Linguistics
Most people look baffled when I say that if graduate school is in my future, it would be for Linguistics. They seem to think that studying language is about as 180 from aerospace engineering as you can get. But this morning, I've been gathering information on it, specifically because cmat is hosting a gre study group and it reminded me of this particular ambition.
Now, let me highlight a few of the snippets to explain how much of a hard science linguistics can be, especially if you want to do with it what I want to do with it. For a very round about explanation that is much more creative and nonspecific, please read Snow Crash and know that I would like to write the Librarian. That said, here's the quick and dirty summary:
What do I need to do to apply/start this transition?
Now, let me highlight a few of the snippets to explain how much of a hard science linguistics can be, especially if you want to do with it what I want to do with it. For a very round about explanation that is much more creative and nonspecific, please read Snow Crash and know that I would like to write the Librarian. That said, here's the quick and dirty summary:
- Can I switch majors just like that?
Yes. Admission to the graduate program is not restricted to those with a B.A. in linguistics, and the core course offerings are specifically designed to meet the needs of entering students with little or no previous course work in linguistics.
- What concentration?
Computational Linguistics. (2) research in Natural Language Processing (NLP) emphasizes the goal of developing systems that can deal effectively with natural language data in an application context. Examples of seminar courses are: Machine Translation, Linguistic Engineering, Parsing and Generation, etc.
- What does that mean?
Intro to Cog Sci: how humans and other intelligent systems represent, reason, understand, perceive, use language, learn, and plan purposeful actions. The central assumption is that the human mind is fundamentally a computational organ and that cognitive processes can be explicitly modeled.
Language and Thought: questions about the words people use and how they think; whether language structure affects thought
E-Society: explore relationships between computer technology, communication and culture, particularly how new communities and new forms of sociality and interaction are emerging through new communication technologies
- How does that relate to a Librarian in a book?
Natural language processing as a goal would allow you to type a question into Ask Jeeves and get, not a list of pages with related information, but the answer to your question.
What do I need to do to apply/start this transition?
- Submit the Application for Admission to Graduate Study and $50 application fee to the Office of Admissions.
- Request two official copies of your transcripts for all senior college and graduate work to be sent directly to the Office of Admissions.
- Take the Graduate Record Examinations General Test (GRE) in time to have the official test scores reported to the Office of Admissions by the application deadline.
- Write Statement of Purpose - a clear and straightforward statement in which you give an idea of:
* your current interests in linguistics;
* how these interests developed;
* your plans for graduate study and eventual specialization, even if tentative. - Get Recommendation letters - we require three letters from professors who know you and your work.
- Write Sample research paper - optional, but strongly recommended especially for those with a prior M.A. in linguistics.
- Get One copy of each transcript (in addition to those sent to the Office of Admissions).