Linguistics Major - Language Studies
The Language Studies major provides students with a solid foundation in linguistics combined with the study of a language of choice. Students acquire general skills in linguistic analysis, which are in turn applied to the language of choice. Students deepen their knowledge of the language through literature classes, and gain interdisciplinary perspectives from area studies classes in other departments focusing on the country or setting where the language is spoken. Languages that students have selected in the past include American Sign Language, French, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and more!
It is recommended that language studies majors participate in Study Abroad.
*Students whose language of concentration is American Sign Language will need to consult the faculty advisor for individualized requirements and substitutes for some classes.
Course Offerings
Academic Advising Resources
- Linguistics Major Checklist
- Four-year Academic Plan
- Two-year Academic Plan (choose "Transfer Plan")
Major Requirements
NOTE: Students who enrolled at UCSD prior to Fall 2026 have the option to complete their degree under an earlier set of requirements. Please see these details about the old requirements and a list of frequently asked questions.
- Completion of 12 upper division courses with C- or better (exception: up to four combined units of LIGN-188R, LIGN-195, or LIGN-199 taken for pass/no pass may count towards the major. In order to satisfy the upper-division course requirements, students who enroll in one of these courses for just two units are advised to enroll for another two units in any of these courses in a subsequent quarter.)
- At least 6 of the 12 major courses must be taken in residence at UC San Diego.
Language Proficiency Requirement
- Two years of language instruction in the language of concentration, or equivalent proficiency
- Lower-division prerequisites for upper-division courses in the literature of the language of concentration
Students should consult with the Linguistics Department's Undergraduate Advisors (linginfo-g@ucsd.edu) about this requirement.
Linguistics Course Requirements
6 upper-division linguistics courses:
2 introductory courses in linguistic analysis:
LIGN-102: Linguistic Analysis: Phonetics, phonology, and morphology
LIGN-103: Linguistic Analysis: Syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
1 introductory course in phonetics, phonology, or morphology from the following list:
LIGN-110: Phonetics
LIGN-111: Phonology I
LIGN-120: Morphology
1 introductory course in syntax, semantics, or pragmatics from the following list:
LIGN-121: Syntax I
LIGN-130: Semantics
LIGN-160: Pragmatics
1 “structure of” language of concentration course (e.g., LIGN-143, Structure of Spanish)
If no such course is available, the student must consult with the undergraduate advisor regarding a possible substitution.
1 additional upper-division LIGN course
View a complete list of Linguistics courses. Suggested courses include:
LIGN-145: Pidgins and Creoles
LIGN-150: Historical Linguistics
Literature and Area Studies Course Requirements
2 upper-division courses in the literature of the language of concentration
(LIGN-144 and LIGN-146 should be taken if your language of concentration is ASL)
(LIGN-178 may be used if your language of concentration is Spanish and it was not used to satisfy the “structure of language” requirement)
(Approved Portuguese literature courses available at SDSU: PORT-535. Portuguese Literature and PORT-540. Luso-Brazilian Literature)
4 upper-division linguistics, literature or area studies courses
Literature and area studies courses must deal with the language of concentration or the corresponding culture/area studies, subject to approval of the faculty advisor.
Approved courses the area studies requirement include the following. Note: some of these courses may have prerequisites:
Arabic
- ANSC-133: Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
- ECON-165: Middle East Economics
- HINE-114: History of the Islamic Middle East
- HINE-118: The Middle East in the Twentieth Century
- HINE-119: Contemporary Middle East Conflicts
- POLI-121B: Politics in Israel
American Sign Language (ASL)
See linguistics undergraduate adviser for options.
Chinese
- ANSC-136: Traditional Chinese Society
- ANSC-137: Chinese Popular Religion
- HIEA-122: Late Imperial Chinese Culture and Society
- HIEA-125: Women and Gender in East Asia
- HIEA-126: The Silk Road in Chinese and Japanese History
- HIEA-129: Faces of the Chinese Past
- HIEA-130: End of the Chinese Empire, 1800–1911
- HIEA-131: China in War and Revolution: 1911–1949
- HIEA-132: Mao’s China, 1949–1976
- HIEA-133: Twentieth-Century China: Cultural History
- HIEA-134: History of Thought and Religion in China: Confucianism
- HIEA-137: Women and Family in Chinese History
- HIEA-138: Women and the Chinese Revolution
- HIEA-163/263: Cinema and Society in Twentieth-Century China
- HIEA-164/264: Seminar in Late Imperial Chinese History
- HIEA-166/266: Creating Ming Histories
- HIEA-168/268: Topics in Classical and Medieval Chinese History
- HIEA-171/271: Society and Culture in Premodern China
- POLI-113A: East Asian Thought in Comparative Perspective
- POLI-113B: Chinese and Japanese Political Thought I
- POLI-130B: Politics in the People’s Republic of China
- POLI-131C: The Chinese Revolution
- POLI-133D: Political Institutions of East Asian Countries
- SOCI-188G: Chinese Society
- VIS-127B: Arts of China
- VIS-127C: Arts of Modern China
- VIS-127D: Early Chinese Painting
- VIS-127E: Later Chinese Painting
- VIS-127GS: Issues in Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art
- VIS-127N: Twentieth-Century Art in China and Japan
French
- HIEU-129: Paris, Past and Present
- HIEU-130: Europe in the Eighteenth Century
- HIEU-131: The French Revolution: 1789–1814
- HIEU-142: European Intellectual History, 1780–1870
- POLI-120C: Politics in France
- TDHT-105: French Comedy
German
- HIEU-130: Europe in the Eighteenth Century
- HIEU-132: German Politics and Culture: 1648–1848
- HIEU-142: European Intellectual History, 1780–1870
- HIEU-143: European Intellectual History, 1870–1945
- HIEU-145: The Holocaust as Public History
- HIEU-154: Modern German History: From Bismarck to Hitler
- HIEU-155: Modern Austria
- HIEU-158: Why Hitler? How Auschwitz?
- HIEU-172/272: Comparative European Fascism
- HIEU-174/274: The Holocaust: A Psychological Approach
- HIEU-177: Special Topics in Modern German Thought
- PHIL-106: Kant
- PHIL-107: Hegel
- POLI-120B: The German Political System
- POLI-120D: Germany: Before, During, and After Division
- SOCI-178: The Holocaust
Hebrew
- ANRG 150/ANAR 142: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Israel
- HIEU-159: Three Centuries of Zionism, 1648–1948
- HIEU-176/276: Politics in the Jewish Past
- HINE-162/262: Anthropology and the Hebrew Bible
- HINE-170: Special Topics in Jewish History
- HINE-186: Special Topics in Middle Eastern History
- POLI-121: Government and Politics of the Middle East
- POLI-121B: Politics in Israel
- SOCI-188F: Modern Jewish Societies and Israeli Society
Italian
- HIEU 120: The Renaissance in Italy
- HIEU 172/272: Comparative European Fascism
- POLI 120I: Politics in Italy
- TDHT 104: Italian Comedy
- VIS 122AN: Renaissance Art
- VIS 122CN: Leonardo da Vinci in Context
- VIS 122D: Michelangelo
- VIS 122F: Leonardo’s La Gioconda
Japanese
- HIEA-111: Japan: Twelfth to Mid-Nineteenth Centuries
- HIEA-112: Japan: From the Mid-Nineteenth Century through the US Occupation
- HIEA-113: The Fifteen-Year War in Asia and the Pacific
- HIEA-114: Postwar Japan
- HIEA-115: Social and Cultural History of Twentieth-Century Japan
- HIEA-116: Japan-U.S. Relations
- HIEA-117: Ghosts in Japan
- HIEA 125: Women and Gender in East Asia
- HIEA-126: The Silk Road in Chinese and Japanese History
- JAPN-135A: Japanese for professional purposes.
- JAPN-137A: Business Japanese.
- POLI-113A: East Asian Thought in Comparative Perspective
- POLI-113B: Chinese and Japanese Political Thought I
- POLI-133A: Japanese Politics: A Developmental Perspective
- POLI-133D: Political Institutions of East Asian Countries
- VIS-127F: Japanese Buddhist Art
- VIS-127N: Twentieth-Century Art in China and Japan
- VIS-127P: Arts of Japan
- VIS-127Q: Japanese Painting and Prints
Portuguese
San Diego State University (SDSU) courses:
- PORT-306/LATAM 306. Portuguese and Brazilian Cinema and Culture
- PORT-307/LATAM 307. Brazilian Music and Culture
- PORT-443. Contemporary Luso-Brazilian Civilization
Russian
- HIEU-134: The Formation of the Russian Empire, 800–1855
- HIEU-178: Soviet History
- POLI-126AB: Politics and Economics in Eastern Europe
- POLI-130AA: The Soviet Successor States
- POLI-130AD: The Politics of the Russian Revolution
Spanish
- ANAR-156: The Archaeology of South America
- ANSC-104: The US-Mexico Border
- ANSC-131: Urban Cultures in Latin America
- ANSC-135: Indigenous Peoples of Latin America
- ANSC-142: Anthropology of Latin America
- COMM-104G: Comparative Media Systems: Latin America and the Caribbean
- COMM-140: Cinema in Latin America
- COMM-142: Cuban Cinema
- COMM-155: Latino Space, Place, and Culture
- ECON-162: Economics of Mexico
- ETHN-116: The United States–Mexico Border in Comparative Perspective
- ETHN-129/USP 135: Asian and Latina Immigrant Workers in the Global Economy
- ETHN-132: Chicano Dramatic Literature
- ETHN-133: Hispanic American Dramatic Literature
- ETHN-135A: Early Latino/a-Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1848–1960
- ETHN-135B: Contemporary Latino/a- Chicano/a Cultural Production: 1960 to Present
- ETHN-136: Topics in Chicano/a-Latino/a Cultures
- ETHN-138: Chicano/a and Latino/a Poetry
- ETHN-145: Spanish Language in the United States
- ETHN-148: Latino/a and Chicano/a Literature
- ETHN-180: Topics in Mexican American History
- HIEU-151: Spain since 1808
- HILA-100: Conquest and Empire of the Americas
- HILA-101: Nation-State Formation, Ethnicity, and Violence in Latin America
- HILA-102: Latin America in the Twentieth Century
- HILA-103: Revolution in Modern Latin America
- HILA-104: Modern US–Latin American Relations
- HILA-114: Dictatorship in Latin America
- HILA-121A: History of Brazil through 1889
- HILA-121B: History of Brazil, 1889 to Present
- HILA-122: Cuba: From Colony to Socialist Republic
- HILA-123: The Incas and Their Ancestors
- HILA-124A: History of Women and Gender in Latin America
- HILA-126: From Columbus to Castro: Caribbean Culture and Society
- HILA-131: A History of Mexico
- HILA-132: Modern Mexico: From Revolution to Drug War Violence
- HILA-134: Indians of Colonial Latin America
- HILA-161: History of Women in Latin America
- HILA-162: Special Topics in Latin American History
- HILA-163/263: The History of Chile, 1880–Present
- HILA-164/264: Women’s Work and Family Life in Latin America
- HILA-167/267: Scholarship on Latin American History in the Colonial Period
- HILA-168/268: Scholarship on Latin American History in the Nineteenth Century
- HILA-169/269: Scholarship on Latin American History in the Twentieth Century
- LATI-120: Special Topics in Latin American Studies
- TDHT-110: Chicanx Theatre
- TDHT-111: Hispanic American Dramatic Literature
- POLI-134AA: Comparative Politics of Latin America
- POLI-134B: Politics in Mexico
- POLI-134D: Selected Topics in Latin American Politics
- POLI-134I: Politics in the Southern Cone of Latin America
- POLI-146A: The U.S. and Latin America: Political and Economic Relations
- SOCI-182: Ethnicity and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America
- SOCI-188D: Latin America: Society and Politics
- VIS-126P: Latin American Art: Modern to Postmodern, 1890–1950
- VIS-126Q: Latin American Art: Modern to Postmodern, 1950–Present
Interested in minoring in Linguistics? Check out the Language Studies Minor.
+ Global Concentration
- available for all linguistics majors
- a cluster of courses with an international or global focus that can be added to any linguistics major
- students that complete this concentration will have "Global Concentration" annotated on their transcript