Computational Linguistics

  • BS
  • Major
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AI has transformed how we search, write, translate and communicate. But building technology that works effectively with human language requires more than computing power. It requires understanding the extraordinary complexity and variety of the world’s languages — their structures, sounds, meanings and contexts. 

Montclair State University’s B.S. in Computational Linguistics puts you at the intersection of language, artificial intelligence and computer science. You’ll study how human language works while developing skills in programming, natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, data science and computational methods used in technologies such as generative AI, conversational systems, speech recognition and machine translation. 

Through hands-on projects, research opportunities and a computational linguistics capstone, you’ll learn to analyze language data, develop and evaluate computational models, and tackle real-world language technology problems – building an interdisciplinary skill set for understanding today’s language technologies and helping shape what comes next.

Program Highlights

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Language, Cognition + Computing

Study human language from multiple perspectives, combining linguistics with computer science, data, AI and insights into how people understand and use language.

From Language to Language Technology

Build skills in programming, natural language processing, machine learning, deep learning and linguistic analysis, with applications in areas such as generative AI, speech technology and machine translation.

An Established Computational Linguistics Community

Join a university with an existing M.S. in Computational Linguistics and a dedicated Natural Language Processing Lab, with faculty and students already engaged in computational linguistics and NLP research.

Hands-On, Research-Driven Learning

Work with language data, computational models and real-world problems through project-based courses, faculty-led research and a required senior capstone in Computational Linguistics.

Explore Your Interests

Choose from electives spanning AI, speech processing, human-computer interaction, corpus linguistics, psycholinguistics, cognitive science, data mining, robotics, cybersecurity, internships and undergraduate research.

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Program Format

The B.S. in Computational Linguistics is an on-campus, 120-credit program designed for completion in four years of full-time study. The curriculum builds progressively, beginning with foundations in linguistics, computing and mathematics and advancing to natural language processing, data science, machine learning, deep learning and specialized electives. In the final year, students bring their linguistic and computational skills together in a required capstone project.

Potential Job Titles and Industries

A B.S. in Computational Linguistics prepares students for opportunities at the intersection of language, AI, data and technology. The program builds skills in computational thinking, programming, data analysis, machine learning, NLP, linguistic analysis and interdisciplinary problem-solving. Graduates can apply these skills across technology and software, AI, data science, speech and language technology, healthcare technology, finance, government, education and research.

Potential career paths include

  • Computational Linguist
  • Natural Language Processing (NLP) Engineer
  • Machine Learning Engineer
  • AI Engineer
  • Software Developer / Software Engineer
  • Data Scientist
  • NLP / Language Data Scientist
  • Language Technology Specialist
  • Speech and Voice AI Specialist
  • Conversational AI Developer
  • Machine Translation Specialist
  • Search and Information Retrieval Specialist
  • AI / Language Model Evaluation Specialist
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) / UX Research Specialist
  • Research roles in Computational Linguistics, NLP and AI

 

Academic pathways

The B.S. also provides a strong foundation for graduate study in computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, computer science, linguistics, data science, cognitive science and related fields. At Montclair, students can also explore the University’s established M.S. in Computational Linguistics as a potential next step.

Featured Faculty

Hao Liu

  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science
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