Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics: is it worth it?
A 0–100 score blending this major’s national earnings, ROI and typical debt. How it’s scored.
National picture across 234 college programs, at a typical net price.
The payoff is roughly break-even — the degree recovers its cost, but slowly.
What Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics pays
Career outlook for Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics graduates
The job market for the occupations Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics graduates typically enter, projected through 2034 — from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is the demand side, complementing the IRS-verified graduate earnings above.
Top jobs for this major
| Occupation | U.S. jobs | Growth to 2034 | Median pay | Typical entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education | 1,094,500 | -1.6% | $64,580 | Bachelor's degree |
| Interpreters and translators | 75,300 | +1.7% | $59,440 | Bachelor's degree |
| Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary | 26,400 | -0.2% | $77,010 | Doctoral or professional degree |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections (2024–34) & the NCES CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupation pay is the national median wage for the role — not the same as graduate earnings, which we draw from IRS records.
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics vs similar majors
How Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics stacks up against the closest fields in Foreign Languages & Linguistics on pay, debt, ROI and the DR Rating. The best figure in each row is highlighted.
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics Foreign Languages & Linguistics · this major | Middle/Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Germanic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DR Rating | 36 D | 83 A | 52 C | 39 D |
| ROI verdict | Break-even | Strong return | Strong return | Break-even |
| Median earnings (5 yr) | $55,503 | $77,090 | $62,032 | $57,407 |
| Median earnings (1 yr) | $34,577 | $48,355 | $50,308 | $34,944 |
| ROI vs cost | +32% | +305% | +114% | +54% |
| Typical debt | $20,355 | $20,000 | $21,161 | $22,920 |
| Colleges offering it | 234 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics earnings over time
National median earnings one year after graduating, by cohort year — the consistent measure available across the federal data’s history.
Best colleges for Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Ranked by the ROI of this major at each college — its graduate earnings against the cost.
| # | College | Credential | Earnings (5 yr) | Median debt | 10-yr ROI | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY City College New York, NY | Associate's | $60,398 | — | +1,939% | Strong return |
| 2 | CUNY Hunter College New York, NY | Associate's | $53,642 | — | +1,348% | Strong return |
| 3 | CUNY Queens College Queens, NY | Associate's | $56,850 | — | +1,312% | Strong return |
| 4 | University of Florida Gainesville, FL | Associate's | $61,423 | $13,000 | +822% | Strong return |
| 5 | New York University New York, NY | Certificate | $72,766 | — | +649% | Strong return |
| 6 | California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA | Associate's | $59,426 | $15,184 | +637% | Strong return |
| 7 | University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO | Certificate | $63,656 | — | +636% | Strong return |
| 8 | Weber State University Ogden, UT | Associate's | $63,443 | $12,500 | +636% | Strong return |
| 9 | Brigham Young University Provo, UT | Associate's | $71,117 | $12,500 | +632% | Strong return |
| 10 | Washington State University Pullman, WA | Associate's | $66,735 | — | +626% | Strong return |
| 11 | Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN | Associate's | $71,012 | $12,000 | +621% | Strong return |
| 12 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY | Associate's | $78,873 | $20,250 | +570% | Strong return |
| 13 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA | Associate's | $65,810 | $11,593 | +567% | Strong return |
| 14 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Associate's | $61,643 | $14,019 | +554% | Strong return |
| 15 | California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA | Associate's | $56,219 | $9,241 | +546% | Strong return |
| 16 | Utah State University Logan, UT | Associate's | $66,385 | $15,000 | +505% | Strong return |
| 17 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI | Associate's | $64,140 | $16,672 | +492% | Strong return |
| 18 | East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA | Associate's | $66,168 | — | +484% | Strong return |
| 19 | Cornell University Ithaca, NY | Associate's | $81,245 | $15,610 | +475% | Strong return |
| 20 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL | Associate's | $61,256 | $17,500 | +474% | Strong return |
| 21 | University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA | Associate's | $70,508 | — | +470% | Strong return |
| 22 | University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN | Associate's | $78,861 | $19,000 | +460% | Strong return |
| 23 | Emory University Atlanta, GA | Associate's | $73,682 | $19,500 | +449% | Strong return |
| 24 | Colgate University Hamilton, NY | Associate's | $79,583 | $16,900 | +443% | Strong return |
| 25 | Binghamton University Vestal, NY | Associate's | $71,075 | $17,263 | +426% | Strong return |
Related majors
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. ROI is computed by Degree Return — see how. Read the methodology. Data as of 2024.