Doctoral study in Applied Linguistics
Why study with us?
We were placed in the top 100 in the world for Linguistics in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2020.
As a doctoral candidate, you'll benefit from: financial support for research expenses through PReSS funding; high-calibre supervision practices; and the networks and expertise of our world-class academic researchers.
Research opportunities
We welcome PhD research proposals in areas such as:
- Creativity in language learning and teaching
- Affect and language learning
- Materials development for language teaching
- Language teacher education
- Language pedagogy and assessment
- Teacher cognition
- Sociolinguistics
- Discourse analysis
- English for specific purposes
- English for academic purposes
- Teacher identity
- Academic writing
- Corpus-based linguistic studies
- Language policy and planning
- Narrative inquiry
Our people
A large number of high-calibre researchers work in Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland.
Past research topics
- "A narrative ethnography of primary school teachers' language perceptions, preferences and practices in rural Pakistan" | Supervised by Professor Gary Barkhuizen
- "Exploring the relationship between creativity, second language learning, and the EFL curriculum: An ethnographic case study analysis" | Supervised by Associate Professor Tan Bee Tin
- "Genre knowledge for intercultural communication: A contrastive genre analysis of thesis introductions and literature reviews written in China, New Zealand and America" | Supervised by Associate Professor Michael Barlow
- "Establishing the foundation for a diagnostic assessment of reading in English for academic purposes" | Supervised by Professor John Read
- "Stance phraseology in cross-disciplinary academic discourse" | Supervised by Dr Louisa Buckingham
- "Metacognitive strategy instruction and pre-task planning: Impact on L2 argumentative writing ability" | Supervised by Dr Rosemary Wette
- "Ghosts in the system: The shaping of professional identities within the organizational culture(s) of a private training establishment in Auckland" | Supervised by Dr Robert Batstone
Scholarships and awards
There are several scholarships you may be eligible for when you decide to pursue your PhD in Applied Linguistics.
- University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarships
- Faculty of Arts Doctoral Scholarship
Help and advice
Our friendly staff will provide you with advice on enrolling in your PhD at Student Hubs.
If you would like to discuss your plans for your doctoral research you can contact our PhD Adviser.