The Department of Linguistics offers programs of graduate study leading to the M.A. and the Ph.D. Theoretical approaches in all areas of linguistics are emphasized, providing a thorough grounding in five core areas of linguistics through required courses in phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and field methods. Advanced courses are offered in the department's core concentrations of phonetics and phonology, syntax and semantics, descriptive and documentary linguistics, computational linguistics, and the linguistics of signed languages, as well as areas that may be within the research interests of specific faculty. Students may also elect to take related coursework in such departments as Anthropology, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Computer Science, Philosophy, Psychology, and Statistics, as well as specific language departments.<br>The study of speech sounds in human languages includes both phonology (the definition and distribution of sound categories) and phonetics (the realization of those categories in terms of physiological, aerodynamic, acoustic and psychological events). Our conviction is that one can't really understand one of these without a fairly advanced knowledge of the other. The recommended program of courses for students interested in speech sounds thus includes both.