Double Major (Fall 2026)

Program Description

Linguistics studies 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.

The 30-unit program is designed for students who choose to major in Linguistics as their second field of study. The 30-unit program will equip students with the foundations of the field and would be a complementary to other majors in the humanities or social and behavioral sciences.

1. Required Core Courses (21):

    Core Area A - All Required:

  • LING 300 Approaches to Linguistic Analysis (3)
  • LING 402 Phonetics and Phonology (3)
  • LING 403 Morphology (3)
  • LING 404 Syntax (3)
  • LING 408 Semantics and Pragmatics (3)
  • LING 417 Language Development and Acquisition (3)

     Core Area B - Pick one:

  • LING 309 Language and Social Interaction (3)
  • LING 427 Languages in Contact (3)
  • LING 441 Sociolinguistics (3)
  • LING 447 Bilingualism in the U.S. (3)

2. Electives (9 units)

Choose three courses. Two courses must be from Group A. All three courses may be from Group A.

Elective Group A

  • LING 100 Demystifying Language: An Introduction to Linguistics (3)
  • LING 200 (How) Language Matters (3)
  • LING 230 Forbidden Language: Swearing and Taboo Language (3)
  • LING 240 Language and Music (3)
  • LING 250 Language(s) in California (3)
  • LING 309 Language and Social Interaction (3)
  • LING 310 Language and the Law (3)
  • LING 314CS Language in Life: Community-Engaged Linguistics (3)
  • LING 325 Language, Gender, and Identity (3)
  • LING 330 Fundamentals for TESL (3)
  • LING 331 Grammar for Teaching English as a Second Language (3)
  • LING 407 Language Varieties (3)
  • LING 411 Historical Linguistics (3)
  • LING 427 Languages in Contact (3)
  • LING 430 Linguistic Introduction to Cognitive Science (3)
  • LING 441 Sociolinguistics (3)
  • LING 447 Bilingualism in the U.S. (3)
  • LING 455 Computational Linguistics (3)
  • LING 495A-Z Selected Topics in Linguistics (3)

(Note: A required course cannot double count as an elective.)

Elective Group B

  • AFRS 395 Bilingualism in the African-American Community (3)
  • ANTH 310 Language in Culture: Anthropological Linguistics (3)
  • CHS 333 Language and Society: Chicanas/os and Other Minority Children (3)
  • CHS 433 Language Acquisition of the Chicana/o and ESL Speakers (3)
  • CHS 482 Language of the Barrio (3)
  • CD 442 Speech Science (3)
  • CD 462 Language Disorders (3)
  • COMP 310 Automata, Languages, and Computation (3)
  • COMP 333 Concepts of Programming Languages (3)
  • COMP 410 Logic Programming (3)
  • COMP 569 Artificial Intelligence (3)
  • COMS 350 Nonverbal Communication (3)
  • COMS 356 Intercultural Communication (3)
  • COMS 450 Communication Research Methodology (3)
  • DEAF 484 Structure of American Sign Language (3) (Taught in ASL)
  • DEAF 485 Issues in American Sign Language (3) (Taught in ASL)
  • ENGL 400 History of the English Language (3)
  • ENGL 405 Language Differences and Language Change (3)
  • LING 303. Human Language: Defining Our Biological Identity (3)
  • PHIL 445 Philosophy of Language (3)
  • PSY 367 Cognitive Psychology (3)
  • SPAN 400 Structure of the Spanish Language (3)
  • SPAN 401 Language and Culture (3)
  • SPAN 425 Spanish Phonetics (3)
  • SPAN 497 Comparative Structure of Spanish and English (3)

 

Total Major units: 30

General Education: 48

Additional units: 42

Total unit required for the BA: 120