The doctorate in Second Language Acquisition: An institutional history

This article surveys nine graduate programs that confer doctoral degrees in Second Language Acquisition, the first of which was founded in 1988, 25 years ago. I examine warrants for the establishment of PhD programs in second language acquisition, the array of institutional bases on which they rest, and their curricula. I also point out distinctive features of particular programs, and report some of the ways in which this relatively new option for graduate education in the field of second language acquisition can be assessed. The goal is to reflect on what the existence and content of PhD programs in second language acquisition contributes to the discipline overall.