Linguistics Major | Linguistics Minor

General Distribution Requirement

All linguistics courses count toward the general distribution requirement in social science except for LING 309, LING 364, LING 435, LING 436, LING 437, and LING 488, which count toward humanities.

General Education Requirements

Courses that meet the general education requirements in writing, quantitative thinking, internationalism and multiculturalism will be posted on the Registrar’s web page in advance of registration for each semester.

Additional information regarding the general distribution requirement and the general education requirements can be found in the graduation requirements section of this catalog.

Honors Program

The linguistics department participates in the honors program. Eligibility requirements, application procedures and specific project expectations for the linguistics department are available from either the department office or the Director of Academic Programs.

Topics Courses

LING 194, LING 294, LING 394, LING 494

Past offerings include: Spoken and Written Language; Metaphor; Freedom, Speech and Action, Languages and People of the Middle East; Languages of Native America; and Endangered Languages. To be announced at registration. (4 credits)

Independent Study

The department offers independent study options in the form independent projects, internships, preceptorships and Honors independent projects. For more information contact the department and review the Curriculum section of the catalog.

Linguistics Major

Major Requirements

1. All students completing an interdisciplinary major in linguistics are required to take LING 100, LING 104, LING 200, and LING 205. After this, they may follow either a cultural or a cognitive track.

Major in linguistics with added emphasis in cultural and language studies.

Students with a strong interest in languages and the humanities may wish to consider the cultural track. This includes:

1. Language courses: three language courses beyond the college-wide four semester requirement
2. Two more courses in one other discipline as it relates to language. Two courses in a sequence can be chosen from:
   PHIL 231 - Modern Philosophy and
   PHIL 364 - Philosophy of Language (Same as LING 364); OR
   JAPA 235 - Communicative Strategies in Japanese Society (Same as LING 235) and  
   JAPA 335 - Analyzing Japanese Language (Same as LING 335) or
   JAPA 488 - Translating Japanese: Theory and Practice; OR
   CHIN 452 - Translating Chinese: Theory and Practice
   HISP 309 - Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics and
   HISP 435 - History of the Spanish Language
   HISP 436 - Spanish Dialectology
   HISP 437 - Applied Linguistics: Spanish Second Language Acquisition
   HISP 494 - Spanish in the United States
   
   Or, an alternative pair approved by the department chair including courses such as:
   
   POLI 170 - Theories of Rhetoric
   MCST 110 - Texts and Power: Foundations of Media and Cultural Studies
   SOCI 175 - Sociolinguistics (Same as LING 175)
   MCST 128 - Film Analysis/Visual Culture
   MCST 234 - New Media Theories/Practices
   RUSS 265 - Translation as Cross-Cultural Communication (Same as INTL 265)
    
3. Two more courses chosen from the following:
   LING 103 - Advertising and Propaganda
   LING 201 - Historical Linguistics
   LING 202 - Origins/Evolution of Language
   LING 301 - Language and Alienation (Same as SOCI 301)
   LING 206 - Endangered/Minority Languages
   LING 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Language and Nature (Same as ENVI 225)
   LING 204 - Experimental Linguistics
    
4. The Capstone Sequence:
   LING 300 - Linguistic Analysis
   LING 400 - Field Methods in Linguistics

Students in this track are required to complete six courses offered by departments other than linguistics, chosen in consultation with the department chair.

Major in linguistics with added emphasis in cognitive studies.

Students with a strong interest in cognitive science frequently approach linguistics from a background in mathematics, psychology, logic or computer science, rather than natural languages. Such students may wish to consider following the cognitive track.

1. A sequence in psychology:
   PSYC 180 - Brain, Mind, and Behavior
   PSYC 242 - Cognitive Psychology
   PSYC 378 - Psychology of Language
    
2. A sequence in computer science:
   COMP 123 - Core Concepts in Computer Science
   COMP 484 - Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
    
3. Two more courses to be chosen from the following:
   PHIL 120 - Introduction to Symbolic Logic
   PHIL 262 - Philosophy of Mind
   PHIL 364 - Philosophy of Language
    
4. The capstone sequence:
   LING 204 - Experimental Linguistics
   LING 614 - Independent Project: Capstone (an independent experimental project conducted in the linguistics, psychology, or computer science laboratory facilities).

Students in this track are required to complete six courses offered by departments other than linguistics, chosen in consultation with the department chair.

Linguistics Minor

Minor Requirements

1. Any six courses in linguistics.