Founded in 1948 as a Program in Linguistics, ours is one of the oldest Linguistics departments in the United States. Since then, Linguistics has graduated a doctoral scholar each year for over 70 consecutive years. Our graduate program has strengths in areas of theoretical and descriptive linguistics, as well as a strong commitment to African linguistics. Approximately seventy graduate students from across the United States and the globe are currently working with us, seeking M.A. or Ph.D. degrees.

The department has been crucial in developing many departments across the university and continues to develop cross-disciplinary research. In addition, adjunct faculty are affiliated with other departments, including French and Italian; Germanic Studies; Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Mathematics; Spanish and Portuguese; Second Language Studies; and East Asian Languages and Cultures.