Romance Languages

Types of Degrees Romance Languages Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many romance languages graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	969
Doctor’s Degree	376
Graduate Certificate	67

What Romance Languages Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to romance languages and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Romance Languages Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Romance Languages Majors

When studying romance languages, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Romance Languages Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a romance languages student include the following:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

What Can You Do With a Romance Languages Major?

People with a romance languages degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Foreign Language and Literature Professors	11.7%	$67,640
Interpreters and Translators	17.7%	$49,930
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	7.5%	$60,320

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Romance Languages?

This major is dominated by women with about 67% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of romance languages majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	13
Black or African American	20
Hispanic or Latino	328
White	306
International Students	245
Other Races/Ethnicities	57

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Romance Languages, too. About 25.3% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Romance Languages

Some careers associated with romance languages require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to romance languages have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	0.3%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	0.3%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	2.9%
Bachelor’s Degree	41.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	7.2%
Master’s Degree	23.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	4.3%
Doctoral Degree	21.5%

Online Romance Languages Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	26	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	3	1
Associate’s Degree	185	11
Bachelor’s Degree	39	11
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	306	8
Post-Master’s	12	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	141	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Romance Languages

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to romance languages.

Major	Number of Grads
Linguistics & Comparative Literature	7,681
American Sign Language	2,341
East Asian Languages	2,056
Classical Languages & Literature	1,484
Germanic Languages	1,098
Middle Eastern Semitic Languages	549
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages	536
Foreign Language, Literature & Linguistics (Other)	520
Second Language Learning	282
Southeast Asian & Pacific Languages	50
Native American Languages	48
South Asian Languages	26
African Languages	8
Iranian & Persian Languages	8
Greek Language & Literature	4
Celtic Language & Literature	3
Turkic & Central Asian Languages	1

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Susana Freixeiro under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.