Study Options

Focus Program

Duke's Focus Program for first-year students provides clusters of courses designed around an interdisciplinary theme. Focus faculty come from academic departments in Arts & Sciences, Medicine, and Engineering and are leading researchers in their fields. Topics for study include several themes that draw from the Linguistics Program.

Learn More

Graduation with Distinction

We have a strong tradition of supervising students who elect to write an honors thesis. Faculty are able to offer expert supervision in a wide range of areas. You will benefit from intense one-to-one supervision from dedicated and experienced educators. 

The thesis is written as an ‘independent study’ class which is graded, and the final thesis is awarded a level of pass, distinction, higher distinction or highest distinction.  

Learn More

Research Opportunities

The Linguistics faculty are able to offer research for the honors thesis and independent study in a wide range of areas. Particular strengths include cognitive neurolinguistics, sociolinguistics, language and politics, diachronic linguistics, language and law, bi- and multilingualism, language development, region-specific expertise, and linguistic theory. The Linguistics faculty are willing to consider supervision in any aspect of language study. Lab-based research in neuroimaging is also available.

Learn More

IDM in Linguistics and Computer Science

In recent years, we have been witnessing exciting advances in the intersection of computing and linguistics, as well as growing interest in these disciplines among undergraduate students at Duke. Our interdepartmental major (IDM) allows students to pursue their joint interests in Computer Science and Linguistics. 

Our students' interests are diverse – some interested more in computer science, while others may be more interested in theoretical linguistics, neurolinguistics, or sociolinguistics. There is no one-size-fit-all.

Learn More