You don’t need to have ever taken any courses in computer science or computational linguistics. We do expect our students to have some familiarity with programming, though you certainly don't need a degree in computer science or related field. For students without programming experience, we suggest working though a free course such as Udacity's Intro to Python, Harvard/edX's CS50 or CS50P, or a textbook such as Python for Linguists.
The average time to completion is two years or 5-6 terms. We offer courses during fall, spring, and summer terms.
Please see this page for a description of core courses and recommended electives. Students in the online program may take electives in other departments with the approval of the program director. While the number of offerings continues to grow, students in the online program are currently limited to fully online (i.e., asynchronous) offerings available through the Arizona Online campus.
We recommend that students enroll in 2 courses per 15-week term, but tackle the courses one at a time in a back-to-back fashion. If you need to take the program slower and enroll in just one course per term (meaning you would be in class for 7.5 weeks and then not the next 7.5 weeks), that’s certainly possible, but keep in mind that not all of the program courses are offered each semester.
We don't place students in internships, but the HLT faculty are available to advise you as you evaluate prospects you identify yourself.
Students admitted to the program are added to a forum where faculty, alumni, and current students can discuss the program and share internship opportunities. Many of our students have had success finding internships using the following sites:
Finding the right internship often takes time, and the form that the process takes can vary from country to country.
GRE scores are not required as part of your application to the online program.
Except where differences are noted, the same policies apply to our online program that apply to the in-person program. Like our in-person program, our online program is currently only designed for students to begin their study in the fall term each year. In contrast to the in-person program, however, applications for the online program are accepted on a rolling basis until August 1, for students who plan to start the academic year in August. Although applications are accepted through August 1, we encourage students who are interested in the online program to submit their applications as early as possible.
You can begin the process by speaking with an enrollment counselor from UA Global:
UA Global can also answer questions about the total cost of the program.
The Graduate College requires international students to demonstrate a minimum proficiency of English. You can find more information about general requirements here:
Please see the following link:
Arizona Online provides information about the total program cost on their website.
Eric Jackson is directing the online MS in HLT for the 2024-25 academic year. Eric is available to chat about the program via Zoom or email (ejackson1 AT arizona DOT edu). You may schedule an appointment with him using this link.