Undergraduate Student FAQ

All majors and minors except the Editing and Publishing major and the Editing minor are open enrollment and can be added directly through the Liberal Arts Advisement Center (1041 JFSB). If you are changing your major, you can do so through the “Change Major Request” link at mymap.byu.edu. The Liberal Arts Advisement Center can be reached over YMessage or at liberalarts@byu.edu.

The Editing and Publishing major and Editing minor require you to fill out an application here. When you complete it, email the receipt to your faculty advisor (explained in the application) and schedule a meeting with her/him. After meeting with the faculty advisor, you will be able to add the major or minor.

Students who complete the TESOL minor are also eligible to earn a TESOL certificate if they meet additional requirements. This certificate is more usable in the professional world than a minor alone, and it may be particularly useful if the student plans to teach abroad.

You can find the requirements for the certificate on our page about the TESOL minor.

The standard TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) minor, offered through the Department of Linguistics, is for non-teaching majors. The TESOL K-12 minor is one of many minors offered by the McKay School of Education specifically for teaching majors.

You may appeal to substitute a course that is not part of your major or minor for a required course—for instance, if circumstances would prevent you from graduating on schedule otherwise. To do so, fill out a course substitution request form here (or see the Courses page) and schedule an appointment with the coordinator of the major or minor (not your faculty advisor):

Linguistics major or minor: Dr. Chris Rogers, chris_rogers@byu.edu
Applied English Linguistics major: Dr. Brett Hashimoto, brett_hashimoto@byu.edu
Editing major or minor: Dr. Jacob Rawlins, jacob_rawlins@byu.edu
Linguistic Computing minor: Dr. Earl Brown, earl_brown@byu.edu
TESOL minor: Dr. Mark Tanner, mark_tanner@byu.edu

If the substitution is approved by the coordinator, forward the form to the coordinator for their signature. They will then send the form to the Liberal Arts Advisement Center (1041 JFSB, liberalarts@byu.edu).

You must "complete university coursework (or the equivalent) to a 200-level or higher in any single foreign language including American Sign Language." If you have a 200-level language course on your transcript, that fulfills the requirement. For Spanish, having SPAN 105 (or a higher course) on your transcript fulfills this requirement. Demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language through a Challenge Exam (offered through the Center for Language Studies, cls.byu.edu) also fulfills this requirement.

The English Language major became the Applied English Linguistics major starting Fall 2022.

The Department of Linguistics supports the university-level statement on the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for academic and professional purposes. The department also expects students, faculty and staff to follow the Academic Honesty Policy. In addition, the department expects graduate students to follow the Graduate Studies Statement on Use of AI.

The department encourages its instructors to clearly delimit what their expectations are with respect to the use or non-use of generative AI in their classes, and their students are encouraged to follow those expectations. Use of generative AI that is not consistent with the expectations of a given instructor is considered a violation of the Academic Honesty Policy.