Linguistics (BA)

About this programme

Linguistics is the systematic study of human language. Linguistics studies how language works: how it is produced and processed in the mind, how it develops in children, how it is used in society, and how it changes over time. Linguistics also looks at the structures of the thousands of spoken and signed languages used throughout the world. The undergraduate major in Linguistics introduces students to many of the key areas of linguistics and offers a program of study leading toward an understanding of phonological, grammatical, and semantic structure and various approaches to descriptive, experimental, computational, and historical linguistics. Majors take a flexible combination of courses across subfields of linguistics and go into depth in one or more areas. Students learn about the many ways that language interfaces with questions in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences, and they often take complementary coursework in other departments or programs. All students write a senior essay and many make use of their linguistics work in future careers. Interested students should consult the director of undergraduate studies (DUS).