The information below has been updated in April 2026. Assume this is current, but if is substantially outdated, there is a chance that I have fallen behind on website updates!
I recruit PhD students through Lingusitics each year unless there are special circumstances. Depending on funding availability, I may also recruit through Computer Science and the Center for Computing & Data Sciences. If I am recruiting in the deparment and you mention my name in the application, I will read your application—no need to email me just to let me know that you are applying. The recruitment cycle for AY26–27 start is over! I will update this section as we get closer to recruitment for AY27–28 start.
The Linguistics department will be a better fit for you if you are interested in scientific questions about language and/or broader Cognitive Science. If you are primarily interested in AI, I recommend applying to Computer Science (CS) or the Center for Computing & Data Sciences (CDS), depending on your curricular interests and maybe fit with other faculty in the respective departments.
I will also be recruiting through CS & CDS (preferably jointly with other faculty), but I am primarily interested in students who either have joint interests in CogSci/Linguistics or students whose primary interests are in model evaluation. I typically do not work with students whose interests are only machine learning/artificial intelligence more generally. Since my primary affiliation is in Linguistics, it is substantially more likely for me to admit a student in the non-Linguistics departments if there is an obvious co-advisor in the respective departments.
Application links:
I am currently not recruiting a postdoctoral fellow for specific projects. However, I am open to writing a grant/fellowship application (e.g., NSF) together to support your research if there is a strong fit. Please reach out to me earlier (at least a year before the desired start date) if you’d like to pursue this option. One BU-internal source of support is the Society of Fellows Program which has varying availabilities depending on the year (for AY25–26 application cycle it is on pause).
Undergrads: I typically ask undergraduate students to have taken & performed well in at least one of my advanced computational courses (i.e., non-intro) before discussing research opportunities, unless you already have prior research experiences. I try to agree to supervise undergraduate research very sparingly (although tinlab undergraduates have a great track record of securing UROP awards!), but feel free to reach out if you do meet one of the criteria I mentioned.
Master’s students: I have very limited availability for MS supervision. I might agree to collaborating in rare circumstances, but similarly to undergraduates I’ll typically only agree to work with students who have taken one of my non-intro classes.
PhD students who are not my advisees Reach out to me and we can discuss more!
I organize a reading group most semesters, which includes both presentations/discussions contributed by the current lab members and invited talks from external speakers. We’re very open to new attendees—feel free to reach out to Najoung if you are interested in attending. The minimum commitment required for attending is agreeing to present at least once during the semester if we haven’t exhausted the available slots with current lab members. The presentation doesn’t have to be about your own research (it can be a paper not written by you) nor does it have to be super polished!
tinlab @ BU