• Skip to Content
  • AZ Index
  • Catalog Home
  • Institution Home
Northeastern University

Academic Catalog 2021-2022

  • Home›
  • Undergraduate›
  • College of Social Sciences and Humanities›
  • Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies›
  • American Sign Language and Linguistics, BS

American Sign Language and Linguistics, BS

2021-2022 Edition

  • Undergraduate
    • Admission
    • Information for Entering Students
    • College Expenses
    • Academic Policies and Procedures
    • University Academics
    • College of Arts, Media and Design
    • D'Amore-​McKim School of Business
    • Khoury College of Computer Sciences
    • College of Engineering
    • Bouvé College of Health Sciences
    • College of Science
    • College of Social Sciences and Humanities
      • Interdisciplinary
      • Asian Studies
      • School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
      • Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies
        • Africana Studies, BA
        • Africana Studies and Political Science, BA
        • History, Culture, and Law, BA
        • Religious Studies and Africana Studies, BA
        • Spanish, BA
        • Spanish and International Affairs, BA
        • Africana Studies, BS
        • American Sign Language—English Interpreting, BS
        • American Sign Language and Human Services, BS
        • American Sign Language and Linguistics, BS
        • American Sign Language and Psychology, BS
        • American Sign Language and Theatre, BS
        • African American Studies, Minor
        • African Studies, Minor
        • Africana Studies, Minor
        • American Sign Language, Minor
        • Arabic, Minor
        • Black Feminist Studies, Minor
        • Chinese, Minor
        • Film and International Cultures, Minor
        • German, Minor
        • Italian, Minor
        • Japanese, Minor
        • French, Minor
        • Portuguese, Minor
        • Russian, Minor
        • Spanish, Minor
      • Economics
      • English
      • History
      • Human Services
      • International Affairs
      • Jewish Studies
      • Philosophy and Religion
      • Political Science
      • Sociology and Anthropology
      • Accelerated Bachelor/​Graduate Degree Programs
    • Faculty
    • Appendix
  • College of Professional Studies Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Course Descriptions
  • Catalog Archives
  • Overview
  • Program Requirements
  • Plan of Study

The American Sign Language (ASL) & Linguistics combined major is an intensive program of study dedicated to preparing students to interact in a positive and supportive manner with members of the American Deaf Community while simultaneously providing students with an understanding of the theoretical, cultural, and social components of all human language, including ASL, so that they can better understand how ASL is related to spoken languages and other signed languages.  This curriculum is designed to assist students in acquiring competence in American Sign Language; and in developing an understanding of the American Deaf Community and its culture, the acquisition and analysis of human languages (signed and spoken), and how human languages work in everyday use (e.g., comprehension, generation, translation).

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.

University-Wide Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the University-Wide Requirements.

NUpath Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.

American Sign Language Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Language Requirement
AMSL 1101Elementary ASL 14
AMSL 1102Elementary ASL 24
AMSL 2101Intermediate ASL 14
AMSL 2102Intermediate ASL 24
AMSL 3101Advanced ASL 14
Social and Cultural World
DEAF 1500Deaf People in Society4
DEAF 2500Deaf History and Culture4
Interpreting
INTP 3500The Interpreting Profession2
INTP 3510Interpreting Inquiry Texts4

Linguistics Requirements

Course List
Code Title Hours
Linguistics Foundations
LING 1150Introduction to Language and Linguistics4
LING 2350Linguistic Analysis4
Linguistic Structure
Complete three of the following:12
LING 3420
Phonetics
LING 3422
Phonology
LING 3424
Morphology
LING 3450
Syntax
LING 3452
Semantics
Psychology of Language
PSYC 1101Foundations of Psychology4
PSYC 2320Statistics in Psychological Research4
PSYC 3464Psychology of Language4
Linguistics Electives
Complete two courses (not counted elsewhere) from the following:8
LING 3420
Phonetics
LING 3422
Phonology
LING 3424
Morphology
LING 3434
Bilingualism
LING 3442
Sociolinguistics
LING 3450
Syntax
LING 3452
Semantics
LING 3454
History of English
LING 3456
Language and Gender
LING 3458
Topics in Linguistics
LING 3460
Historical Linguistics
LING 4654
Seminar in Linguistics
LING 4891
Research Seminar in Linguistics
or LING 4970
Junior/Senior Honors Project 1
or LING 4971
Junior/Senior Honors Project 2
or LING 4991
Directed Study Research
or PSYC 4991
Directed Study Research
LING 4993
Independent Study
PSYC 4520
Language and the Brain
PSYC 4610
Laboratory in Psycholinguistics
PSYC 4658
Seminar in Psycholinguistics
Seminar Requirement
Complete one course (not counted elsewhere) from the following:4
LING 4654
Seminar in Linguistics
LING 4891
Research Seminar in Linguistics
PSYC 4658
Seminar in Psycholinguistics

Integrative Courses

Course List
Code Title Hours
DEAF 2700ASL Linguistics4
INTP 4940Interpreting Research Capstone4
LING 3412Language and Culture4

Combined Major GPA Requirement

Minimum 2.750 GPA required in all ASL courses

Minimum 2.500 overall GPA required

Combined Major Credit Requirement

Complete 90 semester hours in the major.

Experiential Liberal Arts

All undergraduate students in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities are required to complete the Experiential Liberal Arts Requirement.

Program Requirements

128 total semester hours required

Sample, Four Years

Year 1
FallHoursSpringHours
AMSL 11014AMSL 11024
DEAF 15004LING 23504
LING 11504LING 34124
NUpath/Elective4NUpath/Elective4
 16 16
Year 2
FallHoursSpringHours
AMSL 21014AMSL 21024
DEAF 25004DEAF 27004
PSYC 11014PSYC 23204
NUpath/Elective4NUpath/Elective4
 16 16
Year 3
FallHoursSpringHours
AMSL 31014Linguistic Structure course4
INTP 35002Linguistic Structure course or Linguistics Elective4
INTP 35104PSYC 34644
Linguistic Structure course4NUpath/Elective4
NUpath/Elective4 
 18 16
Year 4
FallHoursSpringHours
INTP 49404Linguistics Seminar 4
Linguistics Elective or Linguistic Structure course4Linguistics Elective 4
NUpath/Elective4NUpath/Elective4
NUpath/Elective4NUpath/Elective4
 16 16
Total Hours: 130
  • Boston Opens New Window
  • Burlington Opens New Window
  • Charlotte Opens New Window
  • London Opens New Window
  • Nahant Opens New Window
  • Portland Opens New Window
  • San Francisco Opens New Window
  • Seattle Opens New Window
  • Silicon Valley Opens New Window
  • Toronto Opens New Window
  • Vancouver Opens New Window

360 Huntington Ave., Boston, Massachusetts 02115 Opens New Window | 617.373.2000 | TTY 617.373.3768 | Emergency Information
© 2021-2022 Northeastern University | myNortheastern Opens New Window

  • Facebook. Opens New Window
  • Twitter. Opens New Window
  • Youtube. Opens New Window
  • Linkedin. Opens New Window
  • Instagram. Opens New Window
  • Snapchat. Opens New Window

Privacy Policy Opens New Window

Back to top

Print Options

  • Send Page to Printer

    Print this page.

  • Download Page (PDF)

    The PDF will include all information unique to this page.

  • 2021-22 Undergraduate PDF

  • 2021-22 College of Professional Studies Undergraduate PDF

  • 2021-22 Graduate PDF

  • 2021-22 Course Descriptions PDF