At which campus can I study this program?
Program Description
This minor is designed for students in any major of the University who wish to supplement their knowledge in the area of linguistics. The minor consists of 18 credits. A certificate is awarded to students who complete the requirements of the minor.
For more information on the Linguistics Program, visit our website: http://linguistics.la.psu.edu.
What is Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language: how it is structured, how it is acquired, how it is used to convey information, and how it changes over time. While many linguists do speak more than one language--or at least know how to approach the study of other languages--linguistics is much more than this. Through courses and a wide variety of research opportunities, our students explore how languages are structured (sentence structure, sound patterns, meaning and more), and how those structures are processed by the human brain. Since language is integral to all societies, linguists are interested in how language affects culture, and how social factors (place of birth, social class, ethnicity, gender, age, etc.) impact language use. We approach language from a global perspective, investigating commonalities and differences across languages in order to increase our understanding of what makes human communication unique.
You Might Like This Program If...
- You enjoy studying languages, particularly finding and applying grammatical patterns.
- You are interested in communication, and learning more about the function of language(s) in society and how language structure and use varies depending on social context.
- You like to think about how the human brain functions, and want to know more about language and cognition, language learning (by children or adults!), or how the brain handles multiple languages.
- You like logic, computer programming, and/or abstract puzzles.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| LING 402 | Syntax I | 3 |
| LING 404 | Phonology I | 3 |
| Additional Courses | ||
| Additional Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| LING 1 | Language, Life and Society  | 3 |
| or LING 100 | Foundations of Linguistics | |
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas | ||
| Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 9 credits from LING offerings | 9 | |
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Liberal Arts Academic Advising
814-865-2545
Use the Liberal Arts Meet the Academic Advisers web page to see the contact information for the specific adviser(s) of this program
Career Paths
Courses in linguistics provide students the opportunity to practice and hone skills such as analytical reasoning, critical thinking, formulating hypotheses and argumentation, so linguistics students can easily pursue a variety of different career paths. The skills gained by our students provide good preparation for careers in information science and technology, education (especially language teaching), speech pathology, or audiology. Linguistics also provides good preparation for legal studies, law enforcement and related careers, as well as fields requiring precise use of language, such as advertising, publishing, or journalism. Students interested in international business or global studies would also benefit from studying linguistics.
Careers
Information Science and Technology: Linguistics training can provide tools to be applied in areas of speech recognition, text-to-speech synthesis, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, computer-mediated language learning, and other technological domains.
Language Teaching: Students who study linguistics are uniquely positioned to understand language structures, particularly grammar and pronunciation. These skills transfer very well into the language classroom, whether teaching English as a Foreign Language, or helping English speakers learn another language. Other career paths would include those in the fields of advertising and publishing, law enforcement and intelligence, legal and forensic consultation, speech pathology, speech and hearing science, government services and NGO work.
Opportunities for Graduate Studies
A linguistics minor or major is useful to students wanting to pursue the following types of graduate studies: M.A. or Ph.D. in Linguistics M.A. or Ph.D. in a particular language, or language education M.A. (or Ph.D.) in communication sciences and disorders (speech pathology, audiology, etc.) M.A. or Ph.D. in Computer Science Law School (JD) At Penn State, the Linguistics program offers a Dual-Title Doctoral Degree in Language Science to graduate students enrolled in the doctoral programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, German, Psychology, or Spanish. Dual-title degree students receive interdisciplinary training in the theoretical and methodological approaches of several disciplines (i.e., linguistics, psychology, speech-language pathology, and cognitive neuroscience).
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF SPANISH, ITALIAN AND PORTUGUESE
442 Burrowes Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-4252
sp-it-port@psu.edu