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cultural studies and comparative literature

Types of Degrees cultural studies and comparative literature Majors Are Earning

People majoring in cultural studies and comparative literature can earn degrees at several award levels.

Award Level	Graduates
Bachelor’s Degree	10
Master’s Degree	9
Doctor’s Degree	5

What cultural studies and comparative literature Majors Need to Know

Studies in cultural studies and comparative literature develop a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that cultural studies and comparative literature graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in cultural studies and comparative literature emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 6.0 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 4.6 / 5; level 5.7 / 7.
• Communications and Media — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Sociology and Anthropology — Importance 3.6 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• History and Archeology — Importance 3.5 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.

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

Skills

The skill set emphasized by a cultural studies and comparative literature program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Instructing — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.
• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to cultural studies and comparative literature careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Expression — Importance 4.4 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.2 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, cultural studies and comparative literature graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Training and Teaching Others	4.7 / 7
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships	4.4 / 7
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates	4.4 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.4 / 7
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work	4.2 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.2 / 7
Coaching and Developing Others	4.2 / 7
Getting Information	4.2 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Working with Computers	4.1 / 7

Technology Skills Used on the Job

Most frequently-cited tools used by cultural studies and comparative literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—
iParadigms Turnitin	Information retrieval or search software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Blackboard Learn	Computer based training software	—
DOC Cop	Information retrieval or search software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

Real job postings for cultural studies and comparative literature graduates include:

• College Professor
• College Faculty Member
• University Faculty Member
• Lecturer
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Humanities Professor
• Associate Professor
• Professor
• English Teacher
• Teacher
• Language Arts Teacher
• English Instructor
• English Language Instructor
• Developmental Reading Instructor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to cultural studies and comparative literature graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	45.0%
Master’s degree	24.2%
Bachelor’s degree	18.4%
Less than a high school diploma	4.6%
Post-master’s certificate	3.4%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	1.9%
Post-doctoral training	1.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	1.0%
First professional degree	0.3%

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

Who Is Earning a Degree in cultural studies and comparative literature?

Gender Distribution

This field skews predominantly female, with women earning 83.3% of cultural studies and comparative literature degrees.

Gender	Graduates	Share
Women	20	83.3%
Men	4	16.7%

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the national level, the racial-ethnic distribution of cultural studies and comparative literature graduates is as follows:

Race / Ethnicity	Graduates	Share
White	17	70.8%
Asian	1	4.2%
Hispanic or Latino	1	4.2%
Race Unknown	3	12.5%
International Students	2	8.3%

^{See minority definition below.}

Related Programs

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

Program	CIP Code
Multi Interdisciplinary Studies	30
Accounting and Computer Science	30.16
Anthrozoology	30.34
Behavioral Sciences	30.17
Biological and Physical Sciences	30.01
Biopsychology	30.10
Classical and Ancient Studies	30.22
Climate Science	30.35
Cognitive Science	30.25
Computational Science	30.30
Cultural Studies/Critical Theory and Analysis	30.26
Data Analytics	30.71

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.