Linguistics at UB
Decode how language works and where it can take you
Language shapes how we connect, learn and move through the world. At the University at Buffalo, linguistics gives you the tools to study language from every angle, from sound and structure to culture, cognition and communication. You can explore languages, build research skills and prepare for careers in education, technology, public service and beyond.
If you like solving puzzles, finding patterns or figuring out why people communicate the way they do, linguistics gives you a new way to look at language.
You might investigate why languages organize sentences differently, how children learn language, why accents change, how meaning depends on context or how computers process human language. Along the way, you will build skills in analysis, research and problem-solving that can complement interests across the humanities, social sciences and technology.
At UB, you can study language from multiple perspectives and shape your experience around the questions that interest you.
You can:
- Work with linguistic data and conduct research
- Learn through fieldwork and language documentation
- Explore connections among language, cognition, society and technology
- Study languages including Chinese, German, Japanese and Korean
- Learn from faculty whose research spans languages and communities around the world
- Combine linguistics with another area of study
Why UB?
UB is a place where you can challenge yourself, find your community and build a future. As New York's flagship public research university, UB combines world-class research with a welcoming campus where you'll learn alongside scholars and have opportunities to get involved from your first year.
What you’ll experience at UB
- Affordable excellence: Earn a top-tier education at a cost that supports your goals.
- Collaborative community: Learn from faculty and peers who care about your growth.
- Built-in opportunity: Get experience through research, internships and student clubs.
- A vibrant place to live: Buffalo offers friendly neighborhoods, a lively arts and food scene and easy access to Toronto and New York.
The UB difference
UB students get big-university advantages without losing the personal connections that make college meaningful. You’ll join a campus that encourages curiosity, celebrates different perspectives and gives you room to explore your path.
Linguistics brings together questions about language structure, meaning, society and the mind. Depending on your program and interests, you may study:
- Syntax and sentence structure
- Semantics and meaning
- Pragmatics and language in context
- Phonetics and phonology
- Psycholinguistics and cognition
- Sociolinguistics and language in society
- Computational approaches to language
- Language documentation and fieldwork
As you work with linguistic data and research methods, you will learn to identify patterns, evaluate evidence, analyze complex systems and communicate your findings clearly.
Courses may include “Language in a Pluralistic Society,” “Languages of the World,” “Sociolinguistics,” “Language, Society and the Individual” and “Bilingualism and Language Contact.”
UB linguistics faculty study language across communities, cultures and contexts, with research spanning linguistic theory, language documentation, cognition, computation and more.
As a student, you can learn from researchers whose work takes them from the laboratory to field sites around the world. Opportunities to participate in research can help you build practical experience while discovering which questions interest you most.
The department also supports research on Haudenosaunee languages and recognizes that UB operates on the territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
There is no single career path for linguistics graduates, and that flexibility is part of its value. Studying language develops skills in pattern recognition, research, data analysis, communication and problem-solving that can be applied across fields.
Depending on your degree, experiences and additional training, you might pursue areas such as:
- Language technology and natural language processing
- Education and language teaching
- Research and academia
- Government and public service
- Writing, editing and communication
- Translation and cross-cultural communication
- Nonprofit and community organizations
Whether you want to study linguistics, build proficiency in another language or explore connections with AI and cognition, UB offers undergraduate and graduate programs to match your interests and goals.
Degree options:
Undergraduate degrees
Concentrations
Customize your degree with focused study in a language and linguistics.
Minors
Add language study or linguistics to another UB major.
Graduate
MA pathways
Tailor the MA in Linguistics through general study or a specialized area of focus.
If you want to understand language and use that knowledge in meaningful ways, UB is a strong place to begin.