Undergraduate Program Learning Outcomes

The campus conducts regular and meaningful assessment of its undergraduate programs to lead to their improvement. The Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) for the BA programs in linguistics and language studies are evaluated on an ongoing basis.

Students who complete a BA in linguistics or language studies emerge with the following knowledge and skills:

1. Analytical thinking
   Students will formulate testable hypotheses, and present them clearly and completely. Students will accurately and insightfully use relevant evidence to evaluate hypotheses and determine routes for future investigation.
2. Writing
   Students will formulate well-organized written arguments. At the micro-level, sentences will be grammatical, follow appropriate conventions, and strike an appropriate balance of clarity and complexity. At the macro-level, sentences will be linked together into paragraphs, and paragraphs into logical sections of a larger document.
3. Properties of language
   Students will apply analytical techniques to identify general properties of language, including but not limited to sound structure, word structure, sentence structure, meaning, use, and language processing. Students will explain the significance of relevant universal properties in some domain.
4. Linguistic theory and investigation
   Students will demonstrate an active command of linguistic theory and linguistic investigation in at least one area of linguistic theory, including but not limited to morphology, phonetics, phonology, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, syntax, and semantics.
5. Second language proficiency or mathematics competency
   Linguistics majors will demonstrate either competence in the mathematical foundations of theories used in linguistics or proficiency in a second language at or above the intermediate-high level and Language Studies majors will demonstrate proficiency in a second language at an advanced level.