Linguistics

The Department of Linguistics offers programs of study that lead to the Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts, and the Diploma in Linguistics.

For current listings, see the Department.

For information on the diploma program, see Diploma in Linguistics.

For information on advanced degrees, see graduate Linguistics.

Note: Majors hosted by the Department of Linguistics may be declared upon completion of 27 credits.

Major in Linguistics

Students must take at least 42 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following:

Language Requirement

Recommended Courses:

• LING_V 100, 101, 209, and 222
• STAT_V 203

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help you better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that you complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that you may find helpful, especially if your own background is somewhat weaker in those areas.

Required Courses:

• both LING_V 200 and 201; and
• all of LING_V 300, 311, 313, 327, and 333; and
• LING_V 447; and
• an additional 18 credits of courses numbered 300 or higher, of which 6 can be taken from upper-level courses in related areas. See the Department of Linguistics website for pre-approved courses from other departments. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor.

Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility for Graduate Courses and www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).

Honours in Linguistics

Admission to the Honours program requires:

• An overall average of 76% or higher on at least 33 credits including LING_V 200 and LING_V 201
• A final grade of at least 80% in LING_V 200 and in LING_V 201
• Approval of the Undergraduate Advisor

Students must take at least 60 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following:

Language Requirement:

As for the Major.

Recommended Courses:

• LING_V 100, 101, 209, and 222
• STAT_V 203

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help you better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that you complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that you may find helpful, especially if your own background is somewhat weaker in those areas.

Required Courses:

• both LING_V 200 and 201; and
• all of LING_V 300, 311, 313, 327 and 333; and
• LING_V 447; and
• LING_V 449 (Honours Essay); and
• an additional 30 credits of courses numbered 300 or higher, (including possibly additional sections of LING_V 447). These 30 credits must all be LING courses, except for a maximum of 6 credits, which can be taken from upper-level courses in related areas. See the Department of Linguistics website for pre-approved courses from other departments. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor.

Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility in Graduate Courses and www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).

Minor in Linguistics

Students must take at least 30 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following:

Recommended Courses:

• LING_V 100, 101, 209, and 222
• STAT_V 203

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help you better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that you complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that you may find helpful, especially if your own background is somewhat weaker in those areas.

Required Courses:

• both LING_V 200 and 201; and
• 6 credits from LING_V 300, 311, 313, and 327; and
• an additional 12 credits of LING courses numbered 300 or higher (which may include additional courses from LING_V 300, 311, 313, and 327); and
• an additional 6 credits in Linguistics and related fields. These 6 credits may come from any combination of the following:
  • LING courses numbered 200 or higher
  • upper-level courses in related areas. See the Department of Linguistics website for pre-approved courses from other departments. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor.
• Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility in Graduate Courses and www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).
• The Linguistics Major Language Requirement is not required for the Minor in Linguistics

Major in Cognitive Systems: Language (B.A.)

For a program description and admission requirements see Cognitive Systems (Arts).

For a list of acceptable Cognitive Systems Module Courses, see here.

Lower-level requirements

• LING_V 100
• PSYC_V 100 (or 101 and 102)
• CPSC_V 110 (or 103 and 107)¹, 121
• COGS_V 200
• LING_V 200, 201
• PSYC_V 217 or 277²
• PSYC_V 218 or 278³ or STAT_V 200 or 201⁴
• PHIL_V 220 or PHIL_V 222 or PHIL_V 320⁵

Upper-level requirements

• COGS_V 300, 303, 401, 402
• PSYC_V 365
• Six credits of philosophy courses taken from this list: PHIL_V 351, PHIL_V 326, PHIL_V 441, PHIL_V 451, PHIL_V 455
• 6 credits of LING module courses
• 12 credits of additional Cognitive Systems Module courses numbered 300 or higher (chosen from this list), at least 6 credits of which must be non-LING.

¹While CPSC_V 110 is the recommended route for students pursuing a program in Cognitive Systems, CPSC_V 103 and 107 may be taken in its place.

²PSYC_V 277 registration is limited to BSc students. BA students without prior credit for this course should plan to register in PSYC_V 217.

³PSYC_V 278 registration is limited to BSc students. BA students without prior credit for this course should plan to register in PSYC_V 218.

⁴Students intending to enroll in the Minor in Data Science should satisfy this requirement by taking STAT_V 201.

⁵The prerequisite of PHIL_V 220 may be waived for PHIL_V 320 with the consent of the instructor.

Major in Speech Sciences

Students majoring in Speech Sciences should be aware that North American graduate programs in Speech Pathology and Audiology have varying prerequisites, and that a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Speech Sciences from UBC will not necessarily qualify them for immediate admission to a graduate program. Students should investigate prospective graduate schools and consult the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor early in their program. See The School of Audiology and Speech Sciences for the required prerequisites for the two-year Master's program at UBC.

Students must take at least 45 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following requirements:

Language Requirement

Speech Sciences majors are required to complete 6 credits of coursework in a single language other than English.

Courses may be taken in any non-English language and at any level. If a student has prior experience with a language through life experience or past coursework, they are responsible for coordinating with the relevant language department to determine placement in an appropriately leveled course. 

Courses taken toward the language requirement must be focused on learning or using the language in question. Courses that include a note that says “in English” or “in translation” in the course name / description cannot be used towards the language requirement. 

Recommended Courses:

• LING_V 100 or 101;
• BIOL_V 153 or 155;
• PHYS_V 100 or 101;
• PHYS_V 341;
• PSYC_V 101 and 102 (or PSYC_V 100)

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help students better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that students complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that students may find helpful, especially if their own background is somewhat weaker in those areas. They may also serve as prerequisite courses for other required upper-level courses for admission to Speech Pathology and Audiology programs.

Required Courses:

• all of LING_V 200, 201, 209 and 222; and
• both LING_V 333 and STAT_V 203; and
• all of LING_V 300, 311, 313, and 314; and
• LING_V 447; and
• either LING_V 451 or 452; and
• an additional 9 credits of LING courses numbered 300 or higher (possibly including additional sections of LING_V 447). These 9 credits may include any LING courses numbered 300 or higher and any of the pre-approved upper-level courses in related areas listed on the Department of Linguistics website. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor. Students intending to apply for admission to a graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology can use these credits to meet admission eligibility requirements for specific programs they will be applying to (e.g., AUDI_V 402, AUDI_V 403, PSYC_V courses).

Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility in Graduate Courses and www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).

Honours in Speech Sciences

Admission to the Honours program requires:

• An overall average of 76% or higher on at least 33 credits including LING_V 200 and LING_V 201
• A final grade of at least 80% in each of LING_V 200 and in LING_V 201
• Approval of the Undergraduate Advisor

Students must take at least 63 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following:

Language Requirement:

As for the Major.

Recommended Courses:

• LING_V 100 or 101;
• BIOL_V 153 or 155;
• PHYS_V 100 or 101;
• PHYS_V 341;
• PSYC_V 101 and 102 (or PSYC_V 100)

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help students better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that students complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that students may find helpful, especially if their own background is somewhat weaker in those areas. They may also serve as prerequisite courses for other required upper-level courses for admission to Speech Pathology and Audiology programs.

Required Courses:

• all of LING_V 200, 201, 209 and 222; and
• both LING_V 333 and STAT_V 203; and
• all of LING_V 300, 311, 313, and 314; and
• LING_V 447; and
• LING_V 449 (Honours Essay); and
• either LING_V 451 or 452; and
• an additional 21 credits of LING courses numbered 300 or higher (possibly including additional sections of LING_V 447). These 21 credits may include any LING courses numbered 300 or higher and any of the pre-approved upper-level courses in related areas listed on the Department of Linguistics website. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor. Students intending to apply for admission to a graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology can use these credits to meet admission eligibility requirements for specific programs they will be applying to (e.g., AUDI_V 402, AUDI_V 403, PSYC_V courses).

Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility in Graduate Courses and https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate… for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).

Minor in Speech Sciences

Students must take at least 33 credits in Linguistics and related areas, subject to the following requirements:

Recommended Courses

• LING_V 100 or 101;
• BIOL_V 153 or 155;
• PHYS_V 100 or 101;
• PHYS_V 341;
• PSYC_V 101 and 102 (or PSYC_V 100)

Note: 100-level LING courses do not count toward Honours, Major or Minor programs in Linguistics or Speech Sciences. “Recommended” courses are additional courses that may help students better understand and succeed in the required courses for the program. There’s no necessity that students complete any or all of them; they are simply ones that students may find helpful, especially if their own background is somewhat weaker in those areas. They may also serve as prerequisite courses for other required upper-level courses for admission to Speech Pathology and Audiology programs.

Required Courses:

• all of LING_V 200, 201, 209 and 222; and
• both LING_V 313 and 314; and
• either LING_V 300 or 311; and
• an additional 6 credits from AUDI_V 402, LING_V 451 or 452; and
• an additional 6 credits of LING courses numbered 300 or higher. These 6 credits may include any LING courses numbered 300 or higher and any of the pre-approved upper-level courses in related areas listed on the Department of Linguistics website. Courses not listed on the website must be approved by the Linguistics Undergraduate Advisor. Students intending to apply for admission to a graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology can use these credits to meet admission eligibility requirements for specific programs they will be applying to (e.g., AUDI_V 402, AUDI_V 403, PSYC_V courses).

The Speech Sciences Major Language Requirement is not required for the Minor in Speech Sciences. 

Note: undergraduate students may enrol in graduate-level courses if they meet the requirements; see Undergraduate Eligibility in Graduate Courses and https://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/enrolment-undergraduate-students-graduate-course for more information. Such courses can count toward upper-level credit requirements (i.e., as courses numbered 300 or higher).