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91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ
91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ

Linguistics Department

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Linguistics major, a student will have demonstrated a command of the study of human language, the ability to complete a sustained research project, and the ability to present their work in writing and in discussion. Majors will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate command of the methods of linguistics:
    • Either construct a grammatical sketch for an unidentified language, utilizing the concepts, terms, and methodologies necessary to do basic grammatical analysis and describe natural language data; or develop an empirical research project to investigate a linguistic topic, including literature review, research design and data analysis and interpretation.
    • Correctly use technical terms and/or methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis.
  2. Execute and defend a significant independent research project:
    • Formulate an interesting and significant research question or hypothesis.
    • Develop and pursue a methodology appropriate to a research topic.
    • Engage with relevant scholarly literature review.
    • Collect, analyze, and interpret relevant data.
    • Develop new knowledge, whether expository or innovative.
    • Independently investigate the topic with the support of an advisor.
    • Respond effectively to feedback.
  3. Communicate work done
    • Articulate an argument or thesis statement for the research project.
    • Write a clear and coherent document that is substantially longer than a traditional term paper or project, and modeled on the organization, prose style, and formatting of a linguistics journal article.
    • Effectively present data, including correctly formatted linguistic examples, appropriate visualizations of numerical data, etc.
    • Orally present, discuss, and defend work done.

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at 91²ÝÝ®ÊÓƵ and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis; the junior qualifying examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a second assessment tool. For more information on the thesis, the Junior Qualifying Exam and the academic program, see Requirements.