The Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware is both a Ph.D. granting department of linguistics and the home of cognitive science at the University of Delaware. It is one of the few linguistics departments with a generative orientation that emphasizes field work and the study and documentation of endangered and under-described languages. The department also combines innovative theoretical work in linguistics with cutting edge research in language acquisition, psycholinguistics and computational linguistics.

The department has a strong interest in the role of language and linguistics in Cognitive Science, but interests of the faculty extend beyond language to such topics as the philosophy of mind and spatial cognition. The department offers an interdisciplinary B.S. degree in Cognitive Science with three tracks: Cognitive Science, Linguistics, and Speech Pathology, and a M.A. degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science. An unusual feature of the program is our combined B.S. and M.A. option, which provides a unified program leading, upon graduation, to the award of a B.S. in Cognitive Science and a M.A. degree in Linguistics and Cognitive Science. 

The department's PhD program in Linguistics ranks among the top Linguistics PhD programs in the United States according to the 2010 survey results released by the National Research Council. Please read the department's response and the UDaily article.