Linguistics
Engaging in the Major
While each major has a course of study with requirements and a progress report, there is also an opportunity to have a course of experience to coincide with those requirements which can expand the experience you have while you are here at BYU. Fully engaging in your major can ensure you make the most of the time you spend here.
Competencies and Careers
Students in the Linguistic program can expect to develop strong Communication, Information Literacy, and Cultural Navigation competencies. Want to know more about these professional competencies?
Career Readiness
Linguistics Recommended Course Progression
Course Planning:
To begin you will want to take ling 201 (our intro class) as well as ling 198 (our informational exploration course). 201 is a pre-requisite for most of the classes in the major and should be taken as soon as possible. I recommend taking 198 as early as possible as well because it is helpful to identify different resources, outcomes and possibilities that can come from the major. After you complete those two I would move to requirement 3 and tick off 2-3 of those as they are pre-requisite courses as well.
Course substitutions and transfer course evaluations contact:
Chris Rogers chris_rogers@byu.edu
Funding and Internships
Internships can be an excellent way to gain some experience while here at BYU and a lot of the options are only available for BYU undergraduates. Most jobs students apply for after graduating will require some experiences and so this is a good way to get a jump start on that. The linguistics department has an internship coordinator who can help! Nicole Bay Nicole_bay@byu.edu
Resources to find internships:
- Washington Seminar
- Handshake
- On-Campus Internships
- Comparative Arts and Letters Internship Coordinator: Lisa Johnson
- Linguistics jobs & internships website: https://ling.byu.edu/jobs-and-internships
Funding for Internships
We offer funding for unpaid, professional internships . Please apply!
Humanities Financial Aid
Funding for mentored research
You can participate in a faculty-mentored research project, and you can receive funding for your project. Learn about the Hum Grants program.
Funding for Study Abroad Programs
There are great study abroad programs for all students Find Your Program
Linguistics has some of their own as well: https://ling.byu.edu/study-abroad
The College of Humanities offers funding for Humanities students going on Humanities study abroad programs.
College of Humanities Tuition Scholarships
The College of Humanities offers tuition scholarships. You can find out about the scholarship options and apply here: Humanities Financial Aid
University financial aid options
There are many resources to help you fund your tuition and experiences at BYU. The Financial Aid Office can help!
Campus Resources
Research and writing center: https://rwc.byu.edu
Accessibility center: https://access.byu.edu/accommodations
Learn anywhere: https://learnanywhere.byu.edu/campus-resources
Financial aid contact: amber_cook@byu.edu
Student leadership: https://studentleadership.byu.edu/
Free tutoring: https://yserve.byu.edu/tutoring
Academic Support: https://aso.byu.edu/
Participate in research: Our department is constantly involved in a variety of research projects and is looking for student assistance. You can get course credit and sometimes money participating in the research. Linked below is a page where a lot of the research being done is advertised but you can also pitch topics to your professor to do mentored research as well!
https://ling.byu.edu/participate-in-research
Our faculty produce high-quality, peer-reviewed research across many fields. Faculty publications are regularly reviewed on our News page. You can also view our faculty's directory information (including personal bios) and research interests. We regularly engage students in our research, and students often co-present this research at national and international conferences. They can also become co-authors on peer-reviewed articles with faculty members. Both graduate and undergraduate students can engage in research with faculty members through various research groups. Students can obtain funding for research and conference travel through the department or through College of Humanities HUM Grants.
Getting Involved
FAQ's
-
Toggle ItemWhich minors do Linguistics students usually have?
Linguistics is a shorter major and many of our students add a minor to bolster or round out their academic experience. Below are some of the common minors our students add.
- Any foreign language
- TESOL
- Translation localization
- Digital Humanities
- Entrepreneurship
- Professional writing and communication
- Editing
- Global and community impact
- Civic engagement leadership
- Legal studies
- Linguistic computing
-
Toggle ItemHow can I get ideas for what to do for my internship?
There is an internship course (ling 399r) which if you get approval from the internship coordinator Nicole Bay nicole_bay@byu.edu she can consider it to count as a requirement 7 elective course.
-
Toggle ItemWhen do I take the senior capstone course?
It is preferred for students to take it in their ultimate or penultimate semester. I recommend looking at the course topic (it is an “r” course remember”) in the header section of the registration tab in your penultimate semester and if the topic is something that intrigues you I would jump on it, if not, waiting until the final semester is fine as well.
-
Toggle ItemCan I do a double major?
BYU does not do double majors, we do second majors. The difference is that you will have a primary major which will go on your diploma and then have a secondary major in addition. It is very common for linguistic students to add a language studies major as a second major. Meet with your advisor Jon Cook jon_cook@byu.edu to get the petition form if you are interested in adding one.