Linguistics Concentration

Dear Linguistics Concentrators,

On this page you will find the requirements for the Linguistics Concentration of the English Major at the College of Staten Island. You can think of the requirements as falling into three groups:

  • [1] Three required courses (LING 301, LING 302, & LING 304)
  • [2] Five Additional LING courses
  • [3] Three remaining courses (LING or ENL or EWR)

That’s 11 courses total. In addition, you need to demonstrate proficiency in a foreign language through the Intermediate level (213 or above). MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PRE-REQS ARE, FOR EACH COURSE. YOU CAN CLICK ON EACH COURSE BELOW TO SEE WHAT ITS PRE-REQS ARE.

1.    Required Courses (12 credits)*

*You are strongly advised to take these three required courses AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, since they serve as pre-reqs for many other LING courses

2.    Five Additional Courses from the Following (20 credits)

*Students declaring their major Fall 2026 and after may not take more than one LING course at the 200-level toward their major.

3.     Remaining Courses (12 credits)

*Students declaring their major Fall 2026 and after may not take more than one LING course at the 200-level toward their major.

  • These twelve credits may be Linguistics (LING), Literature (ENL), Dramatic Literature (ENL), or Writing (EWR).
  • English majors in the Adolescence Education sequence are required to take ENL 323 (Coming of Age Narratives) or ENL 305; and either LING 201 (Introduction to Language) or LING 301 (Introduction to Linguistics).

You can have a look at all the ENL and EWR courses available here.

Honors in the Major

Graduating English majors may apply for graduation with honors in English. Candidates must have a grade point average of 3.5 or higher in the major, and must take an independent study with a full-time faculty member, in order to write an honors-quality paper, which will be submitted to the Honors Committee on the dates described below.

The paper submitted need not be a new work; it may be a revision or extension of a paper previously submitted in a course. Research papers, critical papers, and original works of prose or poetry are acceptable. Candidates should ask an English Department faculty member of their choosing to supervise the preparation of the paper; papers submitted to the Honors Committee must have the signature of this faculty member on the title page.

Successful honors projects are characterized by originality, depth, and critical thinking, and can involve research. Papers must be carefully proofread, and those including research must have accurate MLA (if Literature or Writing) or LSA (if Linguistics) citations. Submissions must be typed in clear, letter-quality print. Papers should be 14-20 pages in length. Please submit an electronic copy in PDF format (signed by the mentoring professor) to Professor Christopher Miller at [email protected].

Papers for majors graduating in January must be submitted by December 1; papers for majors graduating in June or August must be submitted by May 1.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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