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Linguistics Major - Speech and Language Sciences

 speech language therapist working with a young girl

The speech and language sciences major is designed for students considering careers in speech-language pathology (SLP). Students take courses in general linguistics, as well as courses that provide knowledge and theoretical perspectives on disorders of speech, language, and hearing.

Important note to students: this major is not equivalent to a major in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Applicants to Master’s programs in SLP who have obtained a Bachelor’s degree in linguistics may be asked to satisfy additional requirements. Visit Info on Speech-Language Pathology for more details.

Course Offerings

Academic Advising Resources

 

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.

Lower Division Requirements

Language Proficiency Requirement

All Linguistics Majors must demonstrate proficiency in one one non-English natural language by one of the following:

  1. pass a reading proficiency exam and oral interview administered by the Linguistics department in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Tagalog, Portuguese, Vietnamese, or American Sign Language. It may be possible to take a proficiency exam in a language other than these.
  2. earn a C- or higher in a course given at UC San Diego representing the fourth quarter of instruction in any non-English natural language.
  3. score 4 or higher on the Advanced Placement (AP) exam in a non-English natural language.

Students should consult with the Linguistics Department's Undergraduate Advisors (linginfo-g@ucsd.edu) about this requirement.

Students with native language competence in a language other than English may petition to have English count as satisfying the proficiency requirement.

Statistics

One lower division statistics course to be chosen from:

  • COGS-14B: Introduction to Statistical Analysis
  • CSS-002: Data and Model Programming for Computational Social Science
  • HDS-060: Statistical Analysis
  • PSYC-060: Introduction to Statistics

Upper Division Requirements

Linguistic Analysis and Breadth Courses

6 linguistic analysis and breadth 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:

LIGN-110: Phonetics

 

1 introductory course in syntax, semantics, or pragmatics from the following list:

LIGN-121: Syntax I

LIGN-130: Semantics

LIGN-160: Pragmatics

 

1 course each from 2 of the 3 following areas (no course may count more than once):

Computational Linguistics

LIGN-117: The Language Code

LIGN-165: Computational Linguistics

LIGN-167: Deep Learning for Natural Language Understanding

LIGN-168: Computational Speech Processing

LIGN-169: Information Theory in Linguistics

Crosslinguistic Variation

LIGN-108: Languages of Africa

LIGN-139: Field Methods

LIGN-141: Language Structures

LIGN-142: Language Typology

LIGN-143: The Structure of Spanish

LIGN-148: The Psycholinguistics of Gesture and Sign Languages

LIGN-152: Indigenous Languages of the Americas

LIGN-177: Multilingualism

Language and Society

LIGN-105: Law & Language

LIGN-146: Sociolinguistics in Deaf Communities

LIGN-174: Gender and Language in Society

LIGN-175: Sociolinguistics

LIGN-176: Language of Politics and Advertising

LIGN-177: Multilingualism

LIGN-178: Spanish Sociolinguistics

Speech, Language and Hearing Disorders

One course in speech, language and hearing disorders*

  • LIGN 112: Speech Sounds and Speech Disorders
  • LIGN 113: Hearing Science and Hearing Disorders

* Students interested in SLP are highly encouraged to take both courses. In that case, one will count as an elective.

Language and Development Disorders

One course in language development and disorders to be chosen from:

  • LIGN-119. First and Second Language Learning: From Childhood through Adolescence
  • LIGN-171. Child Language Acquisition
  • LIGN-179. Second Language Acquisition Research

Neurobiology of Language

One course in neurobiology of language to be chosen from:

  • LIGN-170: Psycholinguistics
  • LIGN-180: Language Representation in the Brain
  • LIGN-181: Language Processing in the Brain
  • COGS-107A: Neuroanatomy and Physiology
  • PSYC-108: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • PSYC-169: Brain Damage and Mental Function

Speech and Language Science Electives

Three speech and language sciences elective courses to be chosen from (courses that were used to satisfy one of the above requirements cannot be used again):

  • COGS-107A: Neuroanatomy and Physiology
  • COGS-107C: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • COGS-154: Communication Disorders in Children and Adults
  • COGS-179: Electrophysiology of Cognition
  • COMM-168: Bilingual Communication
  • COMM-169: Deaf Culture in the U.S.
  • EDS-125: History, Politics, and Theory of Bilingual Education
  • ETHN-185: Discourse, Power, and Inequality
  • LIGN-111: Phonology I
  • LIGN-112: Speech Sounds and Speech Disorders
  • LIGN-113: Hearing Science and Hearing Disorders
  • LIGN-119: First and Second Language Learning: From Childhood through Adolescence
  • LIGN-120: Morphology
  • LIGN-121: Syntax I
  • LIGN-130: Semantics
  • LIGN-141: Language Structures
  • LIGN-143: The Structure of Spanish
  • LIGN-146: Sociolinguistics in Deaf Communities
  • LIGN-148: Psycholinguistics of Sign Language
  • LIGN-160: Pragmatics
  • LIGN-170: Psycholinguistics
  • LIGN-171: Child Language Acquisition
  • LIGN-175: Sociolinguistics
  • LIGN-177: Multilingualism
  • LIGN-178: Spanish Sociolinguistics
  • LIGN-179: Second Language Acquisition Research
  • LIGN-180: Language Representation in the Brain
  • LIGN-181: Language Processing in the Brain
  • MUS-175: Musical Psychoacoustics
  • PSYC-105: Cognitive Psychology
  • PSYC-108: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • PSYC-138: Sound and Music Perception
  • SOC-117/EDS-117: Language, Culture, and Education

Exceptions: 

  • COGS-107C and PSYC-108 may not both be taken for credit toward the major. 
  • 4 combined units of LIGN-188R, LIGN-195, and LIGN-199 may be counted as an elective. To have it counted, please contact a linguistics advisor through the Virtual Advising Center (VAC).

Other Resources

FAQs About Applying to SLP Programs

Are you a Linguistics major interested in pursuing a Master’s degree (clinical or research) in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)? Please visit Info on Speech-Language Pathology to better understand the process of applying and to find answers to many frequently asked questions about this process.

Study Abroad Opportunity

The Linguistics Global Exchange Program with Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia has a particular focus on Hearing & Speech Sciences.

Questions?

Please contact Linguistics Advising in one of the following ways:

Interested in minoring in Linguistics? Check out the Speech and Language Sciences Minor.

students walking at Scripps

+ 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

Learn More