The following list of linguistics classes offered by other departments may be used to satisfy the elective requirement for majors and minors. Classes offered by departments other than Linguistics which are cross-listed with Linguistics classes are not listed here.
This list is necessarily fluid, updated annually or more frequently, as courses are dropped or added by various departments or as it is brought to the attention of the Linguistics Department faculty that the content of a course is not sufficiently language-related or duplicates an existing Linguistics Department course. Thus the following list of applicable courses differs from previous lists, particularly versions of this brochure published prior to Autumn 90. While you are only required to select courses from the list that was in effect at the time you declared your major, you also have the option of choosing courses from the most recent, updated list.
Classes that are not on this list may still be applicable to the elective requirement if the class focuses on linguistics or language structure. You are encouraged to bring classes that are potential candidates for this list to the attention of the undergraduate adviser.
Classes at the 500 and higher levels are intended for graduate students, but many instructors in 500-level classes allow undergraduates who have the appropriate preparation to enroll in them. You should check with the instructor before registering for any graduate class.
Like language classes, not all of the classes listed here are offered every year. Check with the department that offers the class to find out how often it is taught. Also, many of the classes listed in this section have prerequisites, which may or may not be applicable to the elective requirement.
If you are interested in a particular topic for which there is no course offering, consider enrolling in Undergraduate Research (LING 499) for 1-5 credits per quarter to pursue your interest. You would need to find a faculty member to supervise your independent study. Students who declared the major before Summer 2002 may have a different set of requirements.
Anthropology
- ANTH 359 Linguistic Ethnography (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
ANTH 464 Language Politics and Cultural Identity (Quarter last offered WIN 2025)
Contact the Department of Anthropology at anthinfo@uw.edu
Asian Languages and Literature
- ASIAN 404 Writing Systems (Quarter last offered WIN 2025)
- ASIAN 503 Seminar in Asian Linguistics (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- CHIN 342 The Chinese Language (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- CHIN 442 The Chinese Language (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- CHIN 531 Introduction to Historical Chinese Phonology (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- CHIN 540 Seminar on Chinese Linguistics (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- JAPAN 343 Japanese Language in Society (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- JAPAN 441 The Acquisition of Japanese as a Second or Foreign Language (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- JAPAN 443 Topics in Japanese Sociolinguistics (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
JAPAN 544 Foreign Language Teaching in the Japanese Context: EFL in Japan and JFL in North America (5) (Quarter last offered SPR 2024)
Contact the Department of Asian Languages and Literatures at asianll@uw.edu
Classics
CL LI 501 Comparative Phonology of Greek and Latin (Quarter last offered SPR 2026)
Contact the Department of Classics at clasdept@uw.edu
Computer Science & Engineering
- CSE 311 Foundations of Computing I (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
CSE 447 Natural Language Processing (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
Contact the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at ugrad-adviser@cs.washington.edu
Education Curriculum & Instruction
- EDC&I 359 Second-Language Learning in Schools and Communities (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
EDC&I 453 Immigration and Schooling - Teaching the Bilingual-Bicultural Students (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
Contact the Department of Education Curriculum and Instruction at edinfo@uw.edu
English
- ENGL 369 Research Methods in Language and Rhetoric (Quarter last offered WIN 2023)
- ENGL 372 World Englishes (Quarter last offered WIN 2025)
- ENGL 373 History of the English Language (Quarter last offered AUT 2024)
- ENGL 478 Language and Social Policy (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
ENGL 479 Language Variation & Language Policy in North America (Quarter last offered WIN 2023)
Contact the Department of English on their webpage.
German Studies
GERM 452 History of the German Language (Quarter last offered SPR 2024)
Contact the Department of German Studies at uwgerman@uw.edu
Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures
- MELC 335 Language Conflict and Identity in the Middle East & North Africa (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- MELC 359 Language and Ethnicity (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
MELC 432 Arabic Sociolinguistics (Quarter last offered AUT 2023)
Contact the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at melcuw@uw.edu
Philosophy
- PHIL 120 Introduction to Logic (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- PHIL 453 Introduction to the Philosophy of Language (Quarter last offered SUM 2025)
- PHIL 464 Philosophical Issues in the Cognitive Sciences (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- PHIL 470 Intermediate Logic (Quarter last offered WIN 2024)
PHIL 471 Advanced Logic (Quarter last offered SPR 2023)
Contact the Department of Philosophy at philinfo@uw.edu
Psychology
- PSYCH 306 Developmental Psychology (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- PSYCH 355 Cognitive Psychology (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- PSYCH 402 Infant Behavior & Development (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- PSYCH 414 Cognitive Development (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
PSYCH 460 Cognitive Neuroscience (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
Contact the Department of Psychology at psyofc@uw.edu
Romance Languages and Literature
- FREN 222 Human and Machine Translation (Quarter last offered WIN 2022)
- FREN 320 French Language and Cultural Identity (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
Contact the Department of French and Italian Studies at frenital@uw.edu
- SPAN 407 Bilingualism: Made in USA (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
SPAN 498 Special Topics in Spanish Linguistics (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
Contact the Department of Spanish and Portuguese Studies at spsu@uw.edu
Scandinavian Languages and Literature
- SCAND 372 Old Norse Icelandic (Quarter last offered SPR 2024)
- SCAND 460 History of the Scandinavian Languages (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SCAND 500 Introductory Readings in Old Icelandic (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- SCAND 501 Old Icelandic Language and Literature (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- SCAND 515 Translation in Scandinavian Studies (Quarter last offered WIN 2023)
SCAND 518 Foreign Language Teaching Methodology (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
Contact the Department of Scandinavian Languages and Literature at uwscand@uw.edu
Slavic Languages and Literatures
- SLAVIC 370 What's in a Language Name? The Case of BCNS (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- SLAVIC 425 Ways of Meaning: Universal and Culture Specific Aspects of Language (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- SLAVIC 426 Ways of Feeling: Expressions of Emotions across Languages and Cultures (Quarter last offered WIN 2025)
- SLAVIC 518 Foreign Language Teaching Methodology (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
SLAVIC 570 Special Topics in Slavic Linguistics (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
Contact the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at slavoffice@uw.edu
Speech and Hearing Sciences
NOTE: Linguistics majors may apply either SPHSC 300 or SPHSC 250 but not both, to the elective requirement.
- SPHSC 250 Human Communication and its Disorders (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SPHSC 261 The Nature of Sound (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SPHSC 302 Phonetics (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- SPHSC 304 Developmental Aspects of Communication (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SPHSC 305 Speech and Language Disorders *Majors only at this time (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- SPHSC 320 Anatomy and Physiology of Speech (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SPHSC 405 Clinical Decision Making in Speech-Language Pathology *Majors only at this time (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- SPHSC 425 Speech, Language, and the Brain (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- SPHSC 461 Introduction to Hearing Science (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
- SPHSC 501 Neural Bases of Speech, Language and Hearing (Quarter last offered AUT 2025)
- SPHSC 510 Physiological Acoustics (Quarter last offered SPR 2022)
- SPHSC 511 Psychoacoustics (Quarter last offered SPR 2023)
- SPHSC 532 Assessment and Treatment of Adult Neurogenic Communication Disorders (Quarter last offered WIN 2026)
- SPHSC 560 Speech Science (Quarter last offered SPR 2025)
SPHSC 562 Studies in Language Science and Disorders (Quarter last offered AUT 2024)
Contact the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at on their webpage.
Page last edited November 26th, 2025. To be audited once yearly.