Linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics at UIC provides you with a comprehensive understanding of language, including its structure and use, as well as the role that language plays in cognition, communication, and society. Students will both study theories and engage in practical applications to gain the skills to analyze language, understand the sociocultural context of language use and change, and conduct research in various linguistic domains.
At UIC, the linguistics program is intentionally grounded in multilingual processing, use, and understanding, and connects linguistics to the myriad real-world issues that students care about and want to participate in. The varied courses that you take at UIC will enable you to engage in linguistics in a hands-on, structured way, with tools of analysis such as Praat for acoustic analysis, Python for computational linguistics and digital humanities, and RStudio for statistical patterning in language data, as well as develop a deep understanding of linguistics, identity, and the roles language plays in society and in connecting communities.
See how other students found their fit below with this major!
Linguistics Career Snaps
Alumni Highlights
Below is a sample of how UIC alumni have applied their linguistics major to a professional path!
- Placement and Testing Data Specialist in Higher Education
- Graduate programs including MA and PhD in Linguistics, MA in digital Linguistics, MA Linguistic Anthropology, MA in Medical Anthropology, and MS in Health Science in Communication Disorders and more.
- Law School
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Fulbright Scholar
- CPS Language Teacher
- Translator
Unique Skills and Highlights
In addition to the foundational set of skills and competencies you will acquire in any liberal arts and science major, there are also unique skills and perspectives you gain from your linguistics major. Review the list below to learn more:
In addition to the foundational set of skills and competencies you will acquire in any liberal arts and science major, there are also unique skills and perspectives you gain from your linguistics major. Review the list below to learn more:
- Comprehensive understanding of the fundamental aspects of linguistics encompassing structure, meaning, and usage of language.
- Critical understanding of the role language plays in society, including the factors influencing language change, and the emergence of language diversity within various social dimensions.
- Methodological skills for carrying out linguistic analysis, including analyzing organized and unorganized linguistic data and carrying out linguistic research projects.
- Oral and written communication skills and teamwork skills through collaborative coursework and research projects.
Industry Clusters
There are many workplace settings, industries, and career areas in which you can apply your major based on your professional interests. Below is a sample list of industry clusters that other linguistics majors have transitioned into. What type of setting or career focus appeals to you?
- Linguistic Research and Analysis
- Language Education and Curriculum Development
- Language Testing and Assessment
- Translation and Interpretation
- Multilingual Data Processing and Corpus Development
- Natural Language Processing and Language Technology
- Cross-Cultural Communication and Consulting
- Speech-Language Pathology and Communication Disorders
- Publishing, Editing, and Content Development
- Government, Foreign Service, International Relations, and Diplomacy
- Market Research, Branding, and Marketing Consulting
- Language Rights Advocacy and Community Engagement
- Language Planning and Policy in Public Service and Education
Meet Gyu-Ho Shin!
“My starting question was simple: how do humans learn language? That curiosity led me into language science—how we understand, process, produce, and acquire language—while also drawing upon psychology and cognitive science. AI now helps me study these questions in a more fine-grained manner.”