< College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics offers undergraduate instruction of two types: general linguistics and non-Western languages courses.

General linguistics courses have two purposes: they are intended to prepare students for various careers in which the scientific study of language is of significance; they are, furthermore, the basis for continued professional training toward the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in this field.

Non-Western language courses are offered regularly in Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Sanskrit, and various African languages (Bamana, Lingala, Swahili, Wolof, and Zulu). One language, Hebrew, may be taken as an option of the major (see Hebrew Language and Linguistics Option below).

Major in Sciences and Letters Curriculum

E-mail: deptling@uiuc.edu

Web address for most current program requirements:

http://www.las.uiuc.edu/students/programs/LING/f_LING.shtml

Degree title: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences

Minimum major and supporting course work normally equates to 49-52 hours.

General education: The LAS General Education requirements are set up so students automatically complete the Campus General Education requirements.

Minimum hours required for graduation: 120 hours

Departmental distinction: Students are strongly encouraged to fulfill the requirements for completing their program with distinction. Candidates for the degree with distinction must register their candidacy with their advisers no later than the beginning of the second semester of the junior year. They must achieve a grade point average of at least 3.4 for the required 30 hours in linguistics, and register for at least 4 hours of LING 291-Honors Individual Study, plus submit a senior honors thesis to the Department of Linguistics by the first day of the month preceding the month of graduation.

Students must select one option in consultation with an academic adviser.

General Linguistics Option

HOURS     REQUIREMENTS

30        Linguistics Courses, including 

          LING 200-Introduction to Language Science

          LING 210-Language History

          LING 225-Elements of Psycholinguistics

          LING 300-Introduction to Linguistic Structure

          LING 301-Introduction to General Phonetics

          The remaining core courses are to be selected 

           from among other 200- and 300-level courses (not

           including LING 291). Students are expected to take

           two courses in each of two special areas of 

           linguistics, such as psycholinguistics, applied 

           linguistics, sociolinguistics, mathematical and 

           computational linguistics, non-Western language 

           structure, and area linguistics (African, Classics, 

           Far Eastern, Germanic, Indo-European, Romance, 

           Semitic, Slavic, South Asian). Students must 

           complete 21 hours of advanced course work, 12 hours 

           must be linguistics courses taken on this campus. 

           Advanced course work includes LING 202, 291, and 

           any 300-level linguistics course.

14        Courses in linguistically relevant courses chosen 

           in consultation with an adviser. These may come 

           from any of the following disciplines: anthropology;

           classics; computer science; English; English as an 

           international language; French; Germanic; philosophy; 

           psychology; Slavic; Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese; 

           speech and hearing science; and speech communication.

           In addition, students are strongly encouraged to take 

           two years of a second foreign language in addition to



           the language used to satisfy the college foreign 

           language requirement. This second language may be 

           either a Western or non-Western language.

6-8       Western Civilization, select from:

          HIST 111-Western Civilization from Antiquity to 

           1660 (or HIST 110), and

          HIST 112-Western Civilization from 1660 to the

           Present (or HIST 113)

     or

          C LIT 141-Masterpieces of Western Culture, I, and 

          C LIT 142-Masterpieces of Western Culture, II

Hebrew Language and Linguistics Option

This option provides the student with a broad knowledge of the Hebrew language, both modern and biblical, as well as with introductory training in general linguistics.

HOURS     REQUIREMENTS1

29        Hebrew language courses, including:

9         LING 200-Introduction to Language Science, and two 

           other course in linguistics

          HEBR 305-Advanced Modern Hebrew

          HEBR 306-Advanced Modern Hebrew, II

          HEBR 307-Topics in Modern Hebrew Language and 

           Literature, I

          HEBR 308-Topics in Modern Hebrew Language and 

           Literature, II

8         Biblical Hebrew, select from:

          HEBR 205-Introduction to Classical Hebrew, I

          HEBR 206-Introduction to Classical Hebrew, II

          HEBR 210-Biblical Prose

          HEBR 311-Hebrew Poetry

14        Courses which should constitute a coherent program  

           complementing the major in Hebrew language and 

           linguistics. Possible supporting courses include 

           Jewish culture and society, biblical literature, 

           anthropology, classics, and additional languages. 

           The program of supporting course work will be planned

           by the student in conjunction with the Hebrew 

           language coordinator.

6-8       Western Civilization, select from:

          HIST 111-Western Civilization from Antiquity to 

           1660 (or HIST 110), and

          HIST 112-Western Civilization from 1660 to the

           Present (or HIST 113)

     or

          C LIT 141-Masterpieces of Western Culture, I, and 

          C LIT 142-Masterpieces of Western Culture, II

1. All substitutions must be approved by the coordinator of the option.

For All Options:

Twelve hours advanced-level (300- and approved 200-level) courses in the major must be taken on this campus.

All foreign language requirements must be satisfied.

A Major Plan of Study Form must be completed and submitted to the LAS Student Affairs Office before the end of the fifth semester (60-75 hours). Please see your adviser.

MINOR IN LINGUISTICS

The Linguistics Minor is designed for students who seek a basic familiarity with the field and is especially suited for students with majors in foreign language and other language-related fields such as anthropology, bilingual studies, cognitive science, computer science, English, language acquisition, psychology, speech and hearing science, speech communication, and for anyone interested in the nature of language as the quintessence of being human.

E-mail: deptling@uiuc.edu

Web address for most current program requirements:
http://www.las.uiuc.edu/students/programs/LING/f_LING.shtml

HOURS     REQUIREMENTS

3         LING 200-Introduction to Language Science

6         Select two of the following:

          LING 210-Language History

          LING 211-Syntactic Typology

          LING 225-Elements of Psycholinguistics

          LING 240-Language in Human History

          LING 250-Language in the USA

9         Other Linguistics courses beyond the elementary 

           level including at least 6 hours at the advanced 

           level (300 or approved 200)

18        Total hours

< College of Liberal Arts and Sciences