The Department of Linguistics offers undergraduate instruction of four types: courses in linguistics, in English as an International Language, English as a Second Language, and in non-Western languages.
Linguistics courses focus on empirical and theoretical issues connected with how languages are structured, how they are used, and how they change through time. These courses are of interest not only to linguistics majors, but to students in any field where the analysis of languages is important: anthropology, speech and hearing science, psychology, philosophy, computer science, foreign languages, and others.
English as an International Language courses are concerned with the teaching of English to speakers of other languages, and are useful to any students planning a career in language teaching.
English as a Second Language courses are for students whose first language is not English, to build up skills in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing English.
Non-Western Language courses build up skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing a specific language; familiarize students with literatures and cultures connected with the language; and examine linguistic issues peculiar to the language itself. These courses are of interest to students planning international careers, or simply desiring to broaden their perspective and learn about a different language and culture. Languages offered by the department are: African Languages (Bamana, Lingala, Swahili, Wolof, and Zulu), Arabic, Hindi, Modern Greek, Persian, Sanskrit, Turkish.
September 2025
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
2090 Lincoln Hall,
702 South Wright Street,
URBANA,
Illinois,
61801, United States
Students should complete their high school courses and grades
GPA: 3.50-3.93
TOEFL scores are TOEFL: 103-111
Along with the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Testing System (IELTS) can also be used to show English proficiency. The typical scores for admission are a total of 7.5 to 8, with a score of at least 6 on all 4 modules.
*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.