Overview
Georgia State University is responsive to students' career goals and provides educational and research programs that are relevant to the practical needs of both the students and the community. The University offers nearly fifty undergraduate and graduate degree programs covering some 200 fields of study through its five colleges—Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, Education, Health and Human Sciences, and Law—and its School of Policy Studies.

The Community
The University is located in the heart of Atlanta's central business district. The city is a rapidly growing metropolitan area characterized by a spectacular skyline and a culturally diverse population. Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is the world's largest and busiest, making the city easily accessible from anywhere in the world. The climate is moderate, with a mean July temperature of 23°C and a mean January temperature of 10°C. Atlanta is located in the foothills of the southern Appalachian mountain range and is close to both the Great Smoky Mountains and the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Georgia State University is a public institution with more than 24,000 students. The graduate student population of more than 7,000 is one of the largest in the Southeast. The average age of graduate students is 33. Students from 113 countries and all fifty states attend the University.

Programs of study and degree requirements
The Department of Applied Linguistics and English as a Second Language (ESL) offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in applied linguistics that integrates the study of second language acquisition theory with practical applications. Both the theoretical and practical aspects of the program focus on the language acquisition needs of the adult learner of English as a second language or English as a foreign language (EFL). The master's degree program prepares graduate students to become teachers of ESL/EFL and to progress into doctoral programs. The M.A. degree requires the completion of 36 semester hours of course work, a language requirement, and a portfolio that includes documentation of classroom-based experiences, a reflective essay on one's professional development, and a master's paper. The master's paper is an extension of a course paper or project in which students demonstrate the bridging of theory and practice.

Facilities & Resources
The University libraries house more than 1.3 million volumes and subscribe to 12,000 periodicals and newspapers, many available full-text via online and CD-ROM resources. Most of the materials are housed in the William Russell Pullen Library complex. Other libraries include the Law Library and the Instructional Technology Center in the College of Education. Large-scale computing is offered via an Amdahl 5995-500 using IBM's MVS/XA operating system; a Unisys 2200/50, which supports the PALS Across Georgia Resource Sharing and Union Catalog projects; and a Sun SPARCserver to support the University System's GALILEO project. A Silicon Graphics Power Challenge L provides support for research and instructional use. A Sun SPARC 1000 supports UNIX-based e-mail services. More than 100 network file servers provide access to centrally supplied software, support e-mail (GroupWise), and provide services to more than 5,000 microcomputer workstations, including more than 550 workstations in open and instructional labs. Campus printing resources include more than 250 low-speed remote network printers and a central printing complex that consists of a Xerox Docuprint network printer, a Xerox Docutech Publisher, a Xerox 4850 spot-color printer, and a Xerox 4700 full-color printer.

Expenses and Aid
Costs: For tuition figures, students should visit the University's Web site at http://www.gsu.edu.

Financial Aid: The department has three types of assistantships: research, laboratory (e.g., tutoring lab, computer lab), and teaching. All assistantships include a tuition waiver and a stipend and are available for full-time students.

Housing/Living Expenses: Georgia State University has a nonresidential campus located in downtown Atlanta at the center of a network of highways and rapid-transit services that extend throughout the greater metropolitan area. This transportation network makes it possible to live anywhere in the metropolitan area and get to downtown easily. The cost of living in Atlanta is moderate compared with that in other urban centers in the United States. Dormitory housing is available at the Georgia State Village, a short distance from the downtown campus.

How to Apply
Application materials may be obtained from the department or from the Office of Graduate Studies of the College of Arts and Sciences. Applicants must submit the Application for Graduate Study and the University Information forms, a $25 application fee, official copies of transcripts from each institution attended, General Test scores on the Graduate Record Examinations, three letters of academic recommendation, and a statement of educational and career goals. Nonnative speakers of English must also submit Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and Test of Written English (TWE) scores. Applicants may obtain additional information about the Department of Applied Linguistics and ESL by contacting the Director of Graduate Studies or by viewing the Web page, listed below.

Patricia Byrd, Ph.D., Florida. English grammar, materials development, program administration, international teaching assistant training.

Patricia Carrell, Ph.D., Texas at Austin. Second language reading, reading-writing relationships, learning styles, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, general linguistics, syntax/grammar.

Joan Carson, Ph.D., Northwestern. First and second language literacy, sociolinguistics, second language acquisition theory, general linguistics, discourse analysis.

Patricia Dunkel, Ph.D., Arizona. Listening comprehension theory and practice, educational psychology, materials development, second language assessment, computer-adaptive assessment, instructional technology.

Stephanie Lindemann, Ph.D., Michigan. Sociolinguistics, phonology, L2 writing, English for academic purposes.

John Murphy, Ed.D., Columbia. Classroom-centered research, second language oral communication theory and practice, adult education and learning, second language instructional methodology, second language teacher education.

Jodi Nelms, Ph.D., Florida. Discourse analysis, second language acquisition, research methodology, sociolinguistics, ITA training.

Gayle Nelson, Ph.D., Minnesota. Intercultural communication, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, second language reading and writing, second language assessment, second language instructional methodology.

Lourdes Ortega, Ph.D., Hawaii (Manoa). Second language acquisition, research methodology.

Sara Cushing Weigle, Ph.D., UCLA. Language testing, program administration, teacher education, English for academic purposes.

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