Declare a Linguistics Major
 

Required Courses

The Linguistics program is divided into four components:

Core Courses

The required core courses are designed to expose you to the analysis of linguistic data and language acquisition, variation and change.

Specialization Courses

Choose five courses from among the following to focus either on language behavior or on linguistic analysis, on cognitive aspects or on grammar:

• Phonetics (LING 411)
• Semantics (LING 415)
• Language and Cognition (LING 416)
• Morphology and Syntax (LING 435)
• Second Language Acquisition (LING 444)
• Phonology (LING 450)
• Functional Syntax I (LING 451)
• Historical & Comparative Ling (LING 460)
• Sociolinguistics (LING 491)
• Corpus Linguistics (LING 493)

Electives

In addition to the required courses listed above, you must take two additional classes: one elective (any LING class level 200 or higher) and a proseminar. You may also replace the elective with another proseminar, as long as seminars are on different topics.

Linguistics Pre-Approved Interdisciplinary Electives

• CHN 480 Chinese Linguistics
• CHN 481 Pedagogical Grammar of Chinese
• CHN 482 History of Chinese Language
• EALL 440 Japanese and Korean Phonetics
• EALL 441 Japanese and Korean Syntax
• EALL 442 Second-Language Acquisition
• EALL 443 Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Pedagogy
• GLBL 434 Language Issues for International Studies
• JPN 315 Introduction to Japanese Linguistics
• KRN 315 Introduction to Korean Linguistics
• PHIL 425 Philosophy of Language
• PSY 440 Psycholinguistics
• SPAN 324 Spanish Pronunciation and Phonetics
• SPAN 322 Introduction to Hispanic Linguistics
• SPAN 420 Spanish Linguistics
• SPAN 424 History of Spanish Language
• SPAN 428 Spanish in the United States

Seminar:

Important note: Seminars generally have prerequisites, often a subset of the required courses. Even if a class is listed here, confirm with the Director of Undergraduate Studies that the class will count for the proseminar requirement *before* you enroll in the class. 

• LING 407 Proseminar*
• CHN 407 (only if seminar in Chinese linguistics)
• EALL 407 (only if seminar in East Asian linguistics)
• KRN 407 (only if seminar in Korean linguistics)
• JPN 407 (only if seminar in Japanese linguistics)
• SPAN 407 (only if seminar in Spanish linguistics)
• RL 407 (only if seminar in Romance Language linguistics)
  
  *LING 407 (sometimes it is possible to substitute another 400-level course that has: few students, most readings from primary literature, discussion-oriented class with a rigorous term paper.) 

Second and Third Language Requirement

Linguistics majors must demonstrate proficiency in two languages other than their native language. The second language must be at least equivalent to the end of two years of study (e.g. Arabic 203), the third language must be at least equivalent to the end of one year of study (e.g. Sahaptin 103). As linguists interested in the diversity of languages in the world, we encourage you to study a non-European language, or a non-spoken language, such as American Sign Language (ASL). 

Foreign students whose first language is not English should note that the second language requirement) can, under specified circumstances, be met with English. (See the UO Academic Policies for an explanation of the BA second language requirements.)

**Students who wish to pursue a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree must complete the equivalent of one year of college-level work in mathematics in addition to the language requirements stated above. All courses taken must be passed with a grade of C- or higher, or P (pass). Courses used to satisfy the mathematics requirement for the BS degree may not also be used to fulfill the Science (SCI) area requirement.

Transfer students and students changing their major to linguistics can complete the degree in linguistics within two years. Since a number of courses are taught only on an annual basis, care must be taken in planning a course of study so that the most efficient sequencing of courses is selected. Planning the program with the help of the undergraduate advisor is essential.

Note: LING 301 is a pre-requisite for LING 411 and LING 435.  If LING 301 cannot be taken summer term prior to beginning the major, special arrangements with the instructor of LING 411 CAN BE made on a case-by-case basis for concurrent enrollment.

The above sample programs assume that the student will fit these courses to the language requirement of the department and the B.A. requirements of the University. A few elective courses in linguistics are also offered during the summer session so that students have the option of further flexibility.