Minor

LIN Minor requirements  

To obtain a minor in linguistics, students will have to take a total of five LIN courses in three different categories (core, methods, electives), and do independent work on a linguistics topic. 

Course requirement: Students must satisfactorily complete five linguistics courses. These must include: 

• LIN 201 “Introduction to Language and Linguistics”. Permission may be granted to substitute a different LIN course in place of 201; decisions will be made by the Director of Undergraduate Studies on a case-by-case basis.  
• Students must complete four additional courses, at the 200 level or above, in the following three categories:
  • At least one course from the set of “core” courses:
    • LIN 301 “Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology” 
    • LIN 302 “Syntax” 
    • LIN 303 “Linguistic Semantics” (or PHI/LIN 334 “Semantics”) 
    • LIN 306 “The Structure and Meaning of Words” 
  • At least one course from the set of “methods” courses:
    • LIN 315 (formerly LIN 210) “Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics”
    • LIN 321 “Prosody: Pitch and Rhythm in Spoken Language” 
    • LIN 355 “Field Methods in Linguistics” 
    • LIN 356 “Experimental Linguistics” 
    • LIN 360 “Linguistic Universals and Language Diversity” 
  • Any two other LIN-designated courses at the 200 level or above (which may be drawn from the sets above). Linguistics-related courses in other departments and programs that do not have the LIN designation may be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies on a case-by-case basis. No more than one of these elective courses may be taken P/D/F. 
• No more than one of the five courses to be completed may double-count with the student’s major.  

Independent work requirement: 

• Some substantial aspect of linguistics should be incorporated into either the student’s junior independent work or into their senior thesis. This requirement is typically met by either writing a junior paper or senior thesis on a linguistics topic or topic related to linguistics (i.e. a topic that satisfies the requirements of both the student’s major and minor) – or by including a chapter on a linguistics topic in a senior thesis whose general topic is not directly related to linguistics.  
• If this is not feasible, students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies for alternative arrangements, which in most cases will involve writing a short piece of independent work on a topic related to linguistics, supervised by a member of the LIN faculty. 

Note: This program of study is for a LIN minor, and is separate from the program of study for an independent major in linguistics. For the latter, see the page about the LIN Independent Major. 

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How to Apply

Complete an application online or as a typeable PDF.

Note: Applications must be submitted before the end of the spring semester of a student’s junior year; after that, the student must obtain approval by the Program in Linguistics to contact their residential college dean and request a “Dean’s Action” to enroll in the minor.