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German Language & Literature

Types of Degrees German Language & Literature Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing German Language & Literature may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	16
Associate’s Degree	18
Bachelor’s Degree	656
Master’s Degree	149
Doctor’s Degree	55

What German Language & Literature Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing German 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 developed in a German 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 German 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, German 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 German Language & Literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for German Language & Literature graduates include:

• Bilingual Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• French Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Spanish Teacher
• Language Instructor
• Language Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Teacher
• Spanish Language Lecturer
• German Teacher
• Arabic Teacher
• French Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Japanese Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to German 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 German Language & Literature?

Gender Distribution

This field has a relatively balanced gender distribution: 53.4% women and 46.6% men among German Language & Literature graduates.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	484	53.4%
Men	423	46.6%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	650	71.7%
Asian	30	3.3%
Hispanic or Latino	63	6.9%
Black or African American	13	1.4%
Two or More Races	43	4.7%
Race Unknown	21	2.3%
International Students	87	9.6%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do German Language & Literature Graduates Earn?

The U.S. Department of Education tracks median earnings of German Language & Literature graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Wages typically rise steadily as graduates gain experience and move into mid-career roles.

Years Out	Median Earnings
1 year	$46,924
4 years	$56,972
5 years	$62,456

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $62,456 — roughly 33% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online German Language & Literature Programs

Distance learning are documented by IPEDS for German Language & Literature. The table below shows how many graduates earned at least some of their coursework online (Distance-Ed Available) versus completing the entire program online (Distance-Ed Only).

Award Level	Distance-Ed Available	Distance-Ed Only
Bachelor’s	1	5

^{Distance-Ed Only = degrees completed entirely online; Distance-Ed Available = degrees including at least some online coursework. Source: IPEDS Completions by Distance Education status.}

Is a Degree in German Language & Literature Worth It?

On the earnings side, the federal earnings tracker, German Language & Literature graduates earn a median of $56,972 four years after completion — roughly 50% 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
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.05
Danish Language and Literature	16.0503
Dutch/Flemish Language and Literature	16.0504
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.0599
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0500
Norwegian Language and Literature	16.0505
Scandinavian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0502
Swedish Language and Literature	16.0506
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

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.