Undergraduate Minor in Linguistics

This page describes the requirements for the Minor in Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. Specific questions should be addressed to the Linguistics Undergraduate Chair, Prof. Florian Schwarz (ugrad-chair@ling.upenn.edu).

New 4-digit numbering system begins Fall 2022. Old number in parenthesis

Requirements

To receive a minor in linguistics, a student must complete any six course units in the linguistics department, excluding language courses. That is, language instruction offered under the LING label, such as American Sign Language and Irish Gaelic, does not count toward the minor.  In addition, the following courses do not count towards the minor:  Ling 0050 (005)

The choice of courses will depend on the student's particular interests. The general introductory course Ling 0001 (001) is recommended, but not required. Here are some sample plans of study.

  • For a student interested in how language use interacts with the broader society:
    • Ling 0600 (102): Introduction to Sociolinguistics
  • For a student interested in language in a historical context:
    • Ling 0001 (001): Introduction to Linguistics
    • Ling 0054 (054): Bilingualism in History
    • Ling 1100 (110): Introduction to Language Change
    • Ling 0150 (115): Writing Systems
  • For a student emphasizing the formal properties of language:
    • Ling 0001 (001): Introduction to Linguistics
    • Ling 1005 (105): Introduction to Cognitive Science
    • Ling 0500 (106): Introduction to Formal Linguistics
    • Ling 2500 (250): Introduction to Syntax
    • Ling 2300 (230): Sound Structure of Language
    • Ling 3410 (404): Morphological Theory

A single course from another department may occasionally be counted as one of the six courses in the minor if it is deemed to have particularly high linguistic content. This decision is made by the undergraduate chair.