Overview

Linguistics, which is the study of language as a structural, cognitive, historical, and cultural phenomenon, intersects with many different academic disciplines and career paths.
Linguists at Pennsylvania State University study how people acquire their knowledge of a language (or multiple languages), how this knowledge interacts with other cognitive processes, and how best to model this knowledge.
They study how to represent the structure of the various aspects of language (such as sounds or meaning), how to account for different linguistic patterns theoretically, and how the different components of language interact with each other.
Since every language is spoken across multiple communities of practice, linguists also study variation in language based on region, ethnicity, gender, or any number of other social factors. In order to learn about as many of the world's 7000 languages as possible, many linguists do fieldwork.
This means that they work with speakers of little-studied languages to discover grammatical patterns and/or to document the language.
Other linguists search databases (or corpora) of spoken and written language to find patterns there. Yet others run carefully-designed experiments with children and adults in schools, in the field, and in university labs. Linguistics is the scientific study of language in all its complexity.

Careers

Courses in linguistics provide students the opportunity to practice and hone skills such as analytical reasoning, critical thinking, formulating hypotheses and argumentation, so linguistics students can easily pursue a variety of different career paths.
The skills gained by our students provide good preparation for careers in information science and technology, education (especially language teaching), speech pathology, or audiology.
Linguistics also provides good preparation for legal studies, law enforcement and related careers, as well as fields requiring precise use of language, such as advertising, publishing, or journalism.
Students interested in international business or global studies would also benefit from studying linguistics.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Linguistics
Syntax
Phonology
Semantics
Historical Linguistics
Sociolinguistics
Language, Culture, and Social Interaction

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 48 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-01-12 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-10-01 00:00:00
Starting 2027-05-18 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-11-01 00:00:00
Starting 2027-08-25 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-11-01 00:00:00

Language

English

Duolingo English Test

120

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TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

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Credits

120 SCH

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

University Park, United States

Disciplines

Linguistics View 451 other Bachelors in Linguistics in United States

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

Duolingo English Test

120

Take A Free Practice Test!

TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

Application
Official secondary school records
Official transcripts
Official test scores: SAT or ACT
English language proficiency if your native language is not English

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

43290 USD / year

≈ 43290 USD / year
Out-of-State

41790 USD / year

≈ 41790 USD / year
Domestic

Applies to you

In-State

20644 USD / year

≈ 20644 USD / year

Living costs

University Park

United States

1000 - 1500 USD / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

About

Overview

Careers

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic

Living costs

University Park

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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