About the Department

The Department of Linguistics offers a four-year program leading to a degree in Bachelor of Arts, a two-year program leading to a degree in Master of Arts, and a four-year program leading to a PhD in Linguistics.

The BA Program in Linguistics offers the tools for understanding the structure of natural languages and explores the foundations of linguistic theory. To this end, the first year of the program introduces the student to the basic conceptual notions of general linguistics, followed up in the second year by core courses in theoretical linguistics which form the basis of linguistic analysis. The third and fourth year courses reflect the diversity in linguistics, laying the groundwork for the various sub-fields. The program focuses both on the formation of critical thinking and on the methodology required to elicit linguistic data, and to analyze them thereby preparing the student to model natural languages. This will enable the student to pursue his or her interests in a wide range of areas such as the linguistic description of a particular language, the internal structure of grammar, structural characteristics of impaired language, language use in different contexts and the acquisition of first and second languages.

The undergraduate curriculum is a well-balanced program in the spirit of the liberal arts tradition of the university. The requirements for the completion of the program are 130/134 credits with a total of 17/19 linguistics courses covering a wide range of areas in linguistics. The remaining courses are taken from other departments, giving the students the opportunity to broaden their interests. Exposure to a language other than English and native language is also part of the curriculum.

The M.A. program is open to all who have successfully completed an undergraduate program at an accredited institution and are interested in the issues of general and theoretical linguistics. Requirements for the Master of Arts degree in linguistics consist of minimum 24 credit hours of course work and a thesis. Students who have not taken the prerequisite undergraduate courses specified in the course descriptions are required to complete them successfully on a non-credit basis. Area electives in the program may be chosen from courses at 400 level or above in linguistics, or, with the consent of the advisor, in related fields. A maximum of eight credits may be transferred from other accredited graduate linguistics programs.

The Ph.D. program in Linguistics is intended to train candidates for teaching and research positions. The students are expected to have completed an M.A. program in linguistics. The program consists of minimum 24 credits of course work taken at the Ph.D. level. These credits include the credits of the three core courses, Ling 601 (Phonology), Ling 612 (Morphology) and Ling 641 (Syntax). In the case that the prerequisites for the Ph.D. courses have not been met by the student during previous graduate studies, all the required courses have to be taken prior to official enrollment in the program. A maximum of eight credits may be transferred from an accredited Ph.D. program. A qualifying paper (published or publishable) should be submitted before the formal thesis proposal.