Admission to the Program
To declare a minor in Linguistics, students must satisfy the requirements of their chosen departmental major and develop a complementary course of study in Linguistics as outlined in the Program of Study section, below. The minor is open to undergraduates in any department. Interested students should apply through the LIN Program website. Applicants will be accepted on the basis of interest and a coherent academic plan. Students must enroll in the minor no later than the spring of their junior year.
Program of Study
The program of study for the minor in Linguistics will be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. The program of study must include the following components:
(a) Satisfactory completion of LIN 201/CGS 205 (Introduction to Language and Linguistics). In special circumstances, with the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, a different LIN course may be substituted in place of LIN 201. LIN 201 (or any substitute) must not be taken P/D/F.
(b) Satisfactory completion of four additional LIN courses beyond LIN 201 (or its substitute) in the following three categories:
- No more than one of the five courses to be completed may double-count with the student’s major.
- At least one course from the set of “core” courses (LIN 301, LIN 302, LIN 303 or 334, LIN 306). This course must not be taken P/D/F.
- At least one course from an expanded set of “methods” courses (LIN 315, LIN 321, LIN 355, LIN 356, LIN 360). This course must not be taken P/D/F.
- 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 two elective courses may be taken P/D/F.
(c) Satisfactory completion of some piece of independent work related to linguistics. This requirement may be met in one of two ways.
- Some substantial aspect(s) of linguistics may be incorporated into the student’s junior independent work or senior thesis, i.e., as part of fulfilling their major requirements. This is typically met either by writing a junior paper or senior thesis on a topic related to linguistics or by including a chapter on a linguistics topic in a senior thesis whose general topic is not directly related to linguistics.
- The student may instead pursue a small research project culminating in a short paper (10-15 pages, double spaced) on a linguistic topic of their choosing. Students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies to discuss the guidelines for this small project and to be matched with an advisor among the Linguistics faculty who will oversee this small project.
A student who fulfills the requirements laid out above with satisfactory standing receives a minor in Linguistics upon graduation.
