Michelle Foley November 22, 2020 7 Academic Tips and Info,College Lists

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Linguistics Major

“Linguist,” like many English words, originates from the Latin lingua, for language. This root splintered into the English vocabulary in the late 16th century, but not before also appearing in the Spanish lengua and Catalan llengua, for tongue.

Linguistics explores stories like these, and this wide-spanning social science pushes its students even further. 

In short, linguistics is the study of languages, how they function, and how humans have learned to communicate with them. 

In long, linguistics is multifaceted and broad in scope, covering everything from Mandarin to ASL to Python. Linguists break down language acquisition, phonetics, phonology, syntactic theory, history, and more. This field is one of niches and subdisciplines.

Computational linguists build analytical models outlining the structure of natural language to answer linguistic questions. They stay as objective and scientific as possible, but with language’s heavily psychological and historical backing, some things get lost in translation. For example, the true origin of the word “walrus” in Dutch vs. Old Norse is hotly contested. 

Such unanswered questions push some linguistics students to conduct field research, often concerning fast-disappearing languages in faraway countries.

Interested in this major? Here, we’ll break down which colleges offer linguistics programs and what to look for in a school.

Overview of the Linguistics Major

Course requirements will vary depending on the college, but linguistics majors will likely cover many of these key subjects:

• Computational Linguistics
• Cultural Anthropology
• Foreign Language 
• Historical Linguistics 
• Introductory Psychology
• Phonetics, Phonology
• Semantics
• Syntax, Morphology 

Many assume that linguists must either be current polyglots or aspiring ones, but in truth, you don’t have to know a ton of languages to be successful in this major. 

Instead, strong linguistics students are typically curious about history, psychology, and computer science. They like to explain big concepts using diagrams and maps, and they’re genuinely curious about languages, especially their own. They like puns, Scrabble, and speaking with those from different countries. 

Successful students in this major are strong verbal and written communicators. They’re often at least somewhat scientifically-minded and skilled in research and analysis.

The linguistics degree opens up a wide array of jobs, many of them in education and academia. Graduates commonly become teachers, professors, librarians, and researchers. Those with a particular interest in speech and sound become speech therapists, speech language pathologists, and audiologists. 

There’s some overlap between the potential jobs for linguistics, English, and communications majors; technical writing, copywriting, editing, marketing, and public relations are popular paths for linguistics majors with a communications bent. 

Perhaps surprisingly, linguists make great consultants and forensic linguistics within the criminal justice system. A few even work for the FBI! 

The likelihood of graduate school wholly depends on your career interests; a linguistics bachelor’s neither inherently pulls you towards graduate school nor guarantees that you’ll get where you want to go without it. 

What to Look for in a College as a Linguistics Major

Study Abroad Opportunities 

While bilingualism isn’t mandatory for this major, immersing yourself in a new language will only enhance your understanding of diverse languages and the links between them. If you feel that studying abroad will enhance your learning experience, look into your potential colleges’ offerings in this area and see if they allow you to travel to the countries which interest you. UCLA, for example, is part of the UC Education Abroad Program, which offers programs in 42 countries.

Field Research Opportunities 

For those planning on grad school, research is a fantastic way to expand one’s knowledge and resume. Linguistics research often involves using auditory and digital equipment to record sound and written records. The University of Chicago’s Sapir Scholars Program creates a symbiotic relationship between graduate students and undergrads; linguistics majors are paired with graduate students to work as assistants for them on their independent research projects in exchange for a small stipend.

Student Organizations

Clubs and professional fraternities are fantastic places to mingle and network with like-minded individuals. This is especially important if you’re seeking to make connections within a large university or one in which linguistics is an uncommon major. Schools like UCLA work hard to keep their students in the humanities engaged; their Bruin Linguists Society hosts quarterly events providing their linguistics majors with academic, social, and career support.

List of All U.S. Colleges With a Linguistics Major

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?

No matter your major, you must be academically comparable to previous years’ admits to be a competitive college applicant. Most selective schools use the Academic Index, a complex tool based on your grades, test scores, and class rankings, to evaluate academic aptitude and filter out students who don’t meet their standards.

The qualitative aspects of your application, like your essays and extracurriculars, are your place to show who you are and demonstrate fit with your chosen schools and major. 

Linguistics is a bit of a niche field, but you can still pursue your passion for it in high school with enough creativity. Join a foreign language club, self-teach, or take a foreign language class. 

Model UN, Mock Trial, and Speech and Debate all develop close analysis, critical thinking, and clear communication skills that will be invaluable in your undergraduate career. Some areas offer Linguistics Olympiads, so do some digging to see if it’s available in yours!

On your own, you can start a linguistics club or take a linguistics class at your local community college. You can always read linguistic books or self-teach linguistic skills in your own time.

Science fair projects, computer science, history presentations, and English research papers can all take on a linguistics-like quality if you choose to tailor it that way. For example, a student asked to research a societal problem could delve into the rapid unique language loss occurring since the 1950’s and its role as a product of cultural, political, and economic marginalization.

If you’re struggling to figure out where you match up to other college applicants, we recommend using our free Chancing Engine. Unlike other solely stats-based chancing calculators, ours looks at your profile holistically, including both your quantitative stats and qualitative extracurriculars.