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French Language & Literature

Types of Degrees French Language & Literature Majors Are Earning

Those studying French Language & Literature may pursue degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	12
Associate’s Degree	86
Bachelor’s Degree	1,458
Master’s Degree	364
Doctor’s Degree	63

What French Language & Literature Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in French 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 French 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 French 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 Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, French 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 French Language & Literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite 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	—
Adobe PageMaker	Desktop publishing software	—
Audacity	Music or sound editing software	—
Skype	Desktop communications software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for French Language & Literature graduates include:

• Bilingual Teacher
• Teacher
• Language Teacher
• French Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Language Instructor
• Spanish Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• University Faculty Member
• Lecturer
• Foreign Language Instructor
• Chinese Teacher
• French Professor
• Biblical Languages Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to French 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 French Language & Literature?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 75.2% of French Language & Literature degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	1,504	75.2%
Men	497	24.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	1,246	62.3%
Asian	91	4.5%
Hispanic or Latino	247	12.3%
Black or African American	116	5.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native	2	0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	1	0.0%
Two or More Races	94	4.7%
Race Unknown	57	2.8%
International Students	147	7.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do French Language & Literature Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of French Language & Literature graduates 1, 4, and 5 years after completion. Earnings tend to climb 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 French Language & Literature Programs

Online study are documented by IPEDS for French 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
Associate’s	1	2
Bachelor’s	1	10

^{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 French Language & Literature Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, French Language & Literature 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
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.09
Catalan Language and Literature	16.0907
Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General	16.0908
Italian Language and Literature	16.0902
Portuguese Language and Literature	16.0904
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.0999
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0900
Romanian Language and Literature	16.0906
Spanish Language and Literature	16.0905
American Indian/Native American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.1001
American Sign Language (ASL)	16.1601
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature	16.1202

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.