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Oceanic/Pacific Languages

What Oceanic/Pacific Languages Majors Need to Know

Programs in Oceanic/Pacific Languages build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that Oceanic/Pacific Languages graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in Oceanic/Pacific Languages emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• Foreign Language — Importance 4.7 / 5; level 5.9 / 7.
• English Language — Importance 4.5 / 5; level 5.2 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.8 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Administrative — Importance 3.1 / 5; level 3.6 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 2.8 / 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 Oceanic/Pacific Languages program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.7 / 5; level 3.9 / 7.

Abilities

Innate abilities most relevant to Oceanic/Pacific Languages careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.8 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, Oceanic/Pacific Languages graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.2 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.1 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Getting Information	3.9 / 7
Working with Computers	3.9 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	3.8 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	3.7 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	3.7 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	3.7 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by Oceanic/Pacific Languages professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Google Docs	Word processing software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	✓
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Computer assisted language learning CALL software	Foreign language software	—
Blackboard software	Data base user interface and query software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for Oceanic/Pacific Languages graduates include:

• Spanish Professor
• Instructor
• Lecturer
• Hebrew Professor
• Greek Professor
• Chinese Language Professor
• Spanish Language Lecturer
• Program Instructor
• German Professor
• Arabic Instructor
• Languages Professor
• Bilingual Teacher
• Foreign Language Instructor
• Arabic Professor
• Teacher

Education Typically Required

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

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	44.6%
Bachelor’s degree	26.8%
Master’s degree	21.8%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.1%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.7%
Post-master’s certificate	1.4%
Postsecondary certificate	0.5%

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

Related Programs

You may also be interested in these closely related fields of study:

Program	CIP Code
Southeast Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General	16.14
Burmese Language and Literature	16.1403
Filipino/Tagalog Language and Literature	16.1404
Hawaiian Language and Literature	16.1409
Indonesian/Malay Languages and Literatures	16.1402
Khmer/Cambodian Language and Literature	16.1405
Lao Language and Literature	16.1406
Southeast Asian and Australasian/Pacific Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other	16.1499
Southeast Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General	16.1400
Thai Language and Literature	16.1407
Vietnamese Language and Literature	16.1408
African Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	16.0201

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.