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Romance Languages

Students study one or more Romance languages such as Spanish, French, Italian, or Portuguese, along with their literary traditions, cultural contexts, and linguistic structures. Graduates typically pursue careers in translation, international business, diplomacy, education, publishing, and bilingual service organizations. Spanish fluency in particular is in high demand in the U.S. healthcare, legal, and education sectors.

Compare Schools

Schools

198

Programs analyzed

Earnings

$34,638

Avg 1-yr grad earnings

Range $18,490–$66,917

Outlook

35/100

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

AI Risk

Very High

61% task exposure

Field Overview

What Romance Languages graduates do

With a degree in Romance Languages, you’ll likely find yourself in a classroom or working directly with the language itself. As a secondary school teacher, your days are filled with lesson planning, managing teenagers, and instilling a love for French or Spanish. At the university level, you’ll lead discussions on Italian literature while also conducting your own academic research. Career progression can lead to roles like department head or curriculum developer. Alternatively, you could work as a translator, meticulously converting legal or marketing documents, or as an interpreter, providing real-time language support in high-stakes medical or business settings.

While teaching roles face some market headwinds, the biggest shift is driven by AI, especially in translation. Be frank: machine translation is automating routine work, reducing the need for junior translators. Your professional value will come from editing AI output, navigating complex cultural nuances, and making judgment calls machines cannot. In contrast, teaching remains a deeply human-centric field. The core work of mentoring students and managing a classroom dynamic has much lower AI exposure, making it a more stable career in an automated world.

Related majors worth comparing: East Asian Languages, Slavic Languages, and Germanic Languages.

Career Trajectories

Where Romance Languages graduates work

Common career paths for Romance Languages graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 75,000 combined openings per year across these roles.

Role	Median Pay	Annual Openings	10-yr Growth	AI Exposure
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary	$77,010 $60K–$102K	1,900	-0.2%	High · 53%
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	$64,580 $58K–$83K	66,200	-1.6%	Moderate · 33%
Interpreters and translators	$59,440 $45K–$80K	6,900	+1.7%	Very High · 88%

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Top Institutions

Best schools for Romance Languages

Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 198.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 57

Brigham Young University

Provo, UT · Private nonprofit

$40,002 1-yr earnings

26.4x ROI multiple

Very High AI risk

University of Rhode Island

Kingston, RI · #2

$59,220/yr · 9.0x ROI

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Eau Claire, WI · #3

$41,109/yr · 15.4x ROI

University of Utah

Salt Lake City, UT · #4

$45,868/yr · 13.6x ROI

#	School	DW Score	1-yr Earnings	ROI
5	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	51	$37,845	15.9x
6	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	50	$46,860	10.3x
7	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	50	$42,722	15.3x
8	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY · Public	49	$46,882	14.9x
9	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY · Public	49	$37,654	17.9x
10	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Green Bay, WI · Public	48	$43,126	13.9x
11	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · Public	48	$40,818	10.1x
12	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA · Public	48	$36,237	16.8x
13	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	48	$32,718	16.1x
14	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	46	$39,516	11.4x
15	Idaho State University Pocatello, ID · Public	46	$38,054	14.7x
16	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	46	$35,720	12.6x
17	Utah State University Logan, UT · Public	46	$30,242	17.0x
18	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	45	$42,436	10.1x
19	New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ · Public	45	$39,714	9.7x
20	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	45	$34,929	12.4x
21	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public	45	$34,117	16.6x
22	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	45	$27,989	23.8x
23	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA · Private nonprofit	44	$51,120	2.1x
24	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	44	$40,562	12.2x
25	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	44	$38,942	8.8x
26	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public	44	$38,478	11.9x
27	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI · Public	44	$37,018	12.6x
28	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC · Public	44	$36,179	19.0x
29	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	44	$34,572	11.2x
30	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	44	$33,705	13.5x
31	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	44	$33,307	12.3x
32	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	44	$27,578	23.1x
33	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY · Private nonprofit	43	$54,327	1.9x
34	Colgate University Hamilton, NY · Private nonprofit	43	$53,541	2.0x
35	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	43	$40,586	9.5x
36	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA · Public	43	$34,572	11.0x
37	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · Public	43	$32,508	14.4x
38	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	43	$32,236	15.7x
39	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY · Public	43	$28,681	16.6x
40	Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit	42	$66,917	1.9x
41	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX · Private nonprofit	42	$57,858	1.9x
42	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	42	$52,210	2.1x
43	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	42	$47,487	7.0x
44	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN · Private nonprofit	42	$46,030	2.1x
45	Villanova University Villanova, PA · Private nonprofit	42	$45,088	2.1x
46	Winona State University Winona, MN · Public	42	$41,866	10.3x
47	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	42	$38,269	6.7x
48	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	42	$35,635	9.1x
49	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	42	$35,208	15.0x
50	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA · Public	42	$34,702	12.5x
51	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY · Public	42	$30,534	17.2x
52	Illinois State University Normal, IL · Public	41	$49,448	6.3x
53	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY · Public	41	$43,821	9.3x
54	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY · Public	41	$37,442	11.5x
55	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	41	$33,169	11.7x
56	California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA · Public	41	$30,502	17.5x
57	CUNY City College New York, NY · Public	41	$23,932	19.6x
58	Kean University Union, NJ · Public	40	$42,750	7.8x
59	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	40	$37,909	10.3x
60	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	40	$35,591	12.2x
61	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	40	$26,557	15.0x
62	Westfield State University Westfield, MA · Public	39	$40,405	7.5x
63	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA · Public	39	$40,260	4.7x
64	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA · Private nonprofit	39	$39,694	2.2x
65	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	39	$36,692	8.4x
66	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	39	$36,444	10.5x
67	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY · Public	39	$35,941	11.1x
68	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	39	$35,781	10.1x
69	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX · Public	39	$30,291	12.8x
70	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	39	$28,603	19.4x
71	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit	38	$47,208	1.8x
72	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	38	$42,436	—
73	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	38	$39,220	6.1x
74	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI · Public	38	$36,411	11.4x
75	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	38	$36,200	9.3x
76	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	38	$35,658	7.6x
77	Amherst College Amherst, MA · Private nonprofit	37	$49,322	0.8x
78	Tufts University Medford, MA · Private nonprofit	37	$49,164	0.8x
79	Butler University Indianapolis, IN · Private nonprofit	37	$43,678	2.4x
80	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	37	$39,209	5.3x
81	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA · Public	37	$37,374	7.2x
82	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	37	$35,191	12.3x
83	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX · Public	37	$34,003	10.0x
84	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	37	$33,901	9.3x
85	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT · Public	37	$32,795	7.4x
86	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT · Public	37	$32,795	7.4x
87	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT · Public	37	$32,795	7.4x
88	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT · Public	37	$32,795	7.4x
89	College of Charleston Charleston, SC · Public	37	$32,503	9.3x
90	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	37	$29,329	14.2x
91	California State University-Chico Chico, CA · Public	37	$22,917	16.3x
92	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public	37	$20,070	19.1x
93	DePauw University Greencastle, IN · Private nonprofit	36	$43,049	2.0x
94	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	36	$40,019	2.0x
95	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	36	$37,553	8.8x
96	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT · Public	36	$32,795	6.2x
97	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	36	$31,622	7.7x
98	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	36	$27,815	10.5x
99	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	36	$26,966	9.9x
100	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA · Private nonprofit	35	$45,300	0.7x
101	University of Portland Portland, OR · Private nonprofit	35	$41,018	2.0x
102	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit	35	$35,767	2.9x
103	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	35	$32,934	7.9x
104	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	35	$32,084	10.3x
105	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX · Public	35	$30,505	9.9x
106	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	35	$25,426	15.2x
107	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	35	$19,519	13.9x
108	Georgetown University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	34	$46,190	1.5x
109	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA · Private nonprofit	34	$44,068	0.7x
110	Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN · Private nonprofit	34	$40,212	3.2x
111	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	34	$36,297	4.6x
112	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	34	$35,411	5.0x
113	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	34	$34,510	5.9x
114	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	34	$34,484	7.7x
115	Cornell University Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit	34	$33,419	2.1x
116	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ · Public	34	$31,335	7.1x
117	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	34	$31,335	7.0x
118	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ · Public	34	$31,335	7.3x
119	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	34	$28,746	10.5x
120	Boise State University Boise, ID · Public	34	$26,579	12.9x
121	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	34	$26,232	13.4x
122	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	34	$25,814	10.8x
123	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	34	$21,609	16.4x
124	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA · Private nonprofit	33	$43,472	1.8x
125	Colby College Waterville, ME · Private nonprofit	33	$42,326	0.6x
126	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	33	$34,510	5.4x
127	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	33	$32,630	7.1x
128	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	33	$31,569	7.5x
129	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	33	$31,174	7.9x
130	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	33	$29,330	7.8x
131	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	33	$28,182	12.2x
132	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	33	$21,411	10.9x
133	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private nonprofit	32	$41,033	2.0x
134	Bates College Lewiston, ME · Private nonprofit	32	$40,395	0.6x
135	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY · Private nonprofit	32	$40,204	0.5x
136	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	32	$39,825	0.6x
137	University of Oregon Eugene, OR · Public	32	$29,765	7.3x
138	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA · Public	32	$29,617	7.8x
139	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	32	$22,803	8.3x
140	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public	32	$18,490	14.9x
141	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	31	$39,207	2.1x
142	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	31	$30,970	5.1x
143	University at Albany Albany, NY · Public	31	$30,810	6.4x
144	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX · Public	31	$27,138	10.5x
145	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	31	$24,880	10.4x
146	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private nonprofit	30	$44,073	1.2x
147	Hamilton College Clinton, NY · Private nonprofit	30	$41,946	1.2x
148	Williams College Williamstown, MA · Private nonprofit	30	$37,968	0.5x
149	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL · Private nonprofit	30	$37,025	1.1x
150	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	30	$33,081	5.8x
151	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH · Public	30	$30,504	4.6x
152	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	30	$27,657	8.3x
153	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	30	$27,427	11.2x
154	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	30	$24,453	8.6x
155	Denison University Granville, OH · Private nonprofit	29	$42,992	1.0x
156	Wofford College Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit	29	$39,499	1.5x
157	Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit	29	$38,068	2.2x
158	Chapman University Orange, CA · Private nonprofit	29	$36,546	0.5x
159	Hope College Holland, MI · Private nonprofit	29	$35,992	2.4x
160	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	29	$29,617	5.0x
161	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	28	$41,865	0.8x
162	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private nonprofit	28	$34,649	0.6x
163	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI · Public	28	$26,584	7.1x
164	Central College Pella, IA · Private nonprofit	27	$30,211	2.6x
165	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	27	$28,231	6.8x
166	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	27	$27,312	5.6x
167	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	27	$25,242	7.5x
168	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	27	$20,433	12.9x
169	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA · Private nonprofit	26	$36,776	1.2x
170	St Olaf College Northfield, MN · Private nonprofit	26	$32,094	0.4x
171	Monmouth College Monmouth, IL · Private nonprofit	26	$32,036	0.8x
172	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	26	$27,500	7.7x
173	Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	25	$35,622	1.3x
174	Smith College Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit	25	$35,407	1.1x
175	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY · Public	25	$24,967	8.1x
176	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH · Public	25	$23,739	8.5x
177	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA · Private nonprofit	24	$32,356	1.3x
178	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA · Private nonprofit	24	$29,859	0.4x
179	Dominican University River Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	24	$29,102	0.9x
180	University of Redlands Redlands, CA · Private nonprofit	24	$27,731	1.9x
181	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit	23	$31,752	1.7x
182	Centre College Danville, KY · Private nonprofit	23	$19,503	-0.0x
183	Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit	22	$26,952	0.6x
184	Drew University Madison, NJ · Private nonprofit	21	$27,823	2.0x
185	Nazareth University Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit	21	$25,979	0.6x
186	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	21	$22,734	5.9x
187	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA · Private nonprofit	20	$28,691	1.3x
188	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	20	$25,035	1.7x
189	Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	20	$24,773	0.2x
190	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY · Private nonprofit	19	$28,999	1.0x
191	Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA · Private nonprofit	19	$23,699	0.0x
192	Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH · Private nonprofit	19	$23,537	0.1x
193	Seattle University Seattle, WA · Private nonprofit	18	$28,082	1.2x
194	Augustana College Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit	18	$24,208	1.8x
195	Washington & Jefferson College Washington, PA · Private nonprofit	18	$19,700	0.7x
196	Willamette University Salem, OR · Private nonprofit	17	$27,044	1.2x
197	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA · Private nonprofit	17	$26,013	1.1x
198	Allegheny College Meadville, PA · Private nonprofit	16	$21,822	1.6x

How do Romance Languages programs stack up? See 198 schools ranked by earnings and value →

Highest Earnings Top 5

Bentley University MA	$66,917
University of Rhode Island RI	$59,220
Southern Methodist University TX	$57,858
Columbia University in the City of New York NY	$54,327
Colgate University NY	$53,541

Best ROI Top 5

Brigham Young University UT	26.4x
Weber State University UT	23.8x
University of Florida FL	23.1x
CUNY City College NY	19.6x
Florida State University FL	19.4x

Related majors

Similar fields of study often offered alongside Romance Languages.

Linguistics East Asian Languages Germanic Languages American Sign Language Slavic Languages Middle Eastern Languages Foreign Languages Biology Political Science Psychology English History

Consider the trade route

Not sure a 4-year degree is the right path? Trade programs in Romance Languages offer shorter timelines, lower debt, and strong AI resilience for hands-on careers.

Compare Romance Languages trade programs on TradeSchoolOutlook →

FAQ

Frequently asked about Romance Languages

What's the typical salary after a Romance Languages degree?

First-year earnings for Romance Languages graduates average $34,638 annually, based on data from 198 programs. The range spans $18,490 at the low end to $66,917 at the top.

What is the AI automation risk for Romance Languages?

Our analysis classifies Romance Languages as "Very High" for AI risk — approximately 61% of typical job tasks overlap with current AI capabilities. That puts most of the daily work in the automation-sensitive category.

Where should I study Romance Languages?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), Brigham Young University ranks #1 for Romance Languages with a score of 57/100 and graduate earnings of $40,002/yr.

What's the ROI on a Romance Languages degree?

Typical graduates earn 7.7 times what they paid in tuition within a decade. This is a moderate return — school choice matters significantly. Look at per-school ROI in the table above — averages can mask significant variation.