Linguistics Major B.A.
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- Preparation for teaching language, or English as a second or foreign language
- Careers in education, library science, artificial intelligence, psychology, and cognitive science and more
Major Code: BA5290
Contact: Dr. Michelle O'Malley
Program Overview
The B.A. in Linguistics offers an opportunity for students to pursue inherently interdisciplinary content in a single department. While opportunities abound for coursework in other departments, linguistics offers a view of communication and language systems from multiple vantage points. Sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics integrate the study of societal organization and psychological applications of language, while theoretical study of linguistics exposes students to discrete areas of language form and function across languages and within larger language families.
Students can apply their developing understanding of language organization and utilization via application courses ranging from forensic linguistics to historical linguistics to language documentation. Language is presented as a tool for connecting, for identifying, and for exposing less salient aspects of who and what we are as well as where we've been.
Additionally, the Linguistics Department offers a Minor in Linguistics and two different pre-service teacher preparation modules in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and CALL (Computer-Assisted Language Learning). Knowledge of foreign language equivalent to three years of college-level study is required.
Careers & Graduate School
A degree in linguistics prepares students for career in a variety of different fields, including but not limited to advanced language study, translation, education, publishing, national security, international affairs, domestic/foreign policy, forensics, medicine and technology. Potential employers of linguists include public and private K-12 school systems, institutions of higher education, language institutes, software developers, local, state, and federal government agencies, public health departments, rehabilitation centers, etc.
A bachelor's degree in Linguistics also will benefit those who have an interest in language acquisition research, language teaching, and the development of materials and tools for language teaching, assessment, and research. Students may also benefit from a specialization in teaching English to speakers of other languages, which is valuable in obtaining employment both at home and abroad as a teacher of English as a second or foreign language (TESOL/TEFL)
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Admissions Information
Freshman/First-Year Admission: No requirements beyond University admission requirements.
Change to Program Policy: No selective or limited admission requirements.
External Transfer Admission: No requirements beyond University admission requirements.
Degree Requirements
University-wide Graduation Requirements
To complete this program, students must meet all University-wide graduation requirements.
College-Level Requirements for the College of Arts & Sciences
View the Liberal Arts Distribution Requirements for the College of Arts & Sciences.
Linguistics Hours Requirement
Complete a total of 34 semester credit hours of LING coursework, including all of the requirements below.
Linguistics Core Requirements
Complete the following required courses:
- LING 2700 - The Nature of Language Credit Hours: 3
- LING 3500 - Introduction to Linguistics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 3800 - Introduction to Psycholinguistics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4600 - Introduction to Phonetics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4700 - Syntactic Description of English Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4750 - Language Learning Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4860 - Semantics and Pragmatics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4901 - Sociolinguistics and Bilingualism Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4940 - Research Experience in Linguistics Credit Hours: 3
Linguistics Elective Requirement
Complete 7 hours from the following courses:
- LING 1010 - Grammar in Language Learning and Teaching Credit Hours: 1
- LING 2750 - Introduction to Language and Culture Credit Hours: 3
- LING 2800 - Language in America Credit Hours: 3
- LING 3880 - Special Topics in Applied Linguistics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 3900 - Language and Gender Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4400 - Forensic Linguistics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4510 - Computers for Language Teaching I Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4520 - Computers in Language Teaching II Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4800 - Methods and Materials in TEFL Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4820 - Introduction to English for Specific Purposes Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4830 - Assessing Language Abilities Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4840 - Documenting and Evaluating Language Variety and Development Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4850 - Historical Linguistics Credit Hours: 3
- LING 4912 - Internship in TESOL Credit Hours: 1 - 3
- LING 4920 - English as a Second Language Teaching Practicum Credit Hours: 2
- LING 4921 - CALL Teaching Practicum Credit Hours: 2
- LING 4940 - Research Experience in Linguistics Credit Hours: 1 - 3
- LING 4941 - Directed Research in Linguistics Credit Hours: 1 - 3
- LING 4990 - Special Studies in Linguistics Credit Hours: 1 - 3
Linguistics Language Requirement
All College of Arts & Sciences B.A. students must complete two years of a foreign language. Linguistics majors must complete an additional year of the same or a different language.