Undergraduate Program

College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Linguistics Undergraduate Admission Requirements

A minimum of 26 credit hours; 23 credit hours must be in courses acceptable toward graduation.

A cumulative grade point average of at least 2.00 on all work.

  • Transfer students must have a 2.00 transfer GPA.
  • Continuing UNM students must have a 2.00 institutional GPA.

Demonstrated academic achievement by satisfying the following:

  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Communication.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Mathematics and Statistics.
  • Completion of General Education Curriculum: Second Language.

Completion of Department of Linguistics major admission course work with grade(s) of "C" or better:

  • Linguistics: LING 301.
  • Signed Language Interpreting: Admission to the College of Arts and Sciences and the Signed Language Interpreting Program is not automatic. Majors must formally apply with the program to gain admission. Contact the Program Director at sign@unm.edu for more information.
  • Languages: MLNG 1110; 6 credit hours of introductory (100-level) language study from one of these languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, Greek, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.

Degrees Offered

  • Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics (B.A.)
  • Bachelor of Science in Signed Language Interpreting (B.S.)
  • Bachelor of Arts in Languages (B.A.)

Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

The Department of Linguistics offers a Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program. The program enables completion of the B.A. in Linguistics and the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Linguistics in a shorter timeframe than it would take to complete both degrees separately. Students completing an undergraduate minor in Linguistics may also seek admission to the program. See the "Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program" section of this page for specific admission information and requirements.


Major Study Requirements

Linguistics

The B.A. major in Linguistics requires a minimum of 33 credit hours numbered above 200 (24 in required courses, 9 in approved electives) and four semesters of a second language or the equivalent. Required courses are: LING 301, (302 or 303), 304, 322, 331, 367, (412 or 446), (425 or 429). The 9 credit hours in approved electives may be selected from courses in linguistics or from courses in other departments approved by the department advisor. 

Signed Language Interpreting

The B.S. major in Signed Language Interpreting requires the following courses: LING 2110; SIGN 2125, 2130, 2150, 2210, 2220, *310, *352, *360, 411, 412, 418, 419. Students majoring in Signed Language Interpreting must be approved by the Signed Language Interpreting program.

Languages

An interdisciplinary B.A. major in Languages is offered through the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures in conjunction with the Department of Spanish and Portuguese. The Department of Linguistics makes available several courses that qualify for this major. See the Foreign Languages and Literatures:  Languages section of this Catalog. Consult with the advisor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.


Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program

Juniors or seniors majoring or minoring in Linguistics may seek admission to the Master of Arts (M.A.) in Linguistics under the Shared-Credit Undergraduate/Graduate Degrees Program. It is recommended that students seek admission to this program during their junior year. In order to apply to the program, the student follows the departmental graduate application and admission procedure and deadlines as described in the Linguistics: Graduate Program section of this Catalog. Students are provisionally admitted to the program, provided their B.A. program is successfully completed. The time-to-degree for completion of the M.A. in Linguistics is calculated beginning with the student’s senior year.

Admission Requirements 

  • Be a declared undergraduate major or minor in the Department of Linguistics.
  • Have an overall UNM GPA of 3.5 or better.
  • Have a departmental GPA of 3.5 or better.
  • Applicants must complete at least 9 credit hours of the M.A. in Linguistics admission coursework.
  • Have the approval of both the departmental Undergraduate and Graduate Directors.

Program Requirements

For shared-credit coursework to count toward the M.A. degree, the student must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in courses taken for graduate credit after admission to the program.

18 credit hours of graduate coursework are required for students completing the B.A. in Linguistics. Students completing the undergraduate minor in Linguistics must complete 9 credit hours of graduate coursework in place of the electives required for the minor. The prescribed graduate coursework is as follows:

  • LING 512, 525, 529, 531, 546, 567.

Note that students who have taken the undergraduate component of a double-numbered undergraduate/graduate course may not use the undergraduate course to fulfill a requirement for the M.A. in Linguistics, nor may that student apply credit from the graduate component of that course. These students must instead take a graduate-level course from the same sub-area to fulfill the M.A. course requirement. The student should consult the Graduate Advisor prior to registering for any graduate courses.

With appropriate departmental approval, a student may apply up to 18 credit hours of 500-level linguistics courses to an undergraduate Linguistics major or minor and, upon formal acceptance to the M.A. program, also apply those credit hours to the student’s approved graduate program of studies.

Additional Information

For students admitted to the program who decide they do not wish to complete the M.A., or are withdrawn by the department, the credit hours of the approved 500-level courses will apply toward the student’s undergraduate degree provided the student earned a grade of "C" or better in those courses. Refer to the Linguistics: Graduate Program section of this Catalog for graduate program and course information.


Minor Study Requirements

Linguistics

The minor in Linguistics requires 21 credit hours of courses numbered 200 or above: 12 credit hours of required linguistics courses: LING 301, (302 or 303), 304, 322; and 9 credit hours of electives. The electives may be selected from courses in linguistics or from courses in other departments which have been approved by the Department Advisor.

Navajo Language and Linguistics

The minor in Navajo Language and Linguistics requires 18 credit hours of required Navajo language and linguistics courses at or above the 200 level, including NAVA 2110, 2120; NVJO 311, 312, 401. Native speakers must take NVJO 206 and NVJO 315 in lieu of NAVA 2110 and NAVA 2120. Three additional credit hours must be selected from the following courses in Linguistics: LING 331, 359, *401, *402, 415 or from approved electives from the Language, Literacy and Sociocultural Studies or Native American Studies departments.


Major or Minor in the College of Education and Human Sciences

For the major, composite major or minor in language arts, bilingual education, and teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), see the Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy: Undergraduate Program section of this Catalog.


Departmental Honors

A student seeking departmental honors in the Department of Linguistics (for majors in either Linguistics or Signed Language Interpreting) should identify a research project during the junior year in consultation with an appropriate professor and should submit a proposal in the form of a letter to the department Chairperson.

If the proposal is approved by the department Chairperson, the student should enroll in LING 498 the first semester of the senior year and LING 499 the second semester of the senior year. These 6 credit hours of honors work are in addition to the minimum number of credit hours required for the major.


Courses

LING 1996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 2110. Introduction to the Study of Language and Linguistics. (3)



LING 2151. Language of Advertising. (3)



LING 2996. Topics. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 301. Introduction to Linguistic Analysis. (3)



LING 302. Phonetic Analysis. (3)



LING 303. Introduction to Phonetics. (3)



LING 304 / 504. Phonological Analysis. (3)



LING 322 / 522. Grammatical Analysis. (3)



LING 331 / 531. Language in Society. (3)



LING 334 / 534. Language and Gender. (3)



LING 359. Language and Culture. (3)



LING 367 / 567. Psychology of Language. (3)



LING *401–*402. Topics: American Indian Languages. (3, may be repeated three times Δ; 3, may be repeated three times Δ)



LING 412 / 512. Morphosyntax. (3)



LING 413 / 513. Linguistic Field Methods. (3)



LING 415 / 515. Native American Languages. (3)



LING 417 / 517. Typology and Universals. (3)



LING 425 / 525. Semantic Analysis. (3)



LING 429 / 529. Discourse Analysis. (3)



LING 433 / 533. Sociolinguistic Variation. (3)



LING 435 / 535. Language Contact. (3)



LING 446 / 546. Introduction to Language Change. (3)



LING 449. Middle English Language. (3)



LING 460 / 560. Child Language. (3)



LING 469L / 569L. Experimental Psycholinguistics. (3)



LING 490 / 590. Topics in Linguistics. (3, no limit Δ)



LING 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



LING 498. Reading and Research for Honors. (3)



LING 499. Honors Thesis. (3)



LING 502. Current Approaches to Phonology. (3)



LING 503. Usage-based Phonology. (3)



LING 504 / 304. Phonological Analysis. (3)



LING 510. Statistical Methods in Linguistics. (3)



LING 512 / 412. Morphosyntax. (3)



LING 513 / 413. Linguistic Field Methods. (3)



LING 515 / 415. Native American Languages. (3)



LING 517 / 417. Typology and Universals. (3)



LING 519. Cognitive Linguistics. (3)



LING 522 / 322. Grammatical Analysis. (3)



LING 523. Functional Syntactic Theories. (3)



LING 525 / 425. Semantic Analysis. (3)



LING 529 / 429. Discourse Analysis. (3)



LING 531 / 331. Language in Society. (3)



LING 533 / 433. Sociolinguistic Variation. (3)



LING 534 / 334. Language and Gender. (3)



LING 535 / 435. Language Contact. (3)



LING 546 / 446. Introduction to Language Change. (3)



LING 548. Grammaticization. (3)



LING 554. Seminar in Linguistic Theory. (3, no limit Δ)



LING 560 / 460. Child Language. (3)



LING 565. Seminar in Thought and Language. (3)



LING 567 / 367. Psychology of Language. (3)



LING 568. Seminar in Psycholinguistics. (3, may be repeated three times Δ)



LING 569L / 469L. Experimental Psycholinguistics. (3)



LING 590 / 490. Topics in Linguistics. (1-3, no limit Δ)



LING 595. Graduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 24 Δ)



LING 599. Master's Thesis. (1-6, no limit Δ)



LING 697. Qualifying Paper. (3-9, may be repeated once Δ)



LING 699. Dissertation. (3-12, no limit Δ)



NAVA 1110. Navajo I. (3)



NAVA 1120. Navajo II. (3)



NAVA 1150. Navajo Medical. (3)



NAVA 2110. Intermediate Navajo I. (3)



NAVA 2120. Intermediate Navajo II. (3)



NVJO 311 / 511. Navajo Verb System I. (3)



NVJO 312 / 512. Navajo Verb System II. (3)



NVJO 315 / 515. Advanced Navajo. (3)



NVJO 401 / 501. Navajo Linguistics. (3)



NVJO 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



NVJO 501 / 401. Navajo Linguistics. (3)



NVJO 511 / 311. Navajo Verb System I. (3)



NVJO 512/312. Navajo Verb System II. (3)



NVJO 515 / 315. Advanced Navajo. (3)



NVJO 595. Graduate Problems. (1-6)



SIGN 2125. Introduction to Signed Language. (3)



SIGN 2130. Fingerspelling. (3)



SIGN 2150. Lexical Semantics for Transliteration. (3)



SIGN 2210. American Sign Language I. (3)



SIGN 2220. American Sign Language II. (3)



SIGN *305. Structure of American Sign Language. (3)



SIGN *310. American Sign Language III. (3)



SIGN 320. American Sign Language IV. (3)



SIGN *352. Language and Culture in the Deaf Community, Part 1. (3)



SIGN 355. Deaf History and Literature. (3)



SIGN *360. The Interpreting Profession. (3)



SIGN 411. Consecutive Interpretation. (3)



SIGN 412. Simultaneous Interpreting. (3)



SIGN 418. Signed Language Interpreting Research. (3)



SIGN 419. Practicum in Signed Language Interpreting. (1-3 to a maximum of 4 Δ)



SIGN 495. Undergraduate Problems. (1-6 to a maximum of 6 Δ)



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