Texas Tech University

Linguistics

Book in foreign language with marginalia

Linguistics is the study of human language—how it was developed, how it is used, and how it will continue to impact our lives.  The Interdisciplinary Minor in Linguistics provides training in a broad variety of useful language-related skills by offering courses from wide range of programs on campus including English, Spanish, CMLL, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology, Media and Communications, and HDFS.

The minor is comprised of 18 hours of coursework, half of which are electives.  (See below for requirements and options.)

Students interested in the minor, or with questions, should contact Dr. Aaron Braver (aaron.braver@ttu.edu), the director of the program.

Job prospects for linguistics students

Studying linguistics provides both domain-specific skills (e.g., knowledge of the structure of language), and also transferable skills that are useful in almost any career (e.g. cross-cultural communication, data analysis, and critical thinking).

People with linguistics degrees work in a wide range of professions.  For example:

 

Want to know more about careers a linguistics minor prepares you for?  Check out the following resources:

Who should minor in linguistics?

If you're interested in language, the human mind, or puzzles, a linguistics minor is for you.

Majors and minors that pair well with linguistics

  • English
  • Creative writing
  • Technical Communication
  • Communications
  • Anthropology
  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Spanish, or any foreign language
  • Languages and Cultures
 
  • Any CMLL major or minor
  • Computer science or computer engineering
  • Journalism
  • Pre-law
  • Education
  • Book history and digital humanities
  • HDFS
  • International studies

Requirements for the minor

The Minor is comprised of 18 hours of coursework (6 courses). Of these, half are required and half are electives.

Required Courses

Department Course Number Course Title
English 2370 or 2371

How Language Works (fulfills Social and Behavioral Sciences Core requirement) [2370]

Language in a Multicultural America (fulfills a multicultural requirement) [2371]

English 3371 How Language Works
English 3373 How Syntax Works

Electives

Choose up to 3 courses, for 9 hours and they must be drawn from at least two different departments; at least one course must be from English.

Department Course Number Course Title
SASW ANTH 3316 Anthropological Theory: Understanding Language and Culture
Comm. Studies COMS 3301 Communication Theory
Comm. Studies COMS 3332 Intercultural Communication
Comm. Studies COMS 3334 Gender and Communication
English ENGL 3372 History of the English Language
English ENGL 4300 Individual Studies in English
English ENGL 4371 Language and Community: Learning While Serving
English ENGL 4373 Studies in Linguistics
CMLL FREN 4300 Individual Problems in French
CMLL GERM 3305 German Language Studies
CMLL GRK 4300 Individual Problems in Greek
CMLL ITAL 4300 Individual Problems in Italian
CMLL ITAL 4303 Advanced Italian Conversatio
CMLL JAPN 4300 Individual Studies in Japanese
CMLL LAT 4300 Individual Problems in Latin
CMLL LING 4311 Methods of Teaching Second and Foreign Languages
CMLL LING 4315 Introduction of Spanish Linguistics
CMLL LING 4327 English as a Second Language: Language Use and Learning
CMLL LING 4332 Child Language Acquisition
CMLL LING 4335 Introduction to Linguistics to Second and Foreign Language Acquisition
CMLL LING 4383 Topics in Second Language and Bilingual Studies
CMLL PORT 4300 Individual Studies in Portugese
CMLL RUSS 3305 Studies in Advanced Russian
CMLL SPAN 3305 Intermediate Spanish Grammar
CMLL SPAN 3308 How the Spanish Language Works: A Course in Hispanic Linguistics
CMLL SPAN 3318 The Sounds of Spanish
CMLL SPAN 3389 Individual Studies in Spanish
CMLL SPAN 4303 Advanced Conversation
CMLL SPAN 4318 Spanish in the United States
CMLL TURK 4300 Individual Studies in Turkish
CMLL VIET 4300 Individual Problems in Vietnamese
Philosophy PHIL 2310 Logic
Philosophy PHIL 3330 Philosophy of Science
Philosophy PHIL 3340 Minds, Brains, and Computers
Philosophy PHIL 4310 Advanced Logic
Philosophy PHIL 4330 Epistemology
Philosophy PHIL 4331 Philosophy of Language
Psychology PSY 4301 Developmental Psychology
HDFS HDFS 3312 Development During Childhood