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Graduate Courses

Below are graduate courses. Students should check MyPurdue to learn the details of each semester's offerings; for example, the "Field Methods" class analyzes different languages, and the Special Topics and Seminar classes look at different issues each semester.  Students are encouraged to use classes from other departments towards their degree, with their advisors' approval. For example, many graduate students take statistical methods, research design, and/or language classes. 

For a list of the names, times and professors of the current graduate and undergraduate classes, click here. 

Under LING

LING 50000: Introduction to Linguistics (ANTH 514, AUSL 580, ENGL 506, FLL 561). Fundamental concepts and methods of linguistic analysis of natural languages; overview of linguistics and the role of language in society. Introduction to phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, and to problem-solving techniques, with material drawn from a wide variety of languages.

LING 51100: Phonology I: Descriptive Analysis; Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 513). Foundations of phonological analysis. Development of concepts and methods for the analysis of phonological data and the phonological structures of natural languages within the framework of generative phonology. Focus on problem solving and linguistic argumentation.

LING 51200: Phonology II: Theoretical Approaches; Prerequisite: LING 511. Examination, comparison, and evaluation of contemporary phonological theories, with focus on the contribution of each theory to our understanding of representations and operations in phonological analysis. Primary emphasis is on autosegmental phonology, metrical phonology, lexical phonology, and optimality theory.

LING 52100: Syntax I: Syntactic Analysis; Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 512). Foundations of syntactic analysis and syntactic theory within the framework of generative grammar. Focuses on the central concepts of syntactic theory and on the principles and methods of syntactic analysis and argumentation. using a core of topics relevant for syntactic theory.

LING 52200: Syntax II: Issues in Syntax; Prerequisite: LING 521. Deeper examination of a wider range of syntactic phenomena and evaluation of competing theoretical analyses proposed to account for them. Constructing theoretical analyses and evaluating their explanatory adequacy for Universal Grammar. Topics include LF phenomena, functional projections, and structural representations.

LING 53100: Semantics I: Lexical and Sentential Semantics; Prerequisite or corequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 511). Foundations of semantic analysis and survey of current linguistic semantic theories and methods. Semantics at the lexical and sentential levels. Combinatorial, truth-conditional, pragmatic, contextual, and computational semantics.

LING 53200: Semantics II: Formal and Grammatical Semantics; Prerequisite: LING 521, 522, and 531. A formal, logic-based study of semantic relations. Semantics of individuals and objects, attributes, determiners, definite descriptions, quantifiers, events, time, and space.

LING 54100: Historical Linguistics and Language Change; Prerequisite: LING 500 or equivalent (ENGL 563, FLL 563). A general examination of the ways in which languages and their subsystems change over time and of the forces that produce change. The comparative method; internal reconstruction; geographical variation; and social variation. Overview of world language families and genetic relationships.

LING 56000: Service Learning in Languages & Linguistics; This course aims to introduce the student to critical reflective thinking and experiential learning that address local and global needs and foster civic responsibility. This service learning course is a multifaceted method of teaching and learning that enriches a students’ academic life and real life learning by engaging her/him in meaningful hands-on service to the community while gaining valuable knowledge and skills that integrate with course objectives. Typically offered Fall Spring Summer.  May be repeated for unlimited credit.

LING 56500: Sociolinguistics; An introduction to language in its social context, focusing on uses and users of language.  Topics include social class, ethnic group, gender, language attitudes, and bilingualism.

LING 57000: Field Methods in Linguistics; This course deals with the basic techniques for collecting language data, and is designed to reproduce and explore the conditions and methods of linguistic fieldwork in a classroom.  The course also addresses questions related to the ethics of retrieving linguistic data, the relations between the linguist and the speaking communities, and the use of collected data.  A non-Indo-European lesser-studied language will be examined with the help of a native speaker.  The main areas of its grammar will be covered: phonetic and phonological system, inflectional and derivational morphology, basic syntactic structures and basic semantic phenomena.  The final goal is to obtain a basic grammatical description of the language.  Lab sessions will be directed towards training in the software and audio and video tools used for the trade.

LING 57600: Latin American Indigenous Languages & Cultures; This course will help students to learn the importance of understanding the diversity of Latin American indigenous languages and cultures as well as the intercultural understandings gained when these indigenous languages are valued.  Moreover, this course will provide a general cultural and linguistic framework to understand the sociolinguistic status of the language within the context where it exists.  In this course, students will deepen their knowledge of Latin American indigenous cultures and their histories, as a means to achieving a greater understanding of both a shared humanity and the variety of human experiences.

LING 59000: Directed Reading in Linguistics; Admission by consent of the chair of Linguistic Program; May be repeated for credit. Independent study and reading on a topic in linguistics directed by a faculty member.

LING 59100: Special Topics in Phonology; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in phonology. Topic varies from semester to semester.

LING 59200: Special Topics in Syntax; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in syntax. Topic varies from semester to semester. 

LING 59300: Special Topics in Semantics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in semantics. Topic varies from semester to semester.

LING 59400: Special Topics in Historical Linguistics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in historical linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester.

LING 59800: Special Topics in Linguistics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Investigation of an advanced topic in linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Examples: Acoustics of Speech, Bilingualism.

LING 61900: Seminar in Phonology; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in phonology. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Acquisition of L2 Phonology.

LING 62900: Seminar in Syntax; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in syntax. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Experimental Syntax.

LING 63900: Seminar in Semantics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in semantics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: Semantics and Humor.

LING 64900: Seminar in Historical Linguistics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated from credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in historical linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Example: History of Indo-European Languages.

LING 68900: Seminar in Linguistics; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated for credit. Intensive study and research on a selected topic in linguistics. Topic varies from semester to semester. Examples: Language and Code-Switching; World Englishes, Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition.

LING 69000: Individual Seminar; Admission by consent of instructor; May be repeated up to 6 hours for credit. Under the individual guidance and supervision of a faculty member, students will select and investigate a topic and will produce a paper of professional caliber on the subject.

LING 69800: Research M.A. Thesis

LING 69900: Research Ph.D. Thesis



From Other Departments

Language classes that count towards the language requirements for the MA and PhD can be taken through many departments. Consider looking under Arabic (ARAB), American Sign Language (ASL), Chinese (CHNS), French (FR), German (GER), Greek (GREK), Hebrew (HEBR), Italian (ITAL), Japanese (JPNS), Portuguese (PTGS), Russian (RUSS), and Spanish (SPAN) for language classes. 

Classes in the School of Languages and Cultures are listed under LC. The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences lists its courses under SLHS. Many of these classes will be cross-listed with LING. Both Communications (COM) and Statistics (STAT) offer courses that can be helpful for students interested in methods courses, quantitative research, or sociolinguistics.