Linguistics Certificate (Fall 2026)

Linguistics is the study of human language - seeking to define its nature, to establish its relationship to human thought, to discover what distinguishes human language from other forms of communication (human and nonhuman), to understand how children develop a language and acquire additional ones, to understand the ways in which languages may differ from one another and to describe how human beings use language in context to engage in all the other “human” activities.

 

A linguistics certificate complements various careers including: language program developer, director or coordinator, languague tecaher, foreign service worker, language consultant, materials design and developer, computer programmer, writer, journalist, and editor.

Students receiving a Linguistics Certificate will be able to:

  1. Explain linguistic theory in the areas of phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and sociolinguistics.
  2. Apply linguistic concepts to professional and social settings.
  3. Demonstrate an ability to think critically about linguistic issues.

Required Core Courses (12 units)

  • LING 510 Foundational Concepts in Linguistics (3)
  • LING 404 Syntax or LING 506 Foundational Concepts of Phonetics and Phonology (3)
  • LING 408 Semantics and Pragmatics (3)
  • LING 541 Seminar in Sociolinguistics (3)

Note: LING 404 and LING 506 can be taken as an elective if not taken to fulfill the core requirements.

Choose two electives: (6 units)

  • LING 403 Morphology (3)
  • LING 404 Syntax (3)
  • LING 506 Foundational Concepts of Phonetics and Phonology (3)
  • LING 411 Introduction to Historical Linguistics (3)
  • LING 427 Languages in Contact (3)
  • LING 447 Bilingualism in the U.S. (3)
  • LING 455 Computational Linguistics (3)
  • LING 495A-Z Selected Topics in Linguistics (3)
  • LING 503 Seminar in Cognitive Linguistics (3)
  • LING 505 Seminar in Discourse Analysis (3)
  • LING 517 Foundational Concepts of Language Development and Acquisition (3)
  • LING 566 Research Methods for Linguistics (3)
  • LING 590A-Z Selected Topics in Linguistics/TESL (3)

Total: 18 units