Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication

Main Departmental Office
Auditorium Building, Room 317

Mailing address:
1155 Union Circle #305298
Denton, TX 76203-5017
940-565-4458

Brenda Sims, Chair

The Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in the study of language—its structure, use, design and application. Students may specialize in linguistics, English as a second language or technical communication. The faculty encourages students to take courses in all the areas represented and seek new synergies between these distinct, yet interrelated fields.

The Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication has outstanding faculty from diverse backgrounds with research interests motivated by a common interest in language structure and use. The department is recognized as a pioneer program for an interdisciplinary study that integrates linguistics and technical communication and that will lead to new avenues of investigation and practical applications with local, national and international relevance.

The Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication is becoming a unique internationally recognized program for the interdisciplinary study of language. The faculty’s research and teaching directly benefit the immediate community by disseminating knowledge that has relevance for diverse cultures, races and ethnicities and for professional, business and industrial communities.

The mission of the Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication is to promote interdisciplinary

study of language and language acquisition, rhetoric and technical communication;
analysis of techniques that clarify and enrich human communication;
examination of structures, design and intent of discourse;
application of research to real-world issues through local and international community outreach programs, internships and corporate partnerships; and
independent and collaborative research and teaching.

Students graduating with a master’s degree with a major in professional and technical communication have enjoyed a 100 percent job placement rate since 2000. These graduates work in a variety of industries such as computer software and hardware, airlines, construction, consulting, and telecommunications. Students have the opportunity to work with faculty who not only are highly qualified teachers, but are also published scholars and consultants. The faculty have published in major journals, such as the Technical Communication Quarterly, Technical Communication, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, and Journal of Business Communication. Our faculty and students work in partnership with regional and national companies, state and local government agencies, and non-profit organizations across the United States. The technical communication program at UNT offers students the opportunity to gain the theory and practice to work as technical communicators in any industry. Students also have the opportunity to complete internships in major companies across the U.S. Students have interned with major companies such as Microsoft, Southwest Airlines, Balfour Beatty and Sabre. Those students seeking to enter PhD programs receive the kind of personal attention that results in subsequent placement into PhD programs of the highest caliber.

The graduate program in linguistics offers the MA degree both in linguistics and in English as a second language and a graduate academic certificate in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). All of the faculty in the department are scholars with national and international reputations. They are uniquely qualified not only across the core areas of linguistics (phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics), but also in their various specializations: Native American linguistics, Southeast Asian linguistics, linguistic theory, language acquisition, sociolinguistics and applied linguistics. Students seeking the MA in linguistics receive the kind of personal attention and support that has invariably resulted in subsequent placement into PhD programs of the highest caliber. Those seeking the MA in ESL likewise receive personal attention; the extremely high placement rate of the department’s MA/ESL graduates speaks for itself.

Programs

Master’s Degree

Graduate Academic Certificate

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certificate

Courses

Linguistics

Technical Communication

Quicklinks

Catalog

Department of Linguistics and Technical Communication

Programs

Courses