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Chinese Language & Literature

Types of Degrees Chinese Language & Literature Majors Are Earning

Those studying Chinese Language & Literature have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	7
Associate’s Degree	63
Bachelor’s Degree	417
Master’s Degree	125
Doctor’s Degree	11

What Chinese Language & Literature Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Chinese Language & Literature emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set built by a Chinese Language & Literature program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 3.8 / 7.

Abilities

The cognitive and physical abilities most relevant to Chinese Language & Literature careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

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

Common Job Activities

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

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.3 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Working with Computers	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	4.0 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.0 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	3.9 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.9 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.9 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.9 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

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

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Audacity	Music or sound editing software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Adobe Illustrator	Graphics or photo imaging software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Chinese Language & Literature graduates include:

• Language Instructor
• Language Teacher
• French Teacher
• Spanish Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Spanish Language Lecturer
• Foreign Language Instructor
• Arabic Teacher
• Bilingual Instructor
• Program Instructor
• Biblical Languages Professor

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	45.2%
Doctoral degree	28.2%
Master’s degree	15.1%
Post-master’s certificate	3.8%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	2.9%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.6%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.0%
Postsecondary certificate	0.3%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Chinese Language & Literature?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 60.4% of Chinese Language & Literature degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	378	60.4%
Men	248	39.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	244	39.0%
Asian	213	34.0%
Hispanic or Latino	40	6.4%
Black or African American	25	4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.2%
Two or More Races	53	8.5%
Race Unknown	11	1.8%
International Students	37	5.9%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Chinese Language & Literature Graduates Earn?

Federal data tracks median earnings of Chinese Language & Literature graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. These numbers tend to grow steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$27,756
4 years	$45,953
5 years	$53,377

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $53,377 — roughly 92% above the 1-year mark.

^{Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study earnings tracker.}

Is a Degree in Chinese Language & Literature Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, Chinese Language & Literature graduates earn a median of $45,953 four years after completion — roughly 21% above the national median for workers with only a high school diploma (~$38,000).

^{ROI estimate compares the program’s 4-yr median earnings against the 2023 BLS CPS median earnings for high-school-only workers. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + BLS Current Population Survey.}

Related Programs

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

Program	CIP Code
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.03
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.0399
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0300
Japanese Language and Literature	16.0302
Korean Language and Literature	16.0303
Tibetan Language and Literature	16.0304
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
American Sign Language (ASL)	16.1601
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202
Arabic Language and Literature	16.1101
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.1299
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1200

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.