Department of Linguistics
Linguistics involves the scientific study of language structure, how humans acquire and use language, and how languages change. The Department of Linguistics at Purdue will help you develop the skills necessary to analyze any language and to understand the role language plays in societies around the world. Our courses cover methods for analyzing language, role of languages in society, word formation processes, mechanisms of speech production, and more. The department also offers a minor in Linguistics.
Purdue's Department of Linguistics is distinguished by a strong applied focus after thorough theoretical training. Our graduate students apply theory while studying areas like bilingualism, language acquisition, corpus linguistics, natural language processing, and sign languages. Our many on-campus linguistic labs provide opportunities for research and collaboration.
The mission of The Department of Linguistics at Purdue University aims to advance the understanding of the human language capacity in its social, cognitive, and historical dimensions, through excellent undergraduate teaching, comprehensive graduate training, and innovative faculty and student research spanning the major linguistic subfields. We embrace an interdisciplinary approach to the scientific study of language structure, language acquisition, bilingualism, and language use. In doing so, we employ a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological tools in our research, and we provide a diverse range of perspectives and experiences for our students to explore.
We believe that a rich learning environment offers not just varied theories and methods, but also a space that embraces and welcomes everyone. We're dedicated to cultivating an environment where all individuals feel valued and can fully participate. This commitment is apparent in our teaching, in our interactions with students and colleagues, and in our research and community outreach activities, especially as related to the language varieties of immigrants, indigenous communities, Deaf communities, and other underrepresented groups.
To get a feel for the department, we suggest you browse our professors' pages, take a look at the linguistics labs on campus, or visit our Facebook and Youtube pages.
Opportunities
The Purdue Linguistics Association is our student organization, and when school is in session, we warmly welcome you to the Ling Lunches. More information to come.
Upcoming Events
Updates coming Fall 2025