Linguistics: General

Human language is the primary and unifying theme of the Linguistics & Communication Disorders Department. It brings to students an opportunity to explore the richness and diversity of this unique phenomenon. Students are provided with a solid background in linguistics, speech, hearing, and language science—disciplines thoroughly grounded in the liberal arts. They are also able to study first, second, and atypical language acquisition and use, examining similarities and differences in these varied processes. Through the exploration of human speech and language, we hope to impart to the students a deep appreciation and understanding of human nature.

The department houses programs in linguistics and in communication sciences and disorders. The communication sciences program is designed to provide the necessary preparation for students interested in careers in speech-language pathology, audiology, and related scholarly and professional disciplines. One undergraduate track in linguistics prepares students to be teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL); the other is in general linguistics. Minors in general linguistics and computational linguistics are offered as well.