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Romance Languages

Types of Degrees Romance Languages Majors Are Earning

People majoring in Romance Languages have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	93
Associate’s Degree	934
Bachelor’s Degree	8,588
Master’s Degree	2,233
Doctor’s Degree	339

What Romance Languages Majors Need to Know

Studies in Romance Languages emphasize a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Romance Languages graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Romance Languages emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Foreign Language — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.9 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Customer and Personal Service — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set developed in a Romance Languages program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to Romance Languages careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 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, Romance Languages graduates report doing:

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

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Romance Languages professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Calendar and scheduling software	Calendar and scheduling software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Romance Languages graduates include:

• Spanish Teacher
• Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Language Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• French Teacher
• Language Instructor
• Language Arts Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Russian Language Professor
• Instructor
• German Instructor
• Spanish Professor
• Program Instructor
• Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Romance Languages graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Bachelor’s degree	39.0%
Doctoral degree	33.7%
Master’s degree	17.3%
Post-master’s certificate	3.0%
High school diploma or equivalent	2.4%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	2.3%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.9%
Postsecondary certificate	0.4%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in Romance Languages?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 75.1% of Romance Languages degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	9,251	75.1%
Men	3,070	24.9%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of Romance Languages graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	5,599	45.4%
Asian	401	3.3%
Hispanic or Latino	4,627	37.6%
Black or African American	405	3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native	10	0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	2	0.0%
Two or More Races	383	3.1%
Race Unknown	245	2.0%
International Students	649	5.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Romance Languages Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Romance Languages 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	$35,134
4 years	$47,838
5 years	$56,094

By year 5 out, median earnings rise to $56,094 — roughly 60% above the 1-year mark.

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

Online Romance Languages Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for Romance Languages. 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
Associate’s	14	15
Bachelor’s	14	40
Master’s	8	6

^{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 Romance Languages Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Romance Languages graduates earn a median of $47,838 four years after completion — roughly 26% 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
Foreign Languages Linguistics	16
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.02
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.10
American Sign Language	16.16
Armenian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.18
Celtic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.13
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.12
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.03
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.99
FOREIGN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND LINGUISTICS	16.00
Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.05
Iranian/Persian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.08

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.