CAS: Linguistics

Sample Pathway

Below is an example of a four-year plan of a College of General Studies student pursuing a degree in linguistics. Students will work with their CGS academic advisors and the Linguistics Department to plan their own pathway to a linguistics degree.

  Semester I Semester II
Freshman Year CGS RH 103
CGS SS 103
CGS HU 103
CAS LX 250		 CGS Required Courses (London or Boston-New England semester)
Sophomore Year CGS NS 201
CGS SS 201
1st-semester course in Language A (if needed)
LX core course (e.g. CAS LX 331)		 CGS HU 202
CGS NS 202
2nd-semester course in Language A (if needed)
LX core course (e.g. CAS LX 321)
Junior Year LX core course (e.g. CAS LX 301)
3rd-semester course in Language A (or higher, according to background)
1st-semester course in Language B (if needed)
Elective*		 LX course in linguistics of specific language (e.g. CAS LX 391)
4th-semester course in Language A (or higher, according to background)
2nd-semester course in Language B (if needed)
Elective*
Senior Year LX elective (e.g. CAS LX 367)
5th-semester course in Language A (or higher, according to background)
3rd-semester course in Language B (or higher, according to background)
Elective*		 LX elective (e.g. CAS LX 365)
LX or related elective (e.g. CAS LX 349)
Elective*
Elective*

*Choose your non-major electives carefully to fulfill any remaining BU Hub requirements. You will find a list of all of the courses that carry Hub units on the University’s BU Hub website. External courses are not eligible for Hub general education credit.

Please see here for an overview of how Linguistics degree programs fit in with Hub requirements.

College of General Studies Program Requirements

  • Two rhetoric courses: CGS RH 103 and CGS RH 104
    • CGS RH 104 is taken during the London semester
  • Two natural science courses: CGS NS 201 and CGS NS 202
  • Three social science courses:
    • CGS SS 104 is required and is taken during the London semester
    • Students select at least two additional SS courses and will work with their academic advisor to determine course selection
  • Three humanities courses:
    • CGS HU 104 is required and is taken during the London semester
    • Students select at least two additional HU courses and will work with their academic advisor to determine course selection

Major Requirements

An undergraduate major in Linguistics requires the successful completion of a total of 12 courses: eight in linguistics (and/or a related field), and four upper-level (at or above 3rd-semester level) foreign language courses. All required courses are 4 credit hours.

Required Linguistics Courses (8)

In linguistics, students take a core of four required courses:

  • CAS LX 250 Introduction to Linguistics
  • CAS LX 301 Phonetics & Phonology: Introduction to Sound Systems
  • CAS LX 321 Syntax: Introduction to Sentential Structure
  • CAS LX 331 Semantics & Pragmatics: Introduction to Linguistic Meaning

Students choose four additional linguistics courses, distributed as follows, with a maximum of one course below the 300 level:

  • One course in linguistic analysis of a specific language (e.g. CAS LX 365, 367, 370, 373, 383, 391)
  • Two additional CAS LX courses (e.g. CAS LX 205, 208, 235, 311, 317, 341, 342, 346, 349, 355, 359, 360, 390, 394, 403, 405, 422, 423, 432, 433, 453, 454, 496)
  • One course in linguistics or a related field, selected in consultation with the student’s advisor 

Required Language Courses (4)

Students take four upper-level language courses, at or above the 3rd-semester level, including (at least) two different languages. The languages may be spoken or signed (e.g. American Sign Language). Students with prior background in a language may commence study of that language at 3rd-semester level or higher; those starting a new language will take additional courses to first get up to 3rd-semester level (the pathway above shows a student starting both languages, Language A and Language B, from the beginning).

For a full list of required courses, please see the CAS Bulletin.

Please contact Richard Wong, Linguistics Department Administrator, or the current Director of Undergraduate Studies in Linguistics with any questions.

Continuation Requirements

  • Completion of the CGS required courses and appropriate electives
  • Cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00

Graduation Requirements

Boston University students completing a Linguistics degree in CAS must complete all of the following requirements.

  • BU Hub requirements
    • Students who take the specific CGS courses noted on the pathway above will fulfill all BU Hub requirements except the units listed below. These remaining Hub units will be fulfilled through the courses you take for your major and/or other electives.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II (1 unit) (LX394)
    • Creativity/Innovation (1 unit) (LX 360)
    • Teamwork/Collaboration (1 unit) (LX 391)
    • Writing-Intensive Course (1 unit) (LX 367)
  • CAS requirements
  • Linguistics major requirements
  • CAS requires a minimum of 128 credits, excluding PDP, ROTC, and CAS FY and SY courses.

This is a sample pathway to be used in consultation with your CGS Academic Advisor.

It is subject to change according to course availability and individual circumstances.

Last revised: 04/16/2023