Linguistics - Degrees

You are in the official 2008-2009 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.

Department of Linguistics

Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
Linguistics Major

A B.A. with a major in linguistics requires 36-54 units completed in one of the options outlined below, the General Education requirement, specific course/skill requirements, and electives and remaining degree requirements totaling at least the 120 units required for a B.A.

The B.A. program in Linguistics is diversified but integrated. Four options are available: (1) Teaching English as a Second Language, (2) General Linguistics, (3) Computational Linguistics, and (4) Interdisciplinary Language Studies. In each option, students receive a basic grounding in the nature and structure of human language.

Major requirements (36-55 units)
--- A. Core (18 units) ---
LING 100, 142, 143, 144, 148, 165

--- B. Options (18-37 units) ---

I. Teaching English as a Second Language (18 units)
LING 132, 141, 146, 155, 171 (15 units)
Elective: any upper-division course in linguistics (3 units)

II. General Linguistics (18 units)
LING 134, 139, 145, 149, 152 (15 units)
Elective: any upper-division course in linguistics (3 units)

III. Computational Linguistics (36-37 units)
Prerequisites: CSCI 40, 41, 60; MATH 75 (16 units)
LING 139, 149, 152 (9 units)
CSCI 117, 119 (8 units)
Elective: select from any upper-division course in linguistics or CSCI 115, 130, 164, 166, 186 (3-4 units)

IV. Interdisciplinary Language Studies (18 units)
Choose Plan A or Plan B
-- A. Depth Plan in one language ---
(Spanish, French, Japanese, or German)
Required for Spanish: SPAN 130, 137, 139. Electives approved by the adviser (9 units).
Required for French: FREN 103 (6 units), 132. Electives approved by the adviser (9 units).
Required for Japanese: JAPN 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 100; LING 120
Required for German: GERM 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, GERM 101, 150
See advising notes 5 and 7.
---B. Breadth Plan lower-division and/or upper-division courses in various languages ---
(American Sign Language, Armenian, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hmong, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Sanskrit, and/or Spanish.) See advising notes 5, 6, and 7.

General Education requirements (51 units)

Approved electives and remaining degree requirements (14-33 units)
(See Degree Requirements); may be used toward a double major or minor

Total (120 units)

Advising Notes

No General Education Integration course offered by the Department of Linguistics may be used to satisfy the General Education requirements for linguistics majors.
CR/NC grading is not permitted in the linguistics major.
General Education and elective units can be used toward a double major or minor. (See double major or departmental minor.) Consult the appropriate department chair, program coordinator, or faculty adviser for further information.
See adviser for list of approved electives.
Students who have studied a language in high school or community college, or who by culture and experience have a certain level of proficiency, must consult with an adviser in the language to determine their placement in lower- or upper-division coursework.
Students must fulfill the 18 units by taking language courses in a minimum of two languages and not more than three languages. Students must maintain a B average in the languages taken.
Literature courses in the language may be used with permission of adviser. Except for LING 120, courses taught in English do not count toward the required courses for Plan A or Plan B.

Minors

Each of the four minors also requires a 2.0 GPA and 6 upper-division units in residence.

Linguistics Minor

LING 10 or 100, 134 or 146 (6 units)
Approved electives (See Advising Note 1.) (15 units)
Total (21 units)

Computational Linguistics Minor

LING 100, 149, 152 (9 units)
LING 139 and 142 or 143 and 144 (6 units)
Total (15 units)

Advising Note

A strong background in computer science is necessary for the Computational Linguistics Minor. It is open to computer science majors or by consent of the Linguistics Department chair.

Japanese Minor

JAPN 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B (12 units)
Approved electives (See Advising Note 1.) (6 units)
Select the elective courses from JAPN 100, LING 120, LING 190 (Independent Study) or other courses approved by the Japanese minor coordinator.
Total (18 units)

English as a Second Language Minor

LING 134 or 146, 141, 171, 147 (12 units)
Approved electives (See Advising Note 1.) (6 units)
Total (18 units)

__________

Note: The minors also require a 2.0 GPA and 6 upper-division units in residence.

General Education
Linguistics Credit

The following courses will meet General Education requirements: CHIN 1A/B, HMONG 1B, JAPN 1A/B, LING 10 (Area C); LING 30 (Area E); LING 115, 130 (Integration IC); LING 147 (Multicultural/International).

Graduate Program

The Department of Linguistics offers an M.A. in Linguistics and an M.A. in Linguistics with an option in Teaching English as a Second Language. At California State University, Fresno, students may also get a Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with a focus on Computational Linguistics or Cognitive Science. Department faculty will assist students in planning such a program. For specific requirements, see Degree Requirements below; for general requirements see Division of Graduate Studies.

The Master of Arts degree program in Linguistics assumes a baccalaureate degree major in an appropriate field and at least three upper-division courses in linguistics as prerequisites. Graduate students are required to complete at least 30 units of courses with a minimum of 21 units of graduate level courses, and to pass a comprehensive examination.

Graduate Level Writing Competence. California State University, Fresno requires that students have graduate level writing abilities before being advanced to candidacy for the M.A. Students demonstrate these abilities by completion of any 200-level linguistics course other than LING 244, all of which include a paper of 10-15 pages written according to the stylesheets of the following journals: Language (for courses in general linguistics) or TESOL Quarterly (for courses in TESOL). Should the student pass all components other than writing, the student would receive credit for the course but would have to revise and resubmit the paper to the department.

Master of Arts
Degree Requirements

Students who do not already have a sufficient background in linguistics need to take 9-12 units of upper-division linguistics courses to attain classified standing in the department. These include LING 100, 142, 143 (all students); 141 and 171 (TESL students); and 144 and 148 (linguistics students.)

The graduate program consists of at least 30 units, 21 of which must be 200-level courses. Note the following requirements:

Linguistics
Core: LING 242, 243, 248, 251 (12 units)
Electives (18 units)

--- TESL Option ---
Core (select three): LING 242, 243, 248, 251 (9 units)
Required: LING 237, 241, 244 (9 units)
Electives (12 units)

Highly recommended electives for all students are LING 134 or 146 and LING 165. Highly recommended electives for TESL students are LING 144 and 148.

Upon examination of the student's record other courses will be specified to produce a coherent program.

Graduate Certificate in TESOL

Certificate of Advanced Study in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. This certificate is designed to train participants in the theory and practice of TESOL, with application to a wide variety of teaching circumstances. In addition to prerequisites (LING 100, 141, and 171), 9 units will be selected from LING 237, 241, 244, and 231T or an approved graduate course. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or better in the program. The certificate is designed for Valley classroom teachers who need academic certification for professional advancement for domestic and international students with limited time for TESOL training.

See graduate adviser for prerequisites.

Requirements (9 units)
LING 231T (or approved graduate course), 237, 241, 244

The London Semester is available through College of Arts and Humanities. See London Semester.

Linguistics Courses