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economics and foreign language/literature

What economics and foreign language/literature Majors Need to Know

Programs in economics and foreign language/literature build a specific mix of knowledge, skills, and abilities — derived from O*NET surveys of workers in occupations that economics and foreign language/literature graduates commonly enter.

Knowledge Areas

Coursework in economics and foreign language/literature emphasizes the following knowledge areas:

• English Language — Importance 4.3 / 5; level 5.1 / 7.
• Education and Training — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 5.0 / 7.
• Computers and Electronics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.7 / 7.
• Administration and Management — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.4 / 7.
• Mathematics — Importance 3.0 / 5; level 3.5 / 7.

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

Skills

Skills built by a economics and foreign language/literature program reflects the day-to-day work of related occupations:

• Speaking — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Reading Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.5 / 7.
• Active Listening — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.2 / 7.
• Writing — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.3 / 7.
• Critical Thinking — Importance 3.9 / 5; level 4.1 / 7.

Abilities

Abilities most relevant to economics and foreign language/literature careers — again drawn from O*NET surveys of related occupations:

• Oral Expression — Importance 4.1 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Oral Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.7 / 7.
• Written Expression — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.
• Speech Clarity — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.4 / 7.
• Written Comprehension — Importance 4.0 / 5; level 4.6 / 7.

Common Job Activities

Day-to-day, economics and foreign language/literature graduates report doing:

Activity	Frequency / Importance
Getting Information	4.4 / 7
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge	4.2 / 7
Working with Computers	4.2 / 7
Training and Teaching Others	4.1 / 7
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others	4.1 / 7
Thinking Creatively	4.0 / 7
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events	4.0 / 7
Making Decisions and Solving Problems	4.0 / 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 economics and foreign language/literature professionals:

Tool / Software	Category	In-Demand
Microsoft Office software	Office suite software	✓
Microsoft Excel	Spreadsheet software	✓
Microsoft Outlook	Electronic mail software	✓
Microsoft Word	Word processing software	✓
Microsoft PowerPoint	Presentation software	✓
Web browser software	Internet browser software	—
Email software	Electronic mail software	—
Microsoft Access	Data base user interface and query software	✓
Collaborative editing software	Word processing software	—
Sakai CLE	Computer based training 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 economics and foreign language/literature graduates include:

• College Faculty Member
• University Faculty Member
• Lecturer
• Professor
• College Professor
• Associate Professor
• Assistant Professor
• Adjunct Professor
• Instructor
• Teacher
• Industrial Economics Professor
• Economics Faculty Member
• Accounting Lecturer
• Agricultural Economics Professor
• Microeconomics Professor

Education Typically Required

Across the occupations open to economics and foreign language/literature graduates, the typical level of education actually held by current workers is distributed as:

Education Level	Share of Workers
Doctoral degree	42.2%
Bachelor’s degree	26.3%
Master’s degree	17.3%
Associate’s degree (or other 2-year)	3.3%
Post-master’s certificate	3.3%
High school diploma or equivalent	3.0%
Postsecondary certificate	1.5%
Some college courses	1.1%
Post-baccalaureate certificate	0.9%
Post-doctoral training	0.8%
First professional degree	0.2%

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

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.