The Departments of Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies (LLSS) in the College of Education and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New Mexico offer an interdisciplinary program leading to the Ph.D. in Education with a concentration in Educational Linguistics. Educational Linguistics at UNM is an interdisciplinary program made up of faculty from across the university who share an understanding of the influence of communities and educational contexts on language learning. The program supports a variety of interrelated interests, such as language maintenance and language revitalization, language policy and planning, bilingualism, and issues of assessment. Communities and languages of the Southwest and signed languages are of particular interest. The strengths of the program faculty lie in our active collaboration and diversity of perspectives on common issues.

The program's approach to linguistic theory takes a primarily cognitive-functional perspective that focuses on language structure as interacting with language use. This orientation emphasizes the study of language typology, change, discourse, interaction, variation, processing and acquisition. This theoretical approach provides the foundation for effectively addressing our commitment to the application of linguistics to social concerns, including minority language maintenance and empowerment of minority and bilingual communities. Thus, the program not only studies and teaches about the applied and educational aspects of linguistics, but also encourages faculty and student involvement as advocates and collaborators with the linguistic communities in which we carry out research.

Graduates may plan careers in university teaching and research, public education, government, private research, TESOL program administration and teacher training, and language education programs in the United States or abroad.