Academic Program

The Linguistics Department offers a course major, a course minor, an honors major, and an honors minor.  In addition, a course major and an honors major are offered in Linguistics and Languages.

Language courses do not count towards the elective requirements for the major/minor.  Examples of these courses include LING 011, 012, 015, 024, 033, and 057.  If you're unsure about whether a course falls into this category, please contact the chair.

Students may count towards the major or minor up to one elective course taken with CR/NC grading.  This restriction does not apply to courses taken in the first semester at Swarthmore or in other cases where regular letter grades are not available. The Linguistics Department allows students to count up to two credits towards their Ling major, or one credit towards their Ling minor, which they are also using to fulfil another major or minor. Students should check with their other department about their overlap policies to ensure compliance.

Students who have taken college-level courses in Syntax, Semantics, Phonetics/Phonology, or Sociolinguistics may place out of the department's intro-level courses on those subjects (LING 25, 40, 45, 50) and instead fulfill the relevant major/minor requirement(s) by taking the corresponding II-level class (LING 80, 81, 81, 85), with permission from the chair and the relevant instructor.

Students who wish to petition for an exception or change to a particular major/minor requirement should fill out the form at [link] and submit it to the department chair.  These requests will be granted at the discretion of the chair, in consultation with appropriate faculty members.

Off-Campus Study

Linguistics majors and minors frequently study abroad, and are encouraged to do so. There is no limit on the number of courses taken abroad or in other off-campus programs that may count towards the major or minor. Usually these will count as electives, but the chair may approve relevant courses to fulfill core major requirements.

The Senior Thesis

All majors will complete a senior thesis as their comprehensive requirement. See this page for more details on the thesis process.

Table of Contents

Course Major

Course Major: Linguistics and Languages

Major in Educational Studies & Linguistics

Course Minor

Honors Major

Honors Major Linguistics and Languages

Honors Minor

Course Major

The course major in linguistics consists of at least eight credits in linguistics, including all of the following:

  1. Phonetics & Phonology: LING 45/H115.
  2. Syntax: LING 50/H113/B113.
  3. Semantics: LING 40/H114.
  4. A course in language, culture, and society from the following:  LING 02A First-Year Seminar: Gender and Language, LING 02B First-Year Seminar: Creoles in the Caribbean,  LING 21 Anthropological Linguistics, LING 25/H125 Sociolinguistics, LING 41 Dialects of American English, LING 44 Linguistic Discrimination, LING 46/H146 Linguistic Diversity, LING 053 Educating Emergent Bilinguals, LING 112G Language and Gender, and LING/ANTH B281 Language in the Social Context. Other courses which are not being used to fulfill another major requirement may be used here with approval of the chair.
  5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language: typically LING 61 (Navajo), 67 (Wamesa), 68 (Kyrgyz), H282 (Chinese), or H215 (Colonial Valley Zapotec).
  6. LING 100/H399/B399, in which students complete and defend a one-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement for the major.
  7. Two additional electives in linguistics. An elective is any course listed or cross-listed in Linguistics, except for language courses.

Course Major: Linguistics and Languages

The course major in linguistics and languages consists of at least twelve credits: six credits in linguistics and three credits in each of two languages. The languages can be ancient or modern. Students must complete each of the following:

  1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology from the following list: LING 45/H115.
  2. A course in Syntax: LING 50/H113/B113.
  3. A course in Semantics from the following list: LING 40/H114.
  4. A course in Language, Culture, & Society (see course major).
  5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language (see course major).
  6. LING 100/H101/B101, in which students complete and defend a one-credit senior thesis. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement for the major.

Contact the Modern Languages Department, the Spanish Department, and the Classics Department to find out the necessary courses to complete the language part of this major. An unofficial list of language requirements is available here.

Some work in each foreign language included in the major must be done in the student’s junior or senior year.

If one or both of the foreign languages is modern, the student must study abroad for at least one semester in an area appropriate for one of the foreign languages.

Major in Educational Studies & Linguistics

See www.swarthmore.edu/educational-studies/course-majors-and-minors for requirements.

Course Minor

The Linguistics minor consists of five credits. Students may choose one of the four pre-existing minor tracks or design their own individualized minor. Each minor track consists of three core courses, listed below, plus two electives. An elective is any course listed or cross-listed in Linguistics, except for language courses.

  • Theory track: LING 40/H114 Semantics, LING 45/H115 Phonetics & Phonology, LING 50/H113/B113 Syntax
  • Phonology/Morphology track: LING 43 Morphology & the Lexicon, LING 45/H115 Phonetics & Phonology, and any one of LING 25 Sociolinguistics, LING 52 Historical & Comparative Linguistics, or LING 085 Phonology II
  • Syntax/Semantics track: LING 40/H114 Semantics, LING 50/H113/B113 Syntax, and any one of LING 43 Morphology & the Lexicon, LING 80 Syntax II, or LING 81 Semantics II
  • Language and Society track:
    • For the class of 2024 and 2025:
      • Any two of LING 21 Anthropological Linguistics, LING 25/H125 Sociolinguistics, LING 41 Dialects of American English, LING 44 Linguistic Discrimination, LING 46/H146 Linguistic Diversity, LING/ANTH B281 Language in the Social Context, or LING 82 Sociolinguistics II.
      • One additional course on socio- or anthropological linguistics. This may be a third course from the list above, a First-Year Seminar, or another relevant elective.
    • For the classes of 2026 and beyond:
      • LING 21 Anthropological Linguistics or LING 25/H125 Sociolinguistics.
      • Two additional courses on socio- or anthropological linguistics. Courses not designated as LCS in their listings can be included with approval of the chair. Students may count both LING 21 and 25 towards their minor.
  • Individualized track: Student may choose five courses in linguistics and provide justification why the courses form a coherent minor. Individualized minors will be approved at the discretion of the chair, in consultation with the student's advisor.

Honors Linguistics Major

Classes of 2025-26:

The honors major in linguistics consists of ten credits in linguistics, and includes all of the following:

  1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology: LING 45/H115.
  2. A course in Syntax: LING 50/H113/B113.
  3. A course in Semantics: LING 40/H114.
  4. A course in language, culture, and society (see course major).
  5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language: (see course major).
  6. Complete and defend an honors major portfolio as explained in Doing Honors in Linguistics. This consists of a two-credit thesis (LING 195, which constitutes the comprehensive requirement for the major) and two honors papers (LING 199).
  7. Two additional electives in Linguistics. An elective is any course listed or cross-listed in Linguistics, except for language courses.

Classes of 2027 and beyond:

The Honors major in Linguistics consists of nine required courses in Linguistics plus an Honors portfolio, totalling 10 to 11 credits:

  1. A course in Phonetics & Phonology: LING 45 (1 credit)
  2. A course in Syntax: LING 50 (1 credit)
  3. A course in Semantics: LING 40 (1 credit)
  4. A course in language, culture, and society (see course major) (1 credit)
  5. A course in the Structure of a Non-Indo-European Language: (see course major) (1 credit)
  6. A thesis preparation course, generally Advanced Research Methods (LING 090) (1 credit)
  7. Seniors Honors Thesis: LING 195. This course constitutes the comprehensive requirement for the major (1 credit)
  8. Two electives in linguistics (1-2 credits each)

  9. Complete and defend an Honors major portfolio as explained here (up to 1 additional credit). 

Honors Major:  Linguistics and Languages

The Honors major in Linguistics and Languages is the same as the course major in Linguistics and Languages, except that the student will write their thesis in LING 195 instead of LING 100. When students complete this major as an Honors major, they do not have an Honors minor. Instead, they complete the following four Honors preparations:

  • Write an Honors thesis in Linguistics
  • Write one Honors Portfolio Paper in Linguistics
  • Take two additional Honors exams, one administered by each of the relevant language sections or departments according to their requirements

Please see Doing Honors in Linguistics for more details.

Honors Minor

Honors minors who are not course majors in Linguistics will satisfy the course minor and complete and defend their honors minor portfolio, as explained in Doing Honors in Linguistics.

If a student is a course major in Linguistics as well as an Honors minor in Linguistics, they must complete a thesis to complete the course major; therefore it is recommended to complete an Honors thesis. However, if a student wishes, they are allowed to complete a non-Honors thesis and an additional Honors preparation. Please see Doing Honors in Linguistics for more details.