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African Language & Literature

Types of Degrees African Language & Literature Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing African Language & Literature have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	2
Master’s Degree	1
Doctor’s Degree	4

What African Language & Literature Majors Need to Know

Programs in African Language & Literature build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that African Language & Literature graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in African Language & Literature emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Foreign Language — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 2.8 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

^{Importance is rated 1–5; level is 1–7. Source: ONET Online — weighted across related occupations.*}

Skills

Skills emphasized by a African Language & Literature program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to African Language & Literature careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, African Language & Literature graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by African Language & Literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Audacity	Music or sound editing software	—
Adobe Photoshop	Graphics or photo imaging software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
American Sign Language ASL browser	Dictionary software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	✓
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—

^{Source: ONET Online technology skills, weighted across related occupations.*}

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for African Language & Literature graduates include:

• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Instructor
• Spanish Literature Professor
• French Instructor
• University Faculty Member
• Greek Professor
• Italian Teacher
• Bilingual Instructor
• French Professor
• Spanish Teacher
• Arabic Professor
• Language Teacher
• English for Speakers of Other Languages Teacher (ESOL Teacher)
• College Faculty Member
• Program Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to African Language & Literature graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	44.6%
Bachelor’s degree	26.8%
Master’s degree	21.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.7%
Post-master’s certificate	1.4%
Postsecondary certificate	0.5%

^{Source: ONET Online education / training / experience requirements.*}

Who Is Earning a Degree in African Language & Literature?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 42.9% women and 57.1% men among African Language & Literature graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	3	42.9%
Men	4	57.1%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of African Language & Literature graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	2	28.6%
International Students	5	71.4%

^{See minority definition below.}

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.02
Albanian Language and Literature	16.0404
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
American Sign Language (ASL)	16.1601
Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1103
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202
Applied Linguistics	16.0105
Arabic Language and Literature	16.1101
Armenian Language and Literature	16.1801
Australian/Oceanic/Pacific Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1401
Baltic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0401

References

The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students and international students. This number is then divided by the total number of students to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS)
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard

More about our data sources and methodologies.