Linguistics (BA/BS)

Language is with you all day, every day of your life—it is central to the human experience. You use language to think, to learn new things, to get things done, to share your heart, and to engage with others more generally. In the Linguistics Department, you will be introduced to the science of language in a high-powered and welcoming research community. You will learn all about how language works, how it is learned, how it varies from society to society, and how it changes over time.

Work in linguistics cultivates key intellectual abilities: analytical skills, data analysis skills, reasoning and argumentation, and written and oral communication skills. A degree in linguistics prepares students for professions and further training in any number of areas that value these abilities. Those who pursue degrees in linguistics frequently go on to pursue careers in teaching (e.g., foreign language or ESL teaching in the US or abroad), the tech industry (e.g., software development and testing, speech analysis and synthesis), health sciences (e.g., speech-language pathology), or national security.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Perform basic acoustic analyses of recorded speech sounds.
• Discover the phoneme inventory and basic phonotactic structure in a sufficiently large set of phonetically transcribed words.
• Analyze the morphological and syntactic constructions in a sample of glossed linguistic data.
• Design a laboratory or field research project in some area of linguistics.
• Read and demonstrate an understanding of current research literature in areas of linguistics taught in our program.

Linguistics Major Requirements

¹

Excludes LING 403

Additional Requirements

Two years of one second language and one year of another.

Courses applied to the major in linguistics must be taken for letter grades. A course in which a grade of D+ or lower is earned cannot count toward the major.

The study program of undergraduate linguistics majors must be approved by a departmental undergraduate advisor.

Honors in Linguistics

By fulfilling the following requirements, any linguistics major may graduate with honors.

Grade Point Average

On entry to the honors program at the end of the junior year, a grade point average (GPA) of 3.75 or better in linguistics courses and at least 3.50 overall is required. At the end of the senior year, a GPA of 3.75 or better in linguistics courses is required.

Senior Thesis

Write an original honors thesis under the guidance of a thesis advisor from the linguistics faculty, chosen in consultation with the undergraduate advisor. The thesis must be a substantial piece of work; it may be a revised and expanded term paper. The thesis advisor determines whether the thesis is acceptable; the student is required to register for at least 6 credits in Thesis (LING 403), taken pass/no pass, over the course of at least two terms.

Four-Year Degree Plan

The degree plan shown is only a sample of how students may complete their degrees in four years. There are alternative ways. Students should consult their advisor to determine the best path for them.

Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics