A B.A. with a major in linguistics requires 36-46 units completed, depending on which option, the General Education requirement, specific course/skill requirements, and electives and remaining degree requirements totaling at least the 120 units required for a B.A.<br><br>In each option, students receive a basic grounding in the nature and structure of human language. The option in Teaching English as a Second Language provides students with a foundation for teaching ESL, or for graduate study in teaching ESL. This degree is especially useful when combined with a California teaching credential.<br>Linguistics is the study of the human capacity for language. Language is the defining characteristic of the human species, without language, there would be no civilization, no culture, no scientific or technological development, none of the achievements and capabilities distinctive to the human species. Therefore, the study of the nature of language is fundamental to the understanding of what it means to be human.<br><br>Students and faculty in linguistics investigate the nature of human language, its structure, diversity, universality, acquisition by children and adults, historical change, and its use in society. They study how language is processed in the human mind/brain, and how it relates to other human cognitive faculties. And they study and develop applications of linguistics to teaching, technology, and many other fields.