to the broad field of Language Policy as it relates to systems of schooling and education. Language Policy concerns issues of power and the often implicit, systemic marginalization of non-‘majority’ language speakers and communities in schools and through schooling. Offered every other Fall, odd years. Sarah CK Moore
6. While working on the dissertation, students will enroll in 12 credits of Dissertation Research.

Benchmarks

The Comprehensive Exam.  Students write a comprehensive exam after the fourth or fifth semester of their program, often in the intervening summer.  The comprehensive exam provides an opportunity for students to review a body of literature relevant to their developing dissertation project interest. The comprehensive exam is evaluated according to a rubric by at least two program faculty.  View Comprehensive Exam Rubric.

The Dissertation Proposal. Typically done the third year, students work closely with an advisor to develop a detailed research plan for the dissertation, called a Dissertation Proposal. The proposal presents a rationale for the study, prior relevant research, and details about the research plan, and generally builds on the work completed for the Comprehensive Exam.  A dissertation committee meets with the student for a Proposal Defense before moving on to the dissertation research.

The Dissertation.  Students produce a final dissertation based on the research plan developed in the Dissertation Proposal.  The results of the study are presented at a Dissertation Final Defense with the student’s dissertation committee.  Family members and other members of the public are welcome to attend.

Review the Graduate College Application Process to learn more about how to apply. The ALLE PhD Program is part of the Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) PhD Program; review the program-specific requirements and deadline here. Note that the University of Maryland will waive the $75 application fee for eligible students; learn more about that here.

Applicants to the ALLE PhD Program typically have completed a master’s degree in a related subject. However, a master’s degree is not required.

ALLE PhD Program faculty advisors include Shenika Hankerson, Jeff MacSwan, Laura Mahalingappa, Melinda Martin-Beltrán, Nihat Polat, Megan Madigan Peercy, and Kellie Rolstad. For fall 2025, Professors MacSwan, Mahalingappa, Martin-Beltrán, Peercy, and Rolstad will consider accepting new PhD students.

After reading the available online resources, if you have questions about how to navigate the application process in TLPL, contact Kay Moon, the Graduate Program Coordinator, for help. For information about academic matters, contact an ALLE PhD Program faculty advisor.

When you fill out your application online, select Degree as the Application Type and Doctoral as the Level of Study. Then, for Intended Program of Study, select the Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership (TLPL) PhD. For Area of Interest 1, Select Language, Literacy, and Social Inquiry (LLSI), and for Area of Interest 2 select Applied Linguistics and Language Education (ALLE). Leave Area of Interest 3 blank.

You can list the names of specific faculty members you would like to work with as your advisor under Faculty of Interest. It’s important to be well informed about the research interests of faculty you may like to work with. You can read their brief bios here and search for their publications online. Read their work for a deeper understanding of their research and interests. Select Add Another to list more than one faculty member. It’s okay to reach out to ALLE PhD Program faculty who are accepting new students to express an interest in working with them, but it’s not necessary to do so. The ALLE doctoral faculty will carefully review your application packet after the application deadline, and take that opportunity to learn about your accomplishments, promise, and interests.

While the program faculty will carefully consider all elements of your application, your Statement of Purpose (SOP) is very important. In your SOP for the ALLE PhD Program, you should describe your personal journey and how you came to focus on applied linguistics and language education; we encourage you to talk about your professional preparation and lived experiences here, but pay especially close attention to how you have developed intellectually up to now, and how your current research interests are well suited to the ALLE Program at UMD. In your SOP, you can explain why a particular faculty member’s research appeals to you, and why you think working with them would further your academic and intellectual growth as an ALLE PhD student. Feel free to talk about more than one faculty member you might like to work with, if admitted. Be sure to mention any other relevant background, such as your experience learning additional languages. Also indicate how getting a PhD will fit into your overall life professional goals and plans. The online application's instructions suggest a word count of 1000-2000 for the SOP.

In addition to the SOP, UMD also asks you to write a Statement of Personal Experiences in a separate document (100-300 words) to give you the opportunity to discuss how your lived experiences, including those outside of your academic experiences, resulted in a positive outcome that helped prepare you for this stage in your life. For advice on how to prepare these statements, read the Guidance on Statement of Purpose & Personal Experience Prompts.

The application requires three letters of recommendation. These letters should mostly be from university faculty who know you well and can speak to your academic talents. But you can also include a letter from a professional contact such as a school principal if you like.

TLPL and ALLE hold an Open House event for prospective students. For fall 2025 applications, the Open House will be held on October 11, 2024. Look for an announcement on the department website, or check in with Kay Moon, the Graduate Program Coordinator (kmoon@umd.edu), for more information.