Why Study Linguistics?
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. At the heart of linguistics is an understanding of:
- The unconscious knowledge that humans have about language
- How humans acquire language
- The general and specific structures of language
- How languages vary
- How language influences the way in which humans interact with each other and think about the world
Sapir Scholars
The Sapir Scholars Program pairs undergraduate students with advanced graduate students in the Linguistics Department who will mentor and supervise them as they serve as research assistants to the graduate students’ own research projects. The undergraduate student receives a stipend of $500 for the quarter, paid in two parts: one payment of $250 when
Honors Requirements
In order to receive the degree in linguistics with honors, a student must write an honors essay. At the end of a student's third year, any student who has maintained a 3.0 or better overall grade point average and a 3.5 or better grade point average in linguistics courses may consult with the departmental undergraduate adviser about submitting an honors essay. The honors essay must be submitted by the fifth week of the quarter in which the student plans to graduate.
Chicago Linguistics Undergraduate Board
Chicago Linguistics Undergraduate Board (CLUB) is an undergraduate student group hoping to advance academic opportunities for linguistics majors and minors and build cohort identity among linguistics undergraduates.
Interested in getting involved in linguistics student life?
Undergraduate Student Resources
If you'd like to be updated about department events, research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, and the like, please contact department staff to be added to one or more of the department's listservs!
Major & Minor Program
The Department of Linguistics at the University of Chicago offers undergraduate students two paths for studying language: a BA major and a minor. The major provides flexibility for students to construct a course of study that accords with their interests, with a core set of required courses supplemented by electives, the majority of which must be courses offered by the department. The minor is open to students majoring in any other field and requires a smaller set of courses, to be declared before the end of Spring Quarter of the student's third year.
Graduate Student Resources
Masters of Arts Degree
The University of Chicago offers Master's level study through the Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH). MAPH offers a one-year program and a two-year language focused program. In both programs, students build their own curriculum with graduate-level courses in any humanities department (including Germanic Studies) and complete a thesis with their chosen University of Chicago faculty adviser.
Mentoring
In order to advance to candidacy, students must form a dissertation committee, which will include the proposed dissertation chair and other members faculty who will serve as committee members(p. 11). Upon setting up this committee, the chair and the student should explicitly outline an individual mentoring plan specifying the expectations of both parties. These This plans should be reviewed and possibly revised at an annual full-committee meeting. The plan may be revised as a result of the annual review, as deemed appropriate by the student together with the committee.
Year-End Assessments
At the end of every academic year, students are sent a letter evaluating their progress during the year. The content of the letter will be based on faculty discussion of the student’s performance and will be written by the Director of Graduate Studies. The intent of the assessment is to provide constructive feedback on an individual student’s strengths and weaknesses, indicating areas that they can build on or need to develop during subsequent years in the PhD program.