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General Romance Languages

Types of Degrees General Romance Languages Majors Are Earning

Those studying General Romance Languages have the option of earning degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	140
Master’s Degree	77
Doctor’s Degree	42

What General Romance Languages Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

This major prepares you for careers needing General Romance Languages 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 emphasized by a General Romance Languages 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

Abilities most relevant to General Romance Languages 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, General Romance Languages 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 General Romance Languages professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
American Sign Language ASL browser	Dictionary software	—
Adobe PageMaker	Desktop publishing software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for General Romance Languages graduates include:

• Language Instructor
• Spanish Teacher
• Bilingual Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Teacher
• French Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• Hebrew Teacher
• Language Teacher
• French Instructor
• Modern Languages Professor
• Hebrew Professor
• University Faculty Member
• Arabic Professor
• Greek Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to General Romance Languages 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 General Romance Languages?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 67.2% of General Romance Languages degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	174	67.2%
Men	85	32.8%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	111	42.9%
Asian	15	5.8%
Hispanic or Latino	56	21.6%
Black or African American	11	4.2%
Two or More Races	6	2.3%
Race Unknown	8	3.1%
International Students	52	20.1%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do General Romance Languages Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of General Romance Languages 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 General Romance Languages Programs

Fully online options is reported by IPEDS for General 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
Master’s	1	0

^{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 General Romance Languages Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, General 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
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.09
Catalan Language and Literature	16.0907
French Language and Literature	16.0901
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
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.