Advising

Rebecca Shields
Photo credit: Gabrielle Mistretta

The undergraduate advisor is Dr. Rebecca Shields, an alumna of the UW-Madison Linguistics Ph.D. program and current lecturer in Language Sciences. The undergraduate advisor can help you learn more about the major, select appropriate courses, explore language science related careers, connect to linguistic happenings on campus, and much more. We welcome your questions via email and appointment.

Academic Advising Services FAQ!

Scheduling an Appointment

Calendar icon*Appointments are available both in person and online via Zoom. Make sure to select your preferred modality when making an appointment.*

Schedule an Appointment

Feel free to email with quick questions, but for more substantive issues, please set up an in person or online appointment so that we can best help you!

Email Advising

Current UW-Madison students

Current students can schedule an advising appointment using the Starfish app. If none of the available slots work for you, email to see if additional slots are available. Appointments are open to currently declared majors as well as to all undeclared students interested in language sciences.

Prospective students and parents

Email to arrange a meeting. Time permitting, we may be able to accommodate appointments from current high school and prospective transfer students who would like to learn about opportunities for the study of Language Sciences at UW-Madison.

How to Declare the Major

Megaphone iconStudents can declare the Linguistics major by making an in-person or online meeting with the undergraduate advisor using the button above.

It is recommended that students take at least one Linguistics course prior to declaring the major, to see if the major is a good fit. A good first course to take would be Linguistics 101: Human Language. Students could also take one or more electives in the major to learn about broader aspects of language science. There are no prerequisites to declaring the major, but we have noticed that students who achieve a grade of B or higher in Linguistics 101 have greater chance at success in upper-level Linguistics courses.

Ideally, students should declare the major by their sophomore year.

You are welcome to meet with the undergraduate advisor to learn about the major, whether or not you are ready to declare!

How to Declare Honors in the Major

Ribbon iconStudents must make an appointment with the undergraduate advisor to declare Honors in the Linguistics major. An online form must also be submitted to the Honors office.