You are right Steve,
I looked up “Lingüística” in the Diccionario de la Real Academia de la Lengua Española, and I found:
“Estudio teórico del lenguaje que se ocupa de métodos de investigación y de cuestiones comunes a las diversas lenguas.”
That means: “Theoretical study of language that deals with research methods and issues common to the various languages.”
So its meaning goes the way of academic and scientific.