Major Program
The Linguistics major consists of a five-course core and 10 upper division units of Electives. The five core courses are: Linguistics 100 'Introduction to Linguistic Science', Linguistics 110 'Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology', Linguistics 115 'Morphology and Phonology', Linguistics 120 'Introduction to Syntax and Semantics', and Linguistics 130 'Comparative and Historical Linguistics'. Linguistics majors must pass all five core courses and maintain a C average overall in the major. Students who do not do so may be dropped from the major.
Ling 110, Ling 120, Ling 115 and Ling 130 are offered only once per year. Scheduling must therefore be done carefully. Students needing to complete the major in their last four semesters (the situation for most transfer students) are advised to follow this schedule:
| Year 1 | Year 2 | ||
| Fall | Spring | Fall | Spring |
| Ling 100 | Ling 120 | Ling 110 | Ling 115 |
| Ling 130 | |||
Transfer students who have taken linguistics courses at other institutions should consult the Undergraduate Advisors to see whether they can count towards the major. In any case, all Linguistics majors must take Ling 100, Ling 110 and Ling 120 at UC Berkeley.
In addition to the five core courses, 10 upper division units of electives, taken for a letter grade, are required. Five of the elective units must be selected from upper-division course offerings within the Linguistics Department; the remaining units may be courses from other departments, subject to the approval of the Linguistics Department. List of pre-approved courses in other departments that can count as electives towards the Linguistics Major.
As the range of possible electives is so wide, the focus of the major may vary considerably from student to student. Frequently chosen topical groupings of elective courses are: linguistic methods and theory; Indo-European studies; the structure of a language or language group; an area connecting linguistics with some related discipline such as anthropology, philosophy, sociolinguistics, computer science or rhetoric.
It is important that students plan their program of study with an undergraduate advisor. Linguistics majors will need to obtain an advisor code from a Faculty Undergraduate Advisor each semester before they can register for classes on TeleBears.