Since 1928, the LSA has sponsored the Linguistic Institutes, unparalleled gatherings of top linguistics students and professionals from throughout the field and around the world. Once annual events, since 1987, the Institutes have taken place in odd-numbered summers. Held on a major university campus, the Institute brings together approximately 100 faculty and hundreds more students for a month-long program of courses, lectures, workshops, and social events. The LSA supports the Institutes with seed grants, funding for endowed professorships, lectureships, and fellowships to support student members to participate in the Institute.

The Linguistic Society of America’s 2023 Linguistic Institute will be hosted by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst from June 19 to July 14. The Institute will feature 2 and 4 week courses on a wide variety of subjects in linguistics, ranging in level from introductory courses to advanced topics.

The theme of the 2023 Institute is “Linguistics as Cognitive Science: Universality and Variation.” Our goal is to put emphasis on the contributions made by the study of language to the scientific study of the human mind. Our hope is that the Institute will provide a forum to facilitate the integration of our knowledge of what is universal in human language with our understanding of linguistic variation across populations. By appealing to both of these strands, variety in language and its limits, we aim to bring together researchers working on language with diverse interests and point of view, with a stimulating set of course offerings that ranges from introductory courses to state-of-the art seminars. In addition to courses, the 2023 Institute will, like institutes past, include workshops, sessions on professional development, social gatherings, lectures by experts, and much more. 

Please note that the primary language of interaction and instruction is English. For that reason, proficiency in English is a requirement for fully enjoying the benefits of the program. 

“The LSA Institute is nothing less than intellectual summer camp for linguists. The friendly, informal atmosphere makes it easy to meet people, exchange ideas, and explore new directions -- not to mention the chance to get to know major scholars as real people over breakfast or in a walk across campus. Both as a graduate student attending past Institutes and as a faculty member teaching classes, I've made lifelong friends, gained supportive mentors, been exposed to cutting-edge research in other subfields, and learned much more about my own specialization. Every student and faculty member in linguistics should take advantage of the opportunity to attend the LSA Institute.”

--- Mary Bucholtz, Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of California, Santa Barbara