语言学系的语言学研究生课程具有很强的理论定位，也就是说，我们的研究主要关注人类语言通用理论的发展以及单个语言的结构，发展和变化的详细说明。俄亥俄州立大学语言学课程的特征还在于纯科学而不是应用科学：语言现象的研究主要是出于其自身利益以及人类认知的一个方面，而不是针对其在诸如以下领域的实际应用进行考察。第二语言教育。语音产生，语音感知，句子理解的心理过程等方面的实验性实验室研究是我们计划中许多研究领域的重要特征。该系还非常重视计算语言学。博士学位课程为语言学的广泛基础和相当专业化提供了机会。由个别学生及其顾问
The Department of Linguistic's graduate program in linguistics has a strongly theoretical orientation, which is to say that our research is largely concerned with the development of a general theory of human language as well as detailed accounts of the structure, development and variation of individual languages. The character of the Ohio State linguistics program is also that of a pure science rather than an applied science: linguistic phenenomena are studied primarily for their own sake and as an aspect of human cognition, rather than being examined for their practical application in fields such as second language education. Experimental laboratory research in speech production, speech perception, the mental processes of sentence understanding, etc., are an important feature of many areas of study in our program. The department also has a rapidly growing focus in computational linguistics. The PhD program provides the opportunity for both a broad grounding in linguistics and considerable specialization. Most degree programs constructed by individual students and their advisory committees focus on one or more areas of study. The programs also may include courses or research projects in bordering disciplines such as psychology, computer science or philosophy, or in the history or structure of a specific language or languages.