<p>I'm currently a Spanish major, although technically I'm still a Spanish AND English major. My main focus for graduate school is linguistics--more specifically second language acquisition. I want to know what factors influence the rate of acquisition of a second language, whether they be neurological, genetic, or inherent in conflicts between the target language and the first language. All three components of the puzzle interest me greatly, so not only do I have an interest in language itself, but I also have interests in both psychology and genetics. As an undergrad I'd like to get a solid background before getting to grad school, but more importantly, I need to know what to study in grad school. </p>
<p>What do you think? Will a graduate program in linguistics cover all of my bases, or am I looking into the wrong program?</p>
<p>Search for an interdisciplinary doctoral program in second language acquisition. </p>
<p>Some of these programs require a master’s degree in a relevant field for admission. An undergrad degree in Spanish probably limits your options to get into a master’s program in psychology or cognitive science. Linguistics would be your best bet. Getting a master’s first in general or applied linguistics will strengthen your background if you don’t already have significant background in linguistics and allow you to apply to a broader range of doctoral programs.</p>
<p>depends on tier of school/level of postgrad degree you’re looking at.</p>
<p>you can totally get a masters in second language acquisition with a spanish major. or an english major. or anything. linguistics is a niche major, so people understand that most applicants to these programs will not have a linguistics major.</p>
<p>in terms of what is useful in linguistics research, especially if you’re looking at language acquisition/cognitive, lab experience is paramount. in that sense, a psych or bio major would be better. other majors valued in the linguistics field are compsci and math - linguistics is actually a very quantitative field. </p>
<p>have you actually taken any linguistics courses? if not, it’s still early days, and at this point i’d be more worried whether YOU fit a linguistics grad programme’s bases, rather than the other way around. it would also be useful to know what you want to do with a graduate degree, since linguistics isn’t highly employable outside of academia.</p>
<p>if you want more detail, thegradcafe is a better forum for grad school inquiries than this one.</p>