Linguistics Major

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: Students must complete a total of 30 units to complete the major. At least 24 of these must be at the 3000 level or above.
  • Grade Requirement: Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in a course to count it toward the major. Pass/No Pass grades do not count toward the major.

Required Courses

Majors must complete the following list of courses. Courses used to complete this requirement cannot also count towards the elective requirement further below. 

LING 1600Introduction to Linguistics3
LING 2550Methods in Linguistic Research3
or LING 3250
Introduction to Computational Linguistics
LING 3050Phonetics3
LING 3150Syntactic Analysis3
LING 3350Phonological Analysis3
LING 3450Introduction to Semantics3
Total Units18

Elective Courses

Majors must take 12 units from the courses listed below. At least 9 units must be at the 3000 level or higher. No more than 6 units may be drawn from LING 4975 or Ling 5000.

CLASSICS 2250Latin and Greek in Current English3
LING 1526First-year Seminar: The Linguistics of Constructed Languages3
LING 1536First-Year Seminar: Storming Off and Slaying the Serpents: Linguistic Approaches to Comparative Mythology3
LING 2225Linguistics for Legal Purposes3
LING 2550Methods in Linguistic Research3
LING 3075Introduction to Sociolinguistics3
LING 3175Morphology3
LING 3185Linguistic Diversity in the United States3
LING 3225Linguistic Pragmatics3
LING 3250Introduction to Computational Linguistics3
LING 3525Linguistics Seminar3
LING 3526Linguistics Seminar: Writing Intensive3
LING 3550Historical and Comparative Linguistics3
LING 4062Second-Language Acquisition3
LING 4250Computation and Learnability in Linguistics Theory3
LING 4850Senior Seminar in Linguistics3
LING 4975Independent Work for Senior Honors3-6
LING 5000Independent Study3-6
PSYCH 3580Language Acquistion3
PSYCH 4330Psychology of Language3

Under certain circumstances, majors may count a limited number of relevant courses not listed above toward the elective requirement. Such circumstances include, for example, study abroad and preparation for a specialized capstone. A specific plan of study must be worked out with the director of the Linguistics program in advance of the courses being taken.

Language Requirement

Majors must have a foreign language competency equivalent to one year of study at the college level. Courses taken to complete this requirement do not count towards the 30 total units required for the major.

Capstone Requirement

Primary majors are required to complete a capstone course or project during their Senior year. The capstone requirement can be satisfied by taking one of the courses listed below. Students wishing to count Ling 5000 for their capstone need to have their independent studies approved in advance by the director of the Linguistics program.

LING 3550Historical and Comparative Linguistics3
LING 4850Senior Seminar in Linguistics3
LING 4975Independent Work for Senior Honors3-6
LING 5000Independent Study3-6

Additional Information

Study Abroad and Transfer Credits

The maximum number of credits from outside Arts and Sciences that students may apply to the major is 6. This includes credits taken outside of Washington University, such as credits transferred from other US institutions and credits from approved Study Abroad programs.

Senior Honors Thesis

At the end of their Junior year, eligible majors may apply to enter the honors program by submitting a proposal for a senior thesis. To be eligible, a major must have the following:

  • An overall University GPA of 3.65 or higher
  • A Linguistics GPA of 3.65 or higher 

If admitted into the program, the major will register for 3 units of LING 4975 Independent Work For Senior Honors in both fall semester and spring semester of their senior year. The major must complete the thesis and pass an oral defense by the middle of April of their senior year.

Contact Info

Contact:Brett Hyde
Phone:314-935-7612
Email:bhyde@wustl.edu
Website:http://linguistics.wustl.edu