Is publishing a graduation requirement in many master's programs? I know a student in a linguistics master's program (in East Asia). He told me that in his country, most master's programs require students to publish a certain number of papers in academic journals in order to graduate. I want to study a linguistics-related degree in the US. Is such a requirement common there as well?


In the US, does "thesis-option" generally imply that one "must publish a thesis to graduate" or does it just mean "must write a thesis"?
Are such publishing requirements common enough in graduate programs in the US that it should be a question I ask schools when I apply?
I've never heard of a publication requirement for a masters degree in the USA or UK.  There is not even a novelty requirement for a masters dissertation, that's what makes it different from a PhD.  Obviously publishing is a good idea if you want to continue on to a PhD, it makes your CV look much stronger and shows your promise as a researcher.  But frankly, in the UK at least there is no time to publish before you finish your dissertation (Masters degrees are very compressed one year degrees) and most publications follow the formal completion of the degree.