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Italian Language & Literature

Types of Degrees Italian Language & Literature Majors Are Earning

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

Award Level	Graduates
Certificate	4
Associate’s Degree	19
Bachelor’s Degree	197
Master’s Degree	92
Doctor’s Degree	22

What Italian Language & Literature Majors Need to Know

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

Knowledge Areas

According to O*NET, a major in Italian 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

Skills built by a Italian 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 Italian 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, Italian 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 Italian Language & Literature 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	✓
Moodle	Computer based training software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Image scanning software	Optical character reader OCR or scanning software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Italian Language & Literature graduates include:

• French Teacher
• ESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)
• Bilingual Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• Spanish Teacher
• Teacher
• Language Instructor
• Hebrew Teacher
• Language Teacher
• Foreign Language Instructor
• Languages Professor
• Adjunct Spanish Instructor
• Japanese Professor
• College Faculty Member
• Bilingual Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to Italian 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 Italian Language & Literature?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 68.3% of Italian Language & Literature degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	228	68.3%
Men	106	31.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

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

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	204	61.1%
Asian	9	2.7%
Hispanic or Latino	58	17.4%
Black or African American	4	1.2%
Two or More Races	17	5.1%
Race Unknown	6	1.8%
International Students	36	10.8%

^{See minority definition below.}

How Much Do Italian Language & Literature Graduates Earn?

College Scorecard reports median earnings of Italian 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	$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.}

Is a Degree in Italian Language & Literature Worth It?

Strictly by the federal earnings tracker, Italian 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
French Language and Literature	16.0901
Hispanic and Latin American Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General	16.0908
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.