Campuses:
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Duluth Campus
Linguistics B.S.English Linguistics and Writing Studies
College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
This degree prepares students to undertake the study of language in a rigorous, scientific manner. The major offers basic and advanced courses in the sound, structure, and meaning of language, and it teaches students the fundamental methods of scientific inquiry. The curriculum focuses on both the internal place of language in the human mind and brain, as well as the external role of language in communication and culture. Along the way, students will consider many topics in linguistics, such as syntactic structure of languages, semantic and pragmatic meaning, language acquisition, language disorders, language evolution, dialects and sociolinguistic variation, language and gender, computational linguistics, and many others. With topics like these in mind, students will be trained to form research questions, gather data, and make arguments based upon their observations. They will also gain experience working with a wide range of languages and diverse cultures. The program will also require a background in science and mathematics consistent with a bachelor's of science degree, which will allow students a straightforward double major in many of the established science majors at the University.
There is a diversity of employment opportunities for linguistics majors. The analytical skills and experience with language makes linguistic majors particularly appealing to computer and software companies, as writers and analysts of all types, in education, in projects such as speech recognition and machine translation, and as preparation for advanced study in all of the liberal arts, social sciences, and computer sciences disciplines. Finally, the United States Department of Homeland Security and federal law enforcement agencies routinely hire employees trained in linguistics.
Program Delivery
This program is available:
Admission Requirements
For information about University of Minnesota admission requirements, visit the
Office of Admissions
website.
General Requirements
Program Requirements
1. A second field of study (either a minor, another major or dual degree) is required for this major.
2. Global experience is a UMD goal for all students and international study is encouraged. Talk with an academic or faculty advisor to explore academic options for fulfilling some degree requirements through study abroad.
Advanced Writing (3 cr)
WRIT 31xx - Adv Writing (3 cr)
Math Foundations (8-10 cr)
Take two courses from the following options.
Natural Science Foundations (7-10 cr)
Take one of the following sequences.
Biology
BIOL 1011 - General Biology I
[LE CAT, NAT SCI]
(5.0 cr)
BIOL 1012 - General Biology II
[SUSTAIN]
(5.0 cr)
or
Chemistry
CHEM 1153 - General Chemistry I
[LE CAT, NAT SCI]
(4.0 cr)
CHEM 1154 - General Chemistry Lab I
[LE CAT, NAT SCI]
(1.0 cr)
CHEM 1155 - General Chemistry II
(4.0 cr)
CHEM 1156 - General Chemistry Lab II
(1.0 cr)
or
Geography
GEOG 1414 - The Physical Geography
[LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN]
(4.0 cr)
or
Earth & Environmental Sciences
EES 1110 - Geology and Earth Systems
[LE CAT, NAT SCI, SUSTAIN]
(4.0 cr)
or
Physics
Physics I
PHYS 2013 - General Physics I
[LE CAT, NAT SCI]
(4.0 cr)
or
PHYS 2017 - Honors: General Physics I
[NAT SCI]
(4.0 cr)
Physics I lab
PHYS 2014 - General Physics Lab I
[NAT SCI]
(1.0 cr)
Physics II
PHYS 2015 - General Physics II
(4.0 cr)
or
PHYS 2018 - Honors General Physics II
(4.0 cr)
Physics II lab
PHYS 2016 - General Physics Lab II
(1.0 cr)
Supporting Foundations (6-8 cr)
Take two additional courses from technical/math or natural sciences. Courses may be from one area or across fields of study.
Take 2 or more course(s) from the following:
·
BIOL 2xxx-3xxx
CHEM 2xxx-3xxx
CS 1xxx-3xxx
EES 2xxx-3xxx
GIS 2xxx-3xxx
MATH 3xxx-4xxx
PHYS 3xxx-4xxx
STAT 1xxx-5xxx
Electives (15-17 cr)
Students must take at least 5 courses to reach a minimum of 15 credits. Three courses must come from the Linguistics lists. Students have the option of reaching the 15-credit requirement by taking more LING courses, or a maximum of two courses from the Optional External Electives list.
Linguistics Electives
Take 3 - 5 course(s) from the following:
·
LING 2101 - Phonetics and Phonology
[NAT SCI]
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 2195 - Special Topics: (Various Titles to be Assigned)
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 2600 - Language in Society
[SOC SCI, CDIVERSITY]
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 3104 - Python Programming for Language Researchers
[LOGIC & QR]
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 3203 - Linguistics and Social Media
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 4103 - Morphology: Word Structures and Rules
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 4104 - Corpus Linguistics
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 4105 - Cognitive Linguistics
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 4195 - Special Topics: (various titles to be assigned)
(3.0 cr)
·
LING 2xxx-4xxx
·
Optional Experience
Take 0 - 6 credit(s) from the following:
·
LING 3591 - Independent Study in Linguistics
(1.0-3.0 cr)
·
LING 4852 - Teaching Assistantship in Linguistics
(1.0-3.0 cr)
Optional External Electives
Take 0 - 2 course(s) from the following:
·
ASL 3003 - Intermediate American Sign Language I
[COMM & LAN]
(3.0 cr)
·
ASL 3004 - Intermediate American Sign Language II
[COMM & LAN]
(3.0 cr)
·
CHIN 1201 - Intermediate Chinese I: Mandarin Chinese
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
CHIN 1202 - Intermediate Chinese II: Mandarin Chinese
[LE CAT3, LEIP CAT03, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
CS 5222 - Artificial Intelligence
(4.0 cr)
·
CS 5232 - Introduction to Machine Learning and Data Mining
(4.0 cr)
·
CS 5242 - Natural Language Processing
(4.0 cr)
·
ENGL 5821 - History of the English Language
(4.0 cr)
·
FR 1201 - Intermediate French I
[LE CAT3, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
FR 1202 - Intermediate French II
[LE CAT3, LEIP CAT03, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
GER 1201 - Intermediate German I
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
GER 1202 - Intermediate German II
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
PHIL 1025 - Introduction to Cognitive Science
[NAT SCI]
(3.0 cr)
·
PHIL 2011 - Philosophy of Language
[LE CAT3, SOC SCI]
(3.0 cr)
·
PSY 3621 - Cognition
(3.0 cr)
·
PSY 3661 - Psychology of Language
(3.0 cr)
·
SPAN 1201 - Intermediate Spanish I
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
SPAN 1202 - Intermediate Spanish II
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
·
SPAN 2301 - Advanced Spanish
[LE CAT, COMM & LAN]
(4.0 cr)
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Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Math1290/1296/1596 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Math1290/1296/1596 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Math 1597/1297 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | BIOL 1011/BIOL 1013 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 5.0 [max 5.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CHEM 1173/CHEM 1153/CHEM 1161 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CHEM 1174/CHEM 1154 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CHEM 1175/CHEM 1155/CHEM 1162 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | CHEM 1176/CHEM 1156 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | EES 1110 FST 1409 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | EES 2311/EES 2301 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 5.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | EES 2312/FST 2342 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 [max 1.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 6.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Ling 4103/Ling 5103 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Fall Odd Year |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Ling 4195/5195 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 1.0 -3.0 [max 6.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 1.0 -3.0 [max 3.0] |
Course Equivalencies: | Ling 4852/5852 |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F only |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall & Spring |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall, Spring & Summer |
Credits: | 3.0 [max 3.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Periodic Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Spring |
Credits: | 4.0 [max 4.0] |
Grading Basis: | A-F or Aud |
Typically offered: | Every Fall |