Language and Mind (BA)

Program Description

The College's Language and Mind major is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the human mind through the study of language. At the core of cognitive science, this endeavor has emerged as a preeminent research frontier, forging links across the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Reflecting the interdisciplinary character of this frontier, the Language and Mind program is strongly integrative, drawing courses from three departments: Linguistics, Psychology, and Philosophy. Human language is at the center of the Language and Mind program of study, but the major is broader than Linguistics; the program also incorporates psychological experimentation techniques and philosophical inquiry. The aim is to give students the necessary background for exploration of new perspectives for both language and the human mind.

Joint Honors

The Department of Linguistics offers an honors track for students pursuing the major in Language and Mind. To graduate with honors, students must complete an honors thesis, which is an original research project of 40 to 50 pages conducted over two semesters. The thesis is due on April 1st of the student’s senior year. Additionally, students must take two advanced courses: LING-UA 102 Senior Honors Thesis Seminar (4 credits) in the fall semester, and one other advanced undergraduate course, graduate course, or independent study chosen in consultation with the thesis adviser (totaling 8 credits). The Senior Honors Thesis Seminar and the additional course chosen with the student's adviser may be counted as advanced electives toward the major. The thesis must be presented either at an oral conference presentation or in a private defense/discussion.

Admission to the honors program is by application in the second semester of the junior year. To be eligible, students must have a GPA of 3.65 or higher both overall and in the major. Applications are due by April 15th and must include a one- to two-page description of the proposed thesis topic. The student must identify faculty members from two departments in the Language and Mind major (Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology) who will be co-advisers. The thesis topic must reflect contributions to both disciplines.

Students who excel in the Language and Mind major are encouraged to begin developing their honors project as early as the second semester of their sophomore year.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The Language and Mind major requires ten 4-credit courses (40 credits) as outlined below, which must be completed with a grade of C or higher. Courses graded Pass/Fail do not count. Four courses are in Linguistics, one is in Philosophy, and four are in Psychology; the tenth course is in any of the three departments and is chosen from the lists below. Majors must consult with the directors of undergraduate studies of the three participating departments for advisement.

¹

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

Sample Plan of Study

¹

Prerequisite for entering major; does not count toward its requirements.

²

Select one of the following: PSYCH-UA 56/LING-UA 5 Psycholinguistics or PSYCH-UA 300 Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development or PSYCH-UA 300/LING-UA 43 Neural Bases of Language or PSYCH-UA 300 Speech: A Window into the Developing Mind.

³

Consult list of all approved LING-UA courses.

⁴

Select one of the following: PSYCH-UA 22 Perception or PSYCH-UA 25 Cognitive Neuroscience or PSYCH-UA 46 Laboratory in Cognition and Perception or PSYCH-UA 56/LING-UA 5 Psycholinguistics or PSYCH-UA 300 Language Acquisition and Cognitive Development or PSYCH-UA 300/LING-UA 43 Neural Bases of Language.

⁵

Select from LING-UA, PHIL-UA, or PSYCH-UA courses.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have developed:

1. An understanding of how the fields of linguistics, psychology, and philosophy approach the study of the human language faculty within the cognitive sciences.
2. An understanding of linguistic approaches to the study of human language in the areas of phonetics, phonology, syntax, and semantics.
3. The ability to analyze, interpret, and assess linguistic and behavioral data that contribute to the cognitive science of language.
4. Knowledge of different experimental methods used to study the human language faculty.
5. The ability to discuss technical work in the cognitive science of language, both in writing and orally, to an interdisciplinary audience.

Policies

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.