The field of linguistics does tend to attract people who speak more than one language, or people who are interested in learning new languages. But linguistics is much more than being multilingual--it is the scientific study of language. 

Students in our program discover topics--like formal grammar, language and culture, language acquisition, cognition, and bilingualism--in the context of a broad liberal arts experience. UVM linguistics students have continued on to distinguished graduate programs. Many others join the private sector in jobs ranging from technology, medical research, education, translation and teaching as a second language. Students who major in linguistics are equipped with a broad range of transferable skills, enabling them to succeed in any profession.

Meet just a few of our recent graduates here.

  • Jessica Blier

    Linguistics and the Law

    Like many students who adopt the major, Jessica Blier ’14 didn’t know what linguistics was when she first stepped onto the UVM campus. Now she’s using her background in the discipline as a linguistic analyst for a company that uses big data to help businesses and organizations identify safety risks. “I always enjoyed languages, but decided political science would be a more practical choice as a major, thinking I could do translating work in international relations. When I realized that this was not the field for me, I went to my advisor for help. She suggested a TAP (Teacher-Advisor Program) seminar taught by Julie Roberts called ‘Language and the Law.’ I took it, and the rest is history!”

    Read more of Jessica's story.

    Along with her linguistics major, Blier minored in anthropology and took classes in Chinese, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. She also did a UVM-sponsored two-week summer study tour in China and studied abroad for a semester at Yunnan University. As graduation neared, Blier considered law school or teaching English in China. Then she stumbled on a graduate program that seemed tailor-made for her interests in law and education—forensic linguistics at Hofstra University. The program applied linguistic science to criminal law, which connects directly with her current occupation. “I write linguistic algorithms. A lot of it has to do with syntax but other aspects of sociolinguistics come into play. I’m so happy to be doing what I love.” As she makes her way in her first job in the linguistic field, Blier looks forward to getting her PhD someday and continue her research in forensic linguistics.

     

"I came to UVM undecided, but took some linguisitcs courses right away, though I had no idea what that really meant. After two semesters, I declared it as my major! . . . Linguistics helps you become aware of the intricacies/patterns in language that you hear and use on a regular basis."

Shannon Foley '19
Predoctoral Research Fellow at Dartmouth College

 

"I really loved phonetics. I appreciated how it was more on the 'sciency' side of things. I liked being able to pick out differences in speech – now my party trick is to test people for the 'cot/caught merger' and then talk about dialectal differences."

Meghan McClure '19

 

"I’ve always loved languages, and linguistics is a perfect blend between the 'hard' and 'technical,' and the more abstract nature of languages and art."

Yovita Poerwanto '19

 

Many of our students take advantage of the variety of learning opportunities our program and the university offer - from on-campus clubs and residential learning communities to study abroad programs.