Linguistics Major
Students must also complete the Undergraduate Registration Requirement and the degree requirements of their home school.
NOTE: This Catalog describes Weinberg College BA requirements that pertain to students who matriculated at Northwestern after spring quarter 2023. Refer to the Archives if you are following BA requirements described in the 2018-2019 through 2022-2023 editions.
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| Department Courses (12 units) | |
| Introductory courses (2 units) | |
Any two 200-level courses in Linguistics | |
| Methods courses (3 units) | |
| 1 course from each of the following categories: | |
Statistical 1 | |
| Introduction to Statistics and Data Science | |
| Introduction to Probability and Statistics | |
Computational | |
| Introduction to Computer Programming | |
| Fundamentals of Computer Programming | |
Experimental | |
| Language and the Brain | |
| Experimental Sociolinguistics | |
| Experimental Approaches to Word Form Processing | |
| Experimental Syntax | |
| Experimental Pragmatics | |
| Bilingualism | |
| Advanced courses (7 units) | |
7 additional courses beyond the 200 level 2 | |
- 1
PSYCH 201 may substitute for either STAT 202-0 or STAT 210-0 with DUS approval
- 2
-
Only 1 of the 7 may be LING 398-0 Undergraduate Seminar in Linguistics or LING 399-0 Independent Study.
Adjunct major in MMSS
Linguistics majors pursuing an adjunct major in Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) may double-count the following MMSS courses towards linguistics major requirements (for triple major limitations see MMSS Adjunct Major):
- MMSS 311-1 and MMSS 311-2 may be counted as 300-level advanced courses.
Honors in Linguistics
The Honors Program in Linguistics gives outstanding senior majors an opportunity to design and carry out an independent research project on a topic of their choice, under close supervision of faculty. Students with an outstanding academic record in their Linguistics major coursework and overall are invited to apply to the honors program in the spring before their senior year (a GPA of 3.5 in coursework toward the Linguistics major is expected). Interested students should prepare a research project proposal in consultation with the faculty member who will oversee the project, and present this proposal, including the identification of a second reader, to the Director of Undergraduate Studies for review. Proposals are due one week after the completion of the spring quarter before senior year. Proposals that are approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies will be pursued during senior year.
During senior year, honors students undertake the research and writing of an honors thesis. The thesis must constitute an original contribution to linguistic knowledge and must consist substantially of independent research performed by the candidate. Honors students are also required to take 2 additional Linguistics courses beyond those required for the major during senior year. These courses may be selected from LING 398-0 Undergraduate Seminar in Linguistics, LING 399-0 Independent Study, and 400-level courses.
Students whose projects, theses, and grades meet program criteria are recommended to the college for graduation with honors. For more information consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies and see the Linguistics Honors website.