UMass Amherst Linguistics Ranks 2nd Worldwide for Fourth Year in a Row

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For the fourth year in a row, the UMass Amherst Department of Linguistics has earned a top spot in the QS World University Rankings. The linguistics department is ranked second in the world, with MIT holding the top spot, and the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford tied for third.

The UMass linguistics department has a strong reputation for excellence in research and graduate education, and its undergraduate program has recently been increasing in size and reputation. It fosters leading programs of research focusing on all levels of linguistic analysis: from sound (phonetics and phonology), to sentences and their meaning (syntax and semantics). The department is also a leader in the interdisciplinary study of human language processing and learning, using psychological experiments and computational modeling. Perhaps most importantly, the department is known for its attention to language diversity, producing abundant research on underrepresented languages and language varieties.

In addition to generating impressive research in the field, “UMass Linguistics has unusually collaborative programs of research and teaching,” said Joe Pater, professor and department chair. “For example, our graduate program is structured so that students are usually mentored by multiple advisors, rather than just by one,” he explains. This environment gives students the benefit of understanding multiple perspectives, approaches, ideas, and theories simultaneously.

“Compared with MIT, which has been at number one for the 4 years we have been number two,” says Pater, “our department brings in more external funding. This creates opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research projects.”

Linguistics faculty have been recognized by the university for excellence. Most recently Professor Lisa Green was awarded distinction in 2020 by the UMass Amherst Board of Trustees when she was named distinguished professor, joining linguistics colleagues Provost John McCarthy and Professor Emeritus Barbara Partee, one of the department’s founding faculty members.