Curious how AI models like Siri and Alexa understand language, make voice commands work, or help with real-time translations? If so, a career in Computational Linguistics may be the perfect fit for you. The Master of Science in Computational Linguistics is the only program of its kind in New Jersey, offered jointly by the Departments of Linguistics and Computer Science and open to all students passionate about language and technology.
Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary academic field that combines elements of linguistics, software engineering, and artificial intelligence. This degree prepares students for employment in industry in the broad field of computer and information research emphasizing strong skills in analyzing human language. Graduates can pursue careers as computational linguists, knowledge engineers, AI developers, and voice interface designers, among others. Top employers such as Google and Amazon, along with various research and government organizations, highly value these skills.
The MS in Computational Linguistics program welcomes applications from students of all backgrounds, regardless of their undergraduate major. Prerequisite courses will be determined in consultation with the Graduate Program Coordinator based on the background of the student. Along with the Computational Linguistics (MS) degree, the Linguistics Department offers a graduate Computational Linguistics (Certificate). .
Carlos Martinez says his goal is to create voice applications for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant for Garifuna, a minority language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala and Belize, and the native language of his parents.
“I imagine a future where I can say, ‘Hey Alexa, please speak to me in Garifuna. Tell my child a story in the language of my people.'”
Carlos Martinez
Program: Computational Linguistics MS
Computational Linguistics (MS) is the only program of its kind in New Jersey, offered jointly by the Departments of Linguistics and Computer Science. This is a STEM-Designated Degree Program.
The Graduate Certificate in Computational Linguistics provides foundational knowledge essential for entering the interdisciplinary field of computational linguistics, focusing on the intersection of language technology and computer science. This certificate program introduces core computational linguistics concepts, algorithms, data structures, and methods applicable to areas such as machine translation, speech recognition, and text-to-speech synthesis.
If you have any general questions regarding the application process and requirements, please email or call us.
