Departments & Programs

Linguistics

Major in Linguistics
Purpose

The B.A. Major in Linguistics broadens students' foreign language experience with the study of language structure and to introduce students to a variety of aspects of linguistic investigation, including language use, meaning, and stylistics; language change and variation; and training in linguistic analysis of phonetic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic structure. Linguistics studies language in all its forms and uses.

Required Courses

Students must complete at least 30 credit hours in linguistics and required language courses, including the following:

  1. Core Requirements: L306, L307, L310, L431 or L441, and four electives, of which two must be at the 300–400 level. One elective may be from a related area.
  2. Language Structure Requirements: L432, or L490, or two courses in a language approved by the department, excluding modern Germanic and Romance languages.
  3. Language Proficiency Requirement: at least one 3 credit hour course at the 300–400 level of a foreign language. (This requirement is waived for students who double major in linguistics and a foreign language.)

At least 18 credit hours must be completed on the IU Bloomington campus. Students must complete the degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.