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Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the Linguistics major, a student will have demonstrated a command of the study of human language, the ability to complete a sustained research project, and the ability to present their work in writing and in discussion. Majors will be able to:

1. Demonstrate command of the methods of linguistics:
   • Either construct a grammatical sketch for an unidentified language, utilizing the concepts, terms, and methodologies necessary to do basic grammatical analysis and describe natural language data; or develop an empirical research project to investigate a linguistic topic, including literature review, research design and data analysis and interpretation.
   • Correctly use technical terms and/or methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis.
2. Execute and defend a significant independent research project:
   • Formulate an interesting and significant research question or hypothesis.
   • Develop and pursue a methodology appropriate to a research topic.
   • Engage with relevant scholarly literature review.
   • Collect, analyze, and interpret relevant data.
   • Develop new knowledge, whether expository or innovative.
   • Independently investigate the topic with the support of an advisor.
   • Respond effectively to feedback.
3. Communicate work done
   • Articulate an argument or thesis statement for the research project.
   • Write a clear and coherent document that is substantially longer than a traditional term paper or project, and modeled on the organization, prose style, and formatting of a linguistics journal article.
   • Effectively present data, including correctly formatted linguistic examples, appropriate visualizations of numerical data, etc.
   • Orally present, discuss, and defend work done.

The primary assessment tool for learning in the major at ½ñÈÕ³Ô¹Ï and the level of student achievement in the major area is the senior thesis; the junior qualifying examination, which assesses a student's readiness for thesis, provides a second assessment tool. For more information on the thesis, the Junior Qualifying Exam and the academic program, see Requirements.