Students have been asking about the possibility of reclassifying Linguistics as a STEM program. Josh Brumberg (Dean of Sciences) confirmed that reclassification has no impact on the number of GCFs, the funding they receive, or the number of years they receive it. Nor will it have any impact on how our program defines itself or the kind of work we do. It’s simply a “CIP” code change in the federal Department of Education’s classification of instructional programs . At the Grad Center, the following programs have recently been reclassified: Psychology, Critical Psychology, Economics, and SLHS. UCLA recently reclassified their Linguistics program as STEM. See article: https://linguistics.ucla.edu/general/ucla-corrects-academic-codes-for-five-linguistics-majors-for-stem-classifications/
What is a CIP code? The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a taxonomy of academic programs developed by the US Department of Education. Colleges and universities across the country assign CIP codes to their academic programs. CIP codes are also often assigned to courses, certificates, and degrees.
Reclassifying the Linguistics Program with a STEM “CIP” code has distinct advantages for international students pursuing degrees in the United States. Most international students on a student F-1 visa have the option to obtain work experience following the completion of their degree through a program called Optional Practical Training (OPT). Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a form of training – often paid – that relates to the student’s field of study. Students can apply for OPT while still in school (“pre-completion OPT”), or after they earn their degree (“post-completion OPT”). The standard duration for OPT is 12 months, but if a student has completed a STEM-designated program, OPT can be extended by as much as 24 months, resulting in a total of 36 months.
Given that most of our PhD students do not complete their PhD degrees within the 5-year funded period and that international students are particularly vulnerable in this regard given the fact that they are not allowed to work outside of CUNY, reclassifying our program as STEM will increase the likelihood that international students will be able to support themselves after their funding runs out and complete their dissertations.
Please review the three possible “CIP” STEM classifications we could opt for and type your feedback below.
CIP Code 30.2501
Title: Cognitive Science, General.
Definition: A program that focuses on the study of the mind and the nature of intelligence from the interdisciplinary perspectives of computer science, philosophy, mathematics, psychology, neuroscience, and other disciplines. Includes instruction in mathematics and logic, cognitive process modeling, dynamic systems, learning theories, brain and cognition, neural networking, programming, and applications to topics such as language acquisition, computer systems, and perception and behavior.
CIP Code 42.2701
Title: Cognitive Psychology and Psycholinguistics.
Definition: A program that focuses on the scientific study of the mechanisms and processes of learning and thinking, and associated information encoding, decoding, processing and transmitting systems. Includes instruction in theories of cognition and intelligence; studies of cognitive processes such as memory, sensation, perception, pattern recognition, problem solving, and conceptual thinking; cybernetics; psycholinguistics; and the study of biological and social communications mechanisms and processes.
CIP Code 45.0102
Title: Social Sciences; Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods.
Definition: A program that focuses on the design of research studies, measurement of variables, data analysis, and formulation of models. Includes instruction in experimental, quasi-experimental, and case study methods; historical research; participant observation; questionnaire design; sampling theory; and statistical methods.
What are your thoughts about which “CIP” STEM classification best describes the work going on in the Linguistics Program at the Graduate Center?
