Computational Linguistics
Certificate
About this program
The Undergraduate Certificate in Computational Linguistics gives you hands-on training in using computational methods to analyze language. You will learn to write Python programs for tokenizing text, tagging parts of speech, and classifying language data. You also explore syntax, grammar, and machine learning techniques for meaning extraction. The program assumes no prior knowledge in linguistics or programming and equips you with essential tools for language data analysis.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
Program Scope
The Certificate in Computational Linguistics is designed to provide academic training in the study of computational approaches to language analysis. The curriculum assumes no prior linguistic or programming knowledge and introduces students to a variety of computational methods and their theoretical underpinnings including: writing programs in Python to process raw texts (tokenization), discovering statistical patterns in linguistic data (frequency distribution), performing part-of-speech tagging, text segmentation, and classification,(context-free grammars, dependency grammars), extracting meaning from texts, and applying various machine learning methods to data mining.
Requirements
- ENG 420 - Introduction to the Study of Language
- ENG 421 - Syntax
- ENG 620 - Introduction to Computational Linguistics
- ENG 680 - Applied Computational Linguistics
Select One:
- ENG 424 - Phonology and Morphology
- CSC 620 - Natural Language Technologies
Program Learning Outcomes
- Students will learn to identify grammatical categories and basic principles of phonological and syntactic grammar.
- Students will learn to write programs in a programming language, e.g., Python, and to process raw texts.
- Students will learn to discover statistical patterns in linguistic data, identify frequency distributions, and perform tokenization.
- Students will learn to perform part-of-speech tagging, text segmentation, and classification.
- Students will learn to build dependency grammar and extract meaning from texts.
- Students will learn to apply various machine learning methods to data mining.
Admission to the Program
If you currently ARE a matriculated undergraduate student and you wish to apply for admission to the program, you do not need to apply to the University, but you must submit a certificate of admission application, statement of purpose explaining your interest in the certificate, and unofficial transcripts. The certificate application, statement of purpose and unofficial transcripts can be submitted to the Department of English office in HUM 484 or emailed to english@sfsu.edu.
Non-matriculated students may complete the certificate through Open University through the College of Professional & Global Education. Before starting the certificate courses, please submit to the Department of English office in HUM 484 or email the following documents to english@sfsu.edu.
- A statement explaining your interest in the Certificate
- Unofficial copies of transcripts from each college or university last attended
The deadline to apply for fall semester has been extended to July 31; the deadline to apply for spring semester is December 1.
Please note: For matriculated undergraduate students, you cannot take more than two courses for the certificate program through Open University or the College of Professional & Global Education. Also, certificate students who are not enrolled in a B.A. program are not eligible for financial aid.
Required Upon Completion
Once you complete the courses in the certificate, you should fill out the Certificate Approved Program (CAP) form and pay the $7.00 processing fee to receive the certificate diploma. Please list send a copy to: English Department @ english@sfsu.edu on the CAP form.
Coordinator
Anastasia Smirnova
Email: smirnov@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 338-3102
Office: HUM 429