---

cultural studies and comparative literature

Instructional content is defined in code 30.3601.

Types of Degrees cultural studies and comparative literature Majors Are Earning

Students pursuing cultural studies and comparative literature may pursue 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

Programs in cultural studies and comparative literature build 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

This major prepares you for careers needing 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 developed in 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

The cognitive and physical 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
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	—
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	—
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	—
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Course management system software	Computer based training software	—
Learning management system LMS	Computer based training software	✓
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	—
Word processing software	Word processing software	—
Desire2Learn LMS software	Computer based training software	—

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

Sample Job Titles

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

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

What Can You Do With a cultural studies and comparative literature Degree?

Graduates with a degree in cultural studies and comparative literature commonly enter the following occupations:

Occupation	Job Growth	Median Salary	25th–75th Pctile
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	1.8%	$77,927	$66,306–$89,549

^{Job-growth = projected employment change for the parent occupation. Source: ONET / BLS Employment Projections.*}

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	Annual Degrees Awarded
Multi Interdisciplinary Studies	134,694
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	30,141
Biological and Physical Sciences	28,033
Data Analytics	12,891
Data Science	7,716
International/Globalization Studies	5,740
Nutrition Sciences	5,456
Behavioral Sciences	5,391
Sustainability Studies	4,374
Cognitive Science	3,121
Natural Sciences	2,648
Computational Science	2,395

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.