Linguistics Undergraduate Course Planning

When in doubt about the requirements for this (or any) major, check the CSULB Catalog. If there is a conflict between what’s written in the Catalog and elsewhere, the Catalog is what counts. 

Note: we do not recommend use of the Degree Planner in MyCSULB. We do strongly recommend that students follow their Academic Requirement report in MYCSULB once the major is declared. 

We offer three B.A.s in Linguistics:

  • B.A. in Linguistics
  • B.A. in Linguistics, Option in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) 
  • B.A. in Linguistics, Option in Translation Studies

See their course information below.

Required courses

  • 101 Introduction to the World’s Languages (prereq: ENGL 100B or GE Area A2) 
  • 170 Introduction to Linguistics (prereq/coreq: GE Foundation course) 
  • 300 Professional Development for Linguists
  • 325 Modern English Grammar
  • 329 Language Acquisition
  • 420 Phonology (prereq: 170)
  • 421 Syntax (prereq: 325)

Sociocultural requirement (choose any 1)

  • 379 Sociolinguistics (prereq: 170)
  • 413 Language and Culture (prereq: 170)
  • 477 Language Socialization

Electives (choose any 7)

  • 301 Introduction to Research Methods (prereq: 170)
  • 310 Morphology of English (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 360 The Languages of Africa [spring only]
  • 363 Implications of Human Language (Writing Intensive)
  • 375 Spanish in the US [spring only] (Writing Intensive)
  • 379 Sociolinguistics (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 401 Corpus Linguistics (prereq: 170) [fall only]
  • 413 Language and Culture (prereq: 170)
  • 422 Discourse Analysis (coreq: 421) [fall only]
  • 423 Semantics (prereq: 325 or ENGL 320) [fall only]
  • 424 Laboratory Phonetics (prereq: 101 or 170) [fall only] 
  • 425 Education Across Cultures 
  • 426 History of the English Language (prereq: 170) [fall only]
  • 438 Psycholinguistics (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 450 Teaching Second Language Listening and Speaking (prereq. 329; pre-/coreq: 420)
  • 460 Teaching Second Language Composition (prereq: 325)
  • 470 Language and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective 
  • 472 Language and Social Justice (Writing Intensive)
  • 477 Language Socialization
  • 486 Second Language Teaching Methods (prereq: 325)
  • 490 Selected Topics in Linguistics [offered occasionally]
  • 499 Directed Study in Linguistics (prereq: instructor approval)
  • ASLD 306: American Sign Language Linguistics (prereq: 170)

Language requirement: 

Fourth semester level in one language, or second semester level in two languages of which one is not Indo-European.

What order should I take the courses in?

Take the 7 required courses at the earliest opportunity. If you leave a required course until the last semester, you might have to delay graduation if you can’t fit the course in. Also, plan ahead how you will finish your language requirement.

First priority: 101 and 170. Of these, 170 is higher priority, because it is the prerequisite for many other courses.

Second priority: 300, 325, and 329. Of these, 325 is higher priority because it is the prerequisite for 421, 423, 460, and 486.

Third priority: 420 and 421.

Fourth priority: Sociocultural course and Electives. Among these, prioritize those that are offered Fall only or Spring only.

Substitute electives

Normally, electives are chosen from the list above. However, there is some flexibility in this area:

Linguistics courses in other departments: You can petition to count up to 6 units of linguistics coursework from another department. The courses need to be upper-division (300 or 400 level), on a topic in linguistics but not strongly overlapped with one of our courses. Examples might include FREN 414 (French Phonetics), JAPN 462 (Contrastive Analysis of English and Japanese) or ITAL 414 (History of the Italian Language). BEFORE taking the course, ask the instructor for a recent syllabus, and bring it to the advisor.

Graduate courses: Seniors with a strong GPA can petition to take graduate level LING courses (500 and above) as electives. See the advisor for details.

Can I count LING 339 as an elective? Under no circumstances. LING 339 overlaps too much with LING 329 in content.

Other Courses Recommendations for Linguists

A linguistics degree tends to be most useful when combined with practical skills such as knowledge of foreign languages, computer science, writing, or statistics. The courses below do not count towards the major but do complement the major well.

Writing skills: Many linguists go into fields that involve writing. Courses from CSULB’s Certificate in Professional Writing provide a good background.

Languages: Languages are most useful if you study them to an advanced level (preferably third or fourth year).

Statistics: LING 301 covers some statistics; you can get further background in courses such as PSY 110 (Introductory Statistics) and PSY 310 (Intermediate Statistics). Statistics is especially useful if you are interested in research or computational linguistics.

Required courses

  • LING 101 Introduction to the World’s Languages (prereq: ENGL 100B or GE Area A2) 
  • LING 170 Introduction to Linguistics (prereq/coreq: GE Foundation course) 
  • LING 300 Professional Development for Linguists
  • LING 325 Modern English Grammar
  • LING 329 Language Acquisition (prereq: GE Foundations; Upper Division Standing)
  • LING 420 Phonology (prereq: 170)
  • LING 421 Syntax (prereq: 325)

Sociocultural requirement (choose any 1)

  • LING 379 Sociolinguistics (prereq: 170)
  • LING 413 Language and Culture (prereq: 170)
  • LING 477 Language Socialization

TESOL Option-Specific requirements (take these 3 courses)

  • LING 450 – Teaching Second Language Listening and Speaking(3 units)
  • LING 460 – Teaching Second Language Composition(3 units)
  • LING 486 – Second Language Teaching Methods(3 units)

Electives (choose any 4 courses)

  • 301 Introduction to Research Methods (prereq: 170)
  • 310 Morphology of English (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 360 The Languages of Africa [spring only]
  • 363 Implications of Human Language (Writing Intensive)
  • 375 Spanish in the US [spring only] (Writing Intensive)
  • 379 Sociolinguistics (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 401 Corpus Linguistics (prereq: 170) [fall only]
  • 413 Language and Culture (prereq: 170)
  • 422 Discourse Analysis (coreq: 421) [fall only]
  • 423 Semantics (prereq: 325 or ENGL 320) [fall only]
  • 424 Laboratory Phonetics (prereq: 101 or 170) [fall only] 
  • 425 Education Across Cultures 
  • 426 History of the English Language (prereq: 170) [fall only]
  • 438 Psycholinguistics (prereq: 170) [spring only]
  • 470 Language and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective 
  • 472 Language and Social Justice (Writing Intensive)
  • 477 Language Socialization
  • 490 Selected Topics in Linguistics [offered occasionally]
  • 499 Directed Studies in Linguistics 
  • ASLD 306: American Sign Language Linguistics (prereq: 170)
  • EDSS 300A-S – Introduction to Teaching (specifically EDSS 300F and EDSS 300G) (3 units)  

Language requirement: 

Fourth semester level in one language, or second semester level in two languages of which one is not Indo-European.

What order should I take the courses in?

Take the required courses at the earliest opportunity. If you leave a required course until the last semester, you might have to delay graduation if you can’t fit the course in. Also, plan ahead how you will finish your language requirement. 

First priority: LING 101, LING 170, LING 300, and LING 325. Of these, 170 is higher priority, because it is the prerequisite for many other courses.

Second priority: LING 329, LING 420, LING 421, and Sociocultural Requirement

Third priority: TESOL Option-specific courses (LING 450, 460, and 486)

Fourth priority:  Elective courses. Among these, prioritize those that are offered Fall only or Spring only.

Required courses

  • LING 101 Introduction to the World’s Languages (prereq: ENGL 100B or GE Area A2) 
  • LING 170 Introduction to Linguistics (prereq/coreq: GE Foundation course) 
  • LING 300 Professional Development for Linguists
  • LING 325 Modern English Grammar
  • LING 329 Language Acquisition 
  • LING 420 Phonology (prereq: 170)
  • LING 421 Syntax (prereq: 325)

Sociocultural requirement (choose any 1)

  • LING 379 Sociolinguistics (prereq: 170)
  • LING 413 Language and Culture (prereq: 170)
  • LING 477 Language Socialization

Translation Option-Specific requirements 

Take these three:

  • TRST 201 – Meaning in Transit: An Introduction to Translation Studies (3 units)
  • TRST 301 – Translation: Ethics, Theory, and Practice (prereq: 201 C or better) (3 units)
  • TRST 401 – Translation Workshop (prereq: 301 C or better) (3 units)

Then take one of the following (choose any 1):

  • TRST 410 – Literary Translation in Transit (3 units)
  • TRST 435 – Cognitive Translatology and Bilingualism (3 Units)
  • TRST 451 – Audiovisual Translation (3 units)
  • TRST 452 – Localization: Website, Software, App and Video Game Translation (3 units)

Electives (choose any 2)

Take two additional courses (6 units) in Linguistics or translation at the 300 or 400 level. Courses that may be used towards this requirement include all upper-division LING courses except LING 339, or any of the following (Other upper-division language courses may be substituted with advisor permission. The C/LA 492 internship course may also be substituted for an elective with advisor permission.):

  • ASLD 306 – American Sign Language Linguistics (3 units)
  • FREN 460 – The Art of Translation (3 units)
  • FREN 315 – Introduction to Direct Translation French-English (3 units)
  • FREN 316 – Introduction to Inverse Translation English-French (3 units)
  • GERM 306 – Translating German to English (3 units)
  • ITAL 460 – Exploring Italian Translation (3 units)
  • LING 301 – Introduction to Research Methods (3 units)
  • LING 310  – Morphology of English  (3 units)
  • LING 360 – The Languages of Africa (3 units)
  • LING 363 – Implications of Human Language (3 units)  (Writing Intensive)
  • LING 375 – Spanish in the US (3 units) [spring only]  (Writing Intensive)
  • LING 379 – Sociolinguistics (3 units)
  • LING 401 – Corpus Linguistics (3 units)
  • LING 413 – Language and Culture (3 units)
  • LING 422 – Discourse Analysis (3 units)
  • LING 423 – Semantics (3 units)
  • LING 424 – Laboratory Phonetics (3 units)
  • LING 425 – Education Across Cultures (3 units) or ANTH 421 
  • LING 426 – History of the English Language (3 units) or ENGL 426 
  • LING 438 – Psycholinguistics (3 units)
  • LING 450 – Teaching Second Language Listening and Speaking (3 units)
  • LING 460 – Teaching Second Language Composition (3 units)
  • LING 470 – Language and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (3 units)
  • LING 472 – Language and Social Justice (3 units)  (Writing Intensive)
  • LING 477 – Language Socialization (3 units)
  • LING 486 – Second Language Teaching Methods (3 units)
  • LING 490 – Selected Topics in Linguistics (1‑3 units)
  • LING 499 – Directed Studies in Linguistics (1-6 units)
  • SPAN 461 – Introduction to Translation and Interpretation (3 units)
  • SPAN 462 – Written and Sight Translation I: English/Spanish (3 units)
  • SPAN 463 – Written and Sight Translation II: Spanish/English (3 units)
  • SPAN 464 – Consecutive Interpretation I (3 units)
  • SPAN 465 – Consecutive Interpretation II (3 units)
  • SPAN 466 – Simultaneous Interpretation English/Spanish (3 units)
  • SPAN 467 – Simultaneous Interpretation Spanish/English (3 units)
  • TRST 410 – Literary Translation in Transit (3 units)
  • TRST 435 – Cognitive Translatology and Bilingualism (3 Units)
  • TRST 451 – Audiovisual Translation (3 units)
  • TRST 452 – Localization: Website, Software, App and Video Game Translation (3 units)
  • TRST 499 – Directed Study

Advanced Language Requirement for Translation Studies Option (a fifth semester course)

3 units of any course taught in a language other than English at fifth semester level or higher. Note: Other courses may also fulfill the advanced language competency requirement, with advisor approval.

Note: It is NOT possible to satisfy the language requirement for the Linguistics BA with Option in Translation with two semesters in two different languages as can be done for other LING Majors. The TRST Major requires focus on one language and also requires more advanced language proficiency. Students should consult with the undergraduate advisor, who must approve courses that fulfill this requirement.

Note: TRST 400 Independent Language Study may fulfill this requirement with advisor permission.

Majors are also encouraged to take upper division courses in their language of focus to satisfy the elective requirements. 

What order should I take the courses in?

Take the required courses (in LING and TRST Studies) at the earliest opportunity. If you leave a required course until the last semester, you might have to delay graduation if you can’t fit the course in. Also, plan ahead how you will finish your language requirement. For Translation Option majors, the language requirement should be finished as early as possible, so you have time to take additional translation-related coursework where available.

First priority: LING 101, LING 170, LING 300, and LING 325. Of these, 170 is higher priority, because it is the prerequisite for many other courses.

Second priority: LING 329, LING 423 (Semantics is strongly recommended for TRST Option majors), TRST 201, TRST 301. 

Third priority: LING 420, LING 421, Sociocultural Requirement, TRST 301

Fourth priority: TRST 401, and the final TRST course (410, 435 or 451) and then finish the Elective courses. Among these, prioritize those that are offered Fall only or Spring only.