2023 Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree School for You
Foreign Languages & Linguistics is the #24 most popular major in the country with 33,333 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 149 schools in the United States to see which master's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Colleges.
Top 15% Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey the best school in the United States for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Monterey, Middlebury Institute is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of Notre Dame is a great place for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Missouri - Columbia. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. Mizzou is a very large public school located in the city of Columbia.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at University of Missouri - Columbia Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia University in the City of New York. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of New York, Columbia is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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Georgetown University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree foreign languages and linguistics programs. Located in the city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree foreign languages and linguistics programs. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report
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With a ranking of #8, Brandeis University did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Brandeis is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Waltham.
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With a ranking of #9, Southern Oregon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the midsize suburb of Ashland, Southern Oregon University is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
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Wake Forest University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree foreign languages and linguistics programs. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
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George Washington University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Washington, GWU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at George Washington University Report
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Virginia Tech ranked #12 on this year’s Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the small city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public college with a fairly large student population.
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With a ranking of #13, Gallaudet University did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Gallaudet is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at Gallaudet University Report
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #14 on this year’s Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley.
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With a ranking of #15, Brown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Providence, Brown is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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With a ranking of #16, George Mason University did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the suburb of Fairfax, GMU is a public college with a very large student population.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at George Mason University Report
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #17 on this year’s Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools list. UIUC is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign.
Read full report on Foreign Languages & Linguistics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Tufts University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Vanderbilt University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for foreign languages and linguistics students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Nashville.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at Vanderbilt University Report
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With a ranking of #20, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. UCLA is a very large public school located in the large city of Los Angeles.
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Minnesota State University - Mankato landed the #21 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree foreign languages and linguistics programs. Minnesota State Mankato is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Mankato.
Full Foreign Languages & Linguistics at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report
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With a ranking of #22, University of Southern California did quite well on this year’s best schools for foreign languages and linguistics students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Here are some additional great schools for Foreign Languages & Linguistics students that almost earned our Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA |
| 24 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 25 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 26 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 27 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus | Pittsburgh, PA |
| 28 | Sam Houston State University | Huntsville, TX |
| 29 | University of Wisconsin - Madison | Madison, WI |
Foreign Languages & Linguistics by Region
View the Best Foreign Languages & Linguistics Master's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Foreign Languages & Linguistics Rankings
Foreign Languages & Linguistics Related Rankings by Major
Foreign Languages & Linguistics Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Romance Languages | 15,009 |
| Linguistics & Comparative Literature | 8,539 |
| American Sign Language | 2,724 |
| East Asian Languages | 2,293 |
| Classical Languages & Literature | 1,428 |
| Germanic Languages | 1,425 |
| Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages | 607 |
| Middle Eastern Semitic Languages | 607 |
| Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other) | 500 |
| Second Language Learning | 108 |
| Southeast Asian & Pacific Languages | 38 |
| South Asian Languages | 24 |
| Native American Languages | 16 |
| African Languages | 4 |
| Iranian & Persian Languages | 4 |
| Celtic Language & Literature | 4 |
| Greek Language & Literature | 3 |
Majors Similar to Foreign Languages & Linguistics
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 556,813 |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149,215 |
| English Language & Literature | 54,635 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to John Stephen Dwyer.
More about our data sources and methodologies.