Major in English, Linguistics Concentration

The Linguistics concentration introduces students to the scientific study of human language, with a particular focus on English and applied language studies. It draws on a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches from various disciplines—from the humanities to the social and natural sciences. The Linguistics concentration offers students the ability to study key theories in linguistics and second-language learning, functional aspects of language production and reception, and the impact of social and cultural factors on language use. 

This concentration is excellent for students who have an interest in (applied) linguistics and teaching English as an additional language, as well as literature, writing, and education. It is ideal for students who wish to pursue graduate and professional programs related to language as well as those who wish to succeed in careers requiring analytical thought, effective communication, and an in-depth understanding of language. 

General Goals

1. To increase students’ awareness and understanding of linguistics as an important field of study that intersects with other disciplines (e.g., Anthropology, Communication Studies, Computer Science, Education, Political Science, Rhetoric, Sociology, Psychology).

2. To draw students’ attention to the various sub-fields of linguistics (e.g., Lexicology, Morphology, Phonetics, Pragmatics, Semantics, Syntax, Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics), and how they contribute to our understanding of how language is acquired, formed, and used.

3. To develop skills that are important for students in the field of linguistics:

• analytical skills (e.g., identifying and interpreting features and patterns of spoken and written language; analyzing and interpreting linguistic data);
• critical thinking skills (e.g., examine how language is used and situated to form and convey arguments; explore how language is used to identify and solve problems);
• application skills (e.g., applying linguistic knowledge and analytical skills to develop pedagogical materials, inform language learning practices in a variety of contexts, and address the needs of language users from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds).    

4. To help students apply theory and knowledge to contemporary language-related issues (e.g., How do people learn a language? How can we measure language proficiency? How do languages change? What are the interactions between language, culture, and thought? How do people communicate with/ through various technologies [e.g., computers, mobile devices, etc.]? How do we create new words in a language?).

5. To get students involved in problem-solving and language-related research (e.g., Learner data analysis, Conversation analysis, Discourse analysis, Corpus-based analysis of discipline-specific language). 

6. To develop multiple literacies that can help enhance students’ linguistic studies (e.g., How do language and other communication modalities interact? How are the various linguistic modalities [spoken/ written/ signed] similar and different?).

Potential Career Paths

The field of linguistics is extremely diverse, intersecting with many areas such as anthropology, computer science, engineering, foreign language study, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and speech and hearing science, among others. As a result, a degree in linguistics can provide the foundation for a wide range of jobs and careers, such as:

• Linguist
• Instructor of English as a second/ foreign language (in U.S. or abroad)
• English language arts teacher (in K-12 settings)
• Materials developer (i.e., textbooks, instructional materials, language tests, etc.)
• Language data analyst
• Computational linguist (conversation design, natural language processing, etc.)
• Copy editor
• Lexicographer
• Technical writer
• Translator and/or Interpreter
• Accent coach

To change your major to English with a concentration in Linguistics, you can either call the College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising Center at 970-491-3117 or send an email to cla_advising@colostate.edu. More information is available on https://advising.libarts.colostate.edu.

Effective Fall 2022

For graduation, an English major must attain a minimum grade point average of 2.000 in all Composition (CO) and English (E) courses.

¹

This requirement must be met by completing the second year of one foreign language and the first year of another foreign language.

²

Excludes E subject code courses.

³

Fifteen credits of upper-division courses (300- to 400-level) with E or CO prefixes, at least 9 credits of which must come from CO 401, E 311A, E 311B, E 311C, E 320, E 324, E 412A, E 412B, E 412C, and E 465.

⁴

Select enough elective credits to bring the program total to 120 credits, of which at least 42 must be upper-division (300- to 400-level).

 

 

Distinctive Requirements for Degree Program:
For graduation, an English major must attain a minimum grade point average of 2.000 in all Composition (CO) and English (E) courses.