RE: Minors and Grad School Admissions

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello everybody,</p>

<p>I'm a junior in HS seeking out a school at which I can study Linguistics (this is a pretty recent decision, but I'm fairly certain that this is what I want to do). Schools that offer full-out majors in Linguistics are few and far between, though many wonderful schools offer only Minors or Concentrations (Hopkins, Columbia). I'm wondering if I am as competitive in admissions to graduate Linguistics programs if I only have a minor/concentration.</p>

<p>Thanks!
Bustles</p>

2

<p>Hmm? Nothing?</p>

3

<p>My daughter will be attending UCLA this fall so I have been on their website quite a bit. I just checked and they have about 10 Linguistic majors. They are all BA's. There is a straight Linguistic BA and about 9 or 10 others that concentrate on other areas or languages. Go to the UCLA website and click academics, then majors. Good luck.</p>

4

<p>I am fairly sure that you do not need a major in linguistics to enter a PhD program in linguistics. For many subjects a major in the area isn't necessary to obtain a PhD. Look at top grad schools in linguistics and see what their recommended courses for admission are. I couldn't find any recommended courses on my school's linguistics page, but I'm sure if you ask in the grad school forum you can get a better idea.</p>

5

<p>Edit: x-posted with Venkat89</p>

<p>I looked at the admission policies of several graduate programs in linguistics. Requirements range from an undergraduate major to no prior training needed at all. Here are the first few hits:</p>

<p>
[quote]
We assume a background roughly equivalent to a B.A. in Linguistics. This does not mean that the department will not accept applicants with little Linguistics background. Students lacking sufficient background may, however, need to complete preparatory or supplemental courses in their first year.

[/quote]

UCLA</a> Department of Linguistics Graduate Program</p>

<p>
[quote]
Admission for graduate study in linguistics requires no specific undergraduate preparation, but a background in English, foreign language, speech, psychology, mathematics, or philosophy is particularly relevant.

[/quote]

Linguistics:</a> More graduate study information</p>

<p>
[quote]
What does the admissions committee look for when reviewing applications?
...
- an understanding of what Linguistics is. In general, we prefer students who have had at least some training in Linguistics

[/quote]

Stanford</a> Linguistics | Graduate | Admissions</p>

<p>
[quote]
Admission into the M.A. program assumes the completion of the equivalent of the University of Oregon B.A. in linguistics. Students without a B.A. in linguistics or its equivalent may be admitted on a provisional basis and become M.A. degree candidates upon completion of the following courses within their first year: ...</p>

<p>Applicants to the Ph.D. program must have an M.A. in linguistics or its equivalent.

[/quote]

Graduate</a> Admissions - Department of Linguistics - University of Oregon</p>

<p>In short, it is possible to go to grad school in linguistics with only a minor in it but you will be at a disadvantage. If you think that you might want to go to grad school, consider attending a college with a degree program in linguistics (according to Collegeboard more than 130 colleges offer a major in linguistics) or try to do an independent major at a college that offers a minor.</p>

6

<p>Is it really that hard to find schools with linguistics as a major? I remember this was one of my big considerations when looking for schools. According to collegeboard, columbia does offer a major, and so do all the other ives except princeton.</p>

7

<p>CollegeBoard lies, haha... I did a Linguistics Major search on it, and many of the schools that came up only offer minors/concentrations.</p>

<p>Thanks for the responses. My wariness is that I actually emailed the professor of the Columbia [undergraduate] Linguistics Program about this and he told me that </p>

<p>
[quote]
In this day and age, it would be hard to get into a good graduate school with just a concentration; that's not enough preparation. You would need a major or the equivalent of a major.

[/quote]
</p>

8

<p>The University of Chicago has a linguistics major</p>