Undergraduate programs

Applied Linguistics B.A.

Admission requirements

Admission to the department is based on general admission to the University. See Admissions Requirements for more information.

Requirements

In addition to meeting the general University requirements for the B.A. degree, majors must complete an adviser-approved program to include the following:

Required Courses

36 credits

Adviser Approved Electives

16 credits

Typologically Different Language from English/Language Structure Requirement

8 credits

Total credits for Applied Linguistics B.A. major

60 credits

 

REQUIRED COURSES 36 credits

300-level courses

Ling 390Introduction to Linguistics

4

Ling 391Introduction to Applied Linguistics

4

Ling 392Structure of the English Language

4

400-level courses

Ling 407Senior Seminar

4

 

Ling 411Syntax

4

or

Ling 412Phonology

4

  

Ling 414Linguistic Pragmatics

4

or

Ling 416Discourse Analysis

4

 

Ling 415Linguistic Phonetics

4

 

Ling 435Theories and Practice in Applied Linguistics

4

 

Ling 437First Language Acquisition

4

or

Ling 438Second Language Acquisition

4

 

NOTE: Students should consult with the departmental undergraduate adviser to determine which of the paired options above is the more appropriate choice for their program of study.

ADVISER APPROVED ELECTIVES 16 credits

Students should meet with the departmental undergraduate adviser to determine which options are most appropriate for them. Students interested in general applied linguistics should choose from Ling 409, Ling 414, Ling 416, Ling 418, Ling 419, Ling 432, Ling 433, Ling 445, Ling 470, Ling 472, Ling 476, Ling 480, Ling 481,Ling 482, and Ling 490. Students interested in theoretical or structural linguistics should choose from Ling 411, Ling 412, Ling 414, Ling 416, Ling 418, Ling 420, Ling 432, Ling 433, Ling 445, Ling 476, Ling 480, Ling 482, and Ling 490. Students interested in language use in the classroom should choose from Ling 409, Ling 416, Ling 439, Ling 470, Ling 472, Ling 473, Ling 476, Ling 480, Ling 481, and Ling 490. Ling 410 requires prior adviser approval.

At least 8 of the 16 elective credits are required to be from PSU Linguistics courses. For a course not taken in PSU Linguistics to count toward the major, students must get approval from the chair or the departmental undergraduate adviser.

Students planning to complete the TESL certificate concurrently with the BA or to enter the MA TESOL program after the BA should work with an adviser to carefully plan their program.

TYPOLOGICALLY DIFFERENT LANGUAGE FROM ENGLISH / LANGUAGE STRUCTURE REQUIREMENT 8 credits

All students must complete one of the three following requirements:
  1. Take 2 terms of a single language that is typologically different from English (choose from: Arabic, ASL, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Russian, Swahili, or Turkish).
  2. Take 2 classes that focus on language structure across languages:
Ling 418Linguistic Morphology

4

Ling 419Language Typology

4

Ling 420Historical and Comparative Linguistics

4

Ling 481World Englishes

4

Ling 482Pidgins and Creoles

4

Ling 410Selected Topics

4

Ling 410 requires prior adviser approval

3. Take one term of a typologically different language and one language structure class.

All courses used to satisfy the department major requirements must be graded C or above. Courses taken pass/no pass are not acceptable toward fulfilling department major requirements. By the end of the first quarter of admission to the program, students must consult with the adviser to select the appropriate courses. On completion, the entire program must also be approved by the undergraduate adviser.