Majoring in Linguistics

35 credit hours are required for the Linguistics major.  Of those, 23 credit hours are in required courses and another 12 credit hours are electives.

Required Credit Hours:  35

Required Courses

• ENGL 220/ANTH 204 Study of Language
• ENGL 303 History of the English Language (also satisfies, with a grade of C- or better, the Major Writing Requirement)
• ENGL 304 Generative Syntax
• ENGL 307 Phonetics and Phonology
• ENGL/ANTH 418 Language Patterns
• ENGL 405/ANTH 412 Descriptive Linguistics (also satisfies, with a grade of C- or better, the Major Computing Requirement)
• ENGL 406/ANTH 413 Language and Society or ENGL/ANTH 415 Linguistic Anthropology -- although both may be taken

Electives

• ENGL 404/ANTH 411 Historical Linguistics
• ENGL 400 Meaning and Understanding in Western Cultural Thought
• ENGL 464 Special Topics in Linguistics -- may be repeated when topics vary
• ENGL 474 Research Seminar in Linguistics
• INTR 480 Independent Study
• INTR 495-496 Honors Thesis
• One semester of a non-Indo-European language

Students should select courses in consultation with an advisor on the Linguistics Advisory Committee (A. Charity, J. Martin, A. Reed, T. J. Taylor). Other electives are sometimes approved on a case-by-case basis by the Linguistics Advisory Committee. Examples of such courses include but are not limited to:

• ANTH 440 Primate Cognition and Communication
• FREN 410 French Philology
• HISP 387 Sound, Meaning and Identity
• MDLL 345 Methods in Teaching English as a Second/Foreign Language
• PHIL 406 Philosophy of Language
• ARAB 304 Introduction to Arabic Dialects

Students with appropriate qualifications can pursue Honors in linguistics. After approval of their program of study by the Linguistics Advisory Committee and the Director of the Charles Center, they will be enrolled during their senior year in Interdisciplinary Studies 495 and 496.

Forms for declaring the Linguistics major or minor, for making a change to the program, or for enrolling in an independent study are available through the Charles Center or here.