Programs

What is natural language and how is it structured? What is common to all human languages, and how do languages differ? How do languages change? How do we use language in different social and interactional contexts? Language is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon. 

Click here for information about acceptance and registration. 

B.A Degree

Students  may choose from one of two tracks:

  • Functional linguistics
  • Generative linguistics

Students in both tracks study a common core of introductory courses and a range of electives.

 Functional linguistics

 

The program of studies includes the detailed study of diverse languages and of different theories and research methods that highlight structural, comparative, historical, discursive, and interactional aspects of language research. The program includes the following subfields:

Synchronic linguistics: the study of the structure of languages with respect to different levels of analysis Comparative linguistics: the study of common properties of languages and the classification of languages into families Typological linguistics: the study of language universals and linguistic diversity  Historical linguistics: the study of language change over time Sociolinguistics: the study of the correlations/relationships between language use and social structure Interactional linguistics: the study of language use in different discursive contexts

 Generative linguistics

The study of language within the generative track is based on the premise that there are core architectural properties of mental representations underlying the ability to produce and understand language that can be studied independent of the social and communicative purposes of language, though interacting with it in various ways.
Our program of study familiarizes the students with the core domains of language study (words and sentences, meaning and sound) and with the outstanding questions in contemporary linguistics pertaining to language and cognition:
- What are the internal mental representations assumed to underlie our ability to produce and understand language?
- What is universal in human language?
- What is the place of language within other human cognitive abilities?
- In what dimensions do languages vary one from another?
- What features of language are subject to linguistic change and how do languages change?
Students learn how to formulate precise hypotheses about diverse linguistic phenomena and to test them against data from languages of the world. The methodology is based on traditional modes of linguistic analysis and data collection, including corpus word, comparative and historical linguistics, as well as methods from other fields of study such as computer science, philosophy and psychology.

 Possible combinations

Studying in the linguistics department combines naturally with the following programs of study:

Cognition, Philosophy, Psychology, Computer Science, Mathematics, Communication, Sociology and the literary-cultural departments of the Humanities, for instance: Hebrew, English, Latin-America studies, Romance studies, German studies, Russian studies, Asian studies, Classical Studies, Comparative and General literature.

Of course, other combinations are possible and worthwhile!

New study program – Starting in the Fall 2023

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Programs for new students:

B.A Major Courses offered in the current session are listed at - click here (information is valid as of 2018)
 
The information above is correct for students that started at 2018. For more information Please refer to the program guides found on this website or contact an advisor.

M.A Degree

During the M.A. studies, students sharpen their basic academic skills, deepen their knowledge of various languages and get acquainted with the central questions tackled by linguistic research today through the various seminars.

M.A. studies can be pursued in two tracks: research and non-research. Students studying in the research track are required to write an extended research paper under the supervision of the department’s faculty.

During their studies, students take part in ongoing research projects. Outstanding students can earn a scholarship in one of the following programs:

LLCC 

 

Ph.D Candidates

The Linguistics Department of the Hebrew University has a vibrant graduate program, with MA and PhD students and postdoctoral researchers and several excellent programs, research projects, and labs.

PhD students work on a wide variety of topics, ranging from descriptive and theoretical linguistics to experimental and computational analysis of language. For an impression of what our graduate students are doing, see student page.

There are several special programs for outstanding students associated with the Linguistics Department, such as:

  • The Language Logic and Cognition Center, LLCC, whose goal is to create an environment where there is interdisciplinary engagement in issues pertaining to language, crossing boundaries of computer science, linguistics, philosophy and psychology. Click here for information.

There are opportunities for PhD students to participate in a variety of research projects (see link research projects) and to collaborate with a number of labs, including  the LLCC lab, Computer Science labs , the Language Learning and Processing Lab.

We welcome new ideas and research frameworks. If you have an interest in linguistics that you don't see represented here, get in touch!