The Department of Linguistics offers undergraduate instruction in Linguistics, English as an International Language, English as a Second Language, and a variety of "less commonly taught" languages.

Linguistics courses focus on empirical and theoretical issues connected with how languages are structured, how they are used, and how they change through time. These courses are of interest not only to linguistics majors, but to students in any field where the analysis of languages is important: anthropology, speech and hearing science, psychology, philosophy, computer science, foreign languages, and others.

English as an International Language courses are concerned with the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, and are useful to any students planning a career in language teaching.

English as a Second Language courses are designed to build up skills in speaking, understanding, reading and writing English. These courses are for students whose first language is not English, and who would like to improve their English skills.

Less Commonly Taught Language courses build up skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing a specific language; familiarize students with literatures and cultures connected with the language; and examine linguistic issues peculiar to the language itself. These courses are of interest to students planning international careers, or simply desiring to broaden their perspective and learn about a different language and culture.

Linguistics Major

The linguistics major is designed to provide essential background in all the core areas of theoretical linguistics, and to ensure that students are familiar with more than one foreign language, including at least one "Non-Western" language. Considerable freedom is allowed in selecting more advanced courses, and students may choose to emphasize any of several subareas of linguistics in designing their major.

See Degrees Offered for majors offered in the Department of Linguistics. See also the following:

Undergraduate Minors

The Department of Linguistics offers minors in several areas. See Minors Offered.

Less Commonly Taught Language Programs

The Department of Linguistics regularly offers language courses in Arabic, Hindi or Urdu, Persian or Farsi, Turkish, Swahili, and Wolof. Other languages are also occasionally offered, and more languages are available through the Departments of the Classics; East Asian Languages and Cultures; French; Germanic Languages and Literatures; Slavic Languages and Literatures; and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. See Less Commonly Taught Language Programs.

Undergraduate Advising

Unsure where to go for academic advising in the linguistics department? See here for a list of advisors for the various parts of our programs.