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Sector Analysis · Foreign Languages

Best Romance Languages Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

198 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Romance Languages, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Romance Languages graduate earns $34,638/yr across 198 schools.

What do Romance Languages graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why a Utah School Dominates Romance Languages

Brigham Young University's #1 rank is directly tied to its unique student body. A large percentage of students are returned missionaries who have spent up to two years immersed in a foreign language and culture, creating an exceptionally advanced peer group. This institutional pipeline of real-world linguistic experience, combined with BYU's very low tuition ($25,984), results in an unparalleled 26.4x return on investment.

Public Powerhouses Outrank Prestigious Privates

Notice what's missing from the top 20? Expensive, elite private universities. Instead, this list is overwhelmingly dominated by 19 public schools, from the University of Rhode Island (#2) to the CUNY and UW system schools. For this field, the high tuition of a private degree struggles to deliver a proportional financial return. Public programs like CUNY Queens (#8) offer a much smarter bet, delivering strong outcomes and high ROI (17.9x) at a fraction of the cost.

Your Degree vs. The Machine: Navigating 60% AI Risk

The 60.6% AI risk score signals a critical fork in the road for graduates. If you plan to be a translator, the era of translating from a blank page is over; your value will come from editing AI output and navigating complex cultural nuances machines can't grasp. In contrast, if you aim to teach, your core work of mentoring students and managing a classroom dynamic remains highly insulated from automation, making it a more stable career path in an automated world.

The Wisconsin Surprise: A Model for Public Value

With four universities in the top 20, Wisconsin is an unexpected leader in Romance Languages. This isn't due to a regional demand for French speakers, but rather a testament to the strength of the University of Wisconsin System. Schools like UW-Eau Claire (#3) and UW-Whitewater (#7) prove the power of a well-supported public university system, delivering high-quality education at a price that leads to outstanding financial outcomes for graduates.

Programs Ranked

198

Avg Earnings

$34,638/yr

Avg DW Score

35/100

AI Risk

Very High

61% task exposure

Top Institutions

Leading the field for Romance Languages

The top four programs by DegreeOutlook Score. Full ranking of 198 programs below.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 57

Brigham Young University

Provo, UT · Private nonprofit

$40,0021-yr earnings

26.4xROI multiple

Very HighAI risk

University of Rhode Island

RI · #2

$59,220/yr · 9.0x ROI

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

WI · #3

$41,109/yr · 15.4x ROI

Minnesota State University-Mankato

MN · #4

$37,845/yr · 15.9x ROI

The Ranking Matrix

All Romance Languages Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

Sort by

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Brigham Young University Provo, UT · Private nonprofit	57 48–57	$40,002/yr	26.4x
2	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI · Public	53 45–54	$59,220/yr	9.0x
3	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Eau Claire, WI · Public	52 42–52	$41,109/yr	15.4x
4	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	51 42–51	$37,845/yr	15.9x
5	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	51 42–52	$45,868/yr	13.6x
6	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX · Public	50 41–50	$46,860/yr	10.3x
7	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	50 41–51	$42,722/yr	15.3x
8	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY · Public	49 40–50	$37,654/yr	17.9x
9	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY · Public	49 40–50	$46,882/yr	14.9x
10	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · Public	48 39–49	$40,818/yr	10.1x
11	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA · Public	48 40–49	$36,237/yr	16.8x
12	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	48 40–49	$32,718/yr	16.1x
13	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Green Bay, WI · Public	48 38–48	$43,126/yr	13.9x
14	Idaho State University Pocatello, ID · Public	46 37–47	$38,054/yr	14.7x
15	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	46 37–47	$39,516/yr	11.4x
16	Utah State University Logan, UT · Public	46 39–46	$30,242/yr	17.0x
17	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI · Public	46 37–46	$35,720/yr	12.6x
18	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	45 36–46	$42,436/yr	10.1x
19	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA · Public	45 36–45	$34,117/yr	16.6x
20	New Jersey City University Jersey City, NJ · Public	45 36–46	$39,714/yr	9.7x
21	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	45 37–46	$34,929/yr	12.4x
22	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	45 40–46	$27,989/yr	23.8x
23	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	44 39–45	$27,578/yr	23.1x
24	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	44 35–45	$38,942/yr	8.8x
25	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN · Public	44 36–44	$33,307/yr	12.3x
26	University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln, NE · Public	44 35–44	$38,478/yr	11.9x
27	Western Carolina University Cullowhee, NC · Public	44 36–45	$36,179/yr	19.0x
28	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA · Private nonprofit	44 35–45	$51,120/yr	2.1x
29	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX · Public	44 35–45	$40,562/yr	12.2x
30	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	44 35–44	$34,572/yr	11.2x
31	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse La Crosse, WI · Public	44 35–44	$37,018/yr	12.6x
32	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI · Public	44 36–44	$33,705/yr	13.5x
33	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	43 34–44	$40,586/yr	9.5x
34	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	43 35–43	$32,236/yr	15.7x
35	Colgate University Hamilton, NY · Private nonprofit	43 35–44	$53,541/yr	2.0x
36	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY · Private nonprofit	43 35–44	$54,327/yr	1.9x
37	State University of New York at New Paltz New Paltz, NY · Public	43 37–43	$28,681/yr	16.6x
38	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC · Public	43 35–43	$32,508/yr	14.4x
39	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA · Public	43 35–44	$34,572/yr	11.0x
40	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA · Public	42 33–42	$35,635/yr	9.1x
41	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN · Private nonprofit	42 33–42	$46,030/yr	2.1x
42	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA · Public	42 33–42	$34,702/yr	12.5x
43	Bentley University Waltham, MA · Private nonprofit	42 35–43	$66,917/yr	1.9x
44	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	42 34–43	$52,210/yr	2.1x
45	Winona State University Winona, MN · Public	42 33–43	$41,866/yr	10.3x
46	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ · Public	42 33–43	$47,487/yr	7.0x
47	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY · Public	42 35–43	$30,534/yr	17.2x
48	University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC · Public	42 33–42	$35,208/yr	15.0x
49	Villanova University Villanova, PA · Private nonprofit	42 33–42	$45,088/yr	2.1x
50	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX · Private nonprofit	42 34–43	$57,858/yr	1.9x
51	University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public	42 33–43	$38,269/yr	6.7x
52	University of Georgia Athens, GA · Public	41 33–42	$33,169/yr	11.7x
53	Illinois State University Normal, IL · Public	41 33–42	$49,448/yr	6.3x
54	CUNY City College New York, NY · Public	41 37–41	$23,932/yr	19.6x
55	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY · Public	41 32–41	$37,442/yr	11.5x
56	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY · Public	41 32–42	$43,821/yr	9.3x
57	California State University-Channel Islands Camarillo, CA · Public	41 34–41	$30,502/yr	17.5x
58	Iowa State University Ames, IA · Public	40 31–40	$37,909/yr	10.3x
59	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	40 32–41	$35,591/yr	12.2x
60	Kean University Union, NJ · Public	40 31–41	$42,750/yr	7.8x
61	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	40 35–40	$26,557/yr	15.0x
62	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	39 31–40	$36,692/yr	8.4x
63	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	39 30–40	$36,444/yr	10.5x
64	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL · Public	39 32–39	$28,603/yr	19.4x
65	Westfield State University Westfield, MA · Public	39 30–40	$40,405/yr	7.5x
66	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY · Public	39 31–40	$35,941/yr	11.1x
67	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA · Private nonprofit	39 30–39	$39,694/yr	2.2x
68	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	39 31–40	$35,781/yr	10.1x
69	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX · Public	39 32–39	$30,291/yr	12.8x
70	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA · Public	39 29–39	$40,260/yr	4.7x
71	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	38 29–38	$36,200/yr	9.3x
72	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	38 29–38	$35,658/yr	7.6x
73	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	38 28–38	$39,220/yr	6.1x
74	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit	38 29–39	$47,208/yr	1.8x
75	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI · Public	38 30–39	$36,411/yr	11.4x
76	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	38 29–39	$42,436/yr	—
77	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	37 29–38	$33,901/yr	9.3x
78	California State University-Chico Chico, CA · Public	37 34–37	$22,917/yr	16.3x
79	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public	37 35–38	$20,070/yr	19.1x
80	Butler University Indianapolis, IN · Private nonprofit	37 28–37	$43,678/yr	2.4x
81	Amherst College Amherst, MA · Private nonprofit	37 28–38	$49,322/yr	0.8x
82	Tufts University Medford, MA · Private nonprofit	37 28–37	$49,164/yr	0.8x
83	University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC · Public	37 29–38	$35,191/yr	12.3x
84	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA · Public	37 28–37	$37,374/yr	7.2x
85	College of Charleston Charleston, SC · Public	37 29–37	$32,503/yr	9.3x
86	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	37 28–37	$39,209/yr	5.3x
87	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, TX · Public	37 28–37	$34,003/yr	10.0x
88	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	37 30–37	$29,329/yr	14.2x
89	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT · Public	37 29–37	$32,795/yr	7.4x
90	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT · Public	37 29–37	$32,795/yr	7.4x
91	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT · Public	37 29–37	$32,795/yr	7.4x
92	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT · Public	37 29–37	$32,795/yr	7.4x
93	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	36 30–36	$26,966/yr	9.9x
94	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT · Public	36 28–36	$32,795/yr	6.2x
95	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	36 27–37	$40,019/yr	2.0x
96	Ball State University Muncie, IN · Public	36 27–36	$37,553/yr	8.8x
97	DePauw University Greencastle, IN · Private nonprofit	36 27–37	$43,049/yr	2.0x
98	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	36 28–36	$31,622/yr	7.7x
99	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	36 31–37	$27,815/yr	10.5x
100	University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR · Public	35 32–35	$19,519/yr	13.9x
101	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA · Public	35 27–35	$32,934/yr	7.9x
102	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit	35 26–35	$35,767/yr	2.9x
103	Indiana University-Indianapolis Indianapolis, IN · Public	35 28–36	$32,084/yr	10.3x
104	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	35 30–35	$25,426/yr	15.2x
105	University of Portland Portland, OR · Private nonprofit	35 26–36	$41,018/yr	2.0x
106	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA · Private nonprofit	35 26–36	$45,300/yr	0.7x
107	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX · Public	35 28–35	$30,505/yr	9.9x
108	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	34 26–35	$34,484/yr	7.7x
109	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	34 31–34	$21,609/yr	16.4x
110	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	34 26–35	$36,297/yr	4.6x
111	Georgetown University Washington, DC · Private nonprofit	34 25–35	$46,190/yr	1.5x
112	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA · Public	34 29–35	$26,232/yr	13.4x
113	Boise State University Boise, ID · Public	34 29–34	$26,579/yr	12.9x
114	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	34 28–34	$28,746/yr	10.5x
115	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	34 25–34	$35,411/yr	5.0x
116	Concordia College at Moorhead Moorhead, MN · Private nonprofit	34 24–34	$40,212/yr	3.2x
117	Rutgers University-Camden Camden, NJ · Public	34 27–34	$31,335/yr	7.1x
118	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ · Public	34 27–34	$31,335/yr	7.0x
119	Rutgers University-Newark Newark, NJ · Public	34 27–35	$31,335/yr	7.3x
120	Cornell University Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit	34 26–34	$33,419/yr	2.1x
121	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA · Private nonprofit	34 25–35	$44,068/yr	0.7x
122	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	34 30–35	$25,814/yr	10.8x
123	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR · Public	34 25–34	$34,510/yr	5.9x
124	University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public	33 26–33	$29,330/yr	7.8x
125	University of the Pacific Stockton, CA · Private nonprofit	33 24–34	$43,472/yr	1.8x
126	San Diego State University San Diego, CA · Public	33 27–33	$28,182/yr	12.2x
127	Colby College Waterville, ME · Private nonprofit	33 24–34	$42,326/yr	0.6x
128	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	33 25–33	$31,569/yr	7.5x
129	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	33 25–33	$32,630/yr	7.1x
130	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	33 26–34	$31,174/yr	7.9x
131	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR · Public	33 25–34	$34,510/yr	5.4x
132	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC · Public	33 30–34	$21,411/yr	10.9x
133	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public	32 29–32	$18,490/yr	14.9x
134	Bates College Lewiston, ME · Private nonprofit	32 23–33	$40,395/yr	0.6x
135	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	32 29–33	$22,803/yr	8.3x
136	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY · Private nonprofit	32 23–33	$40,204/yr	0.5x
137	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	32 23–33	$39,825/yr	0.6x
138	University of Oregon Eugene, OR · Public	32 25–32	$29,765/yr	7.3x
139	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA · Public	32 25–32	$29,617/yr	7.8x
140	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private nonprofit	32 23–33	$41,033/yr	2.0x
141	DePaul University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	31 22–31	$39,207/yr	2.1x
142	University at Albany Albany, NY · Public	31 24–31	$30,810/yr	6.4x
143	Temple University Philadelphia, PA · Public	31 24–31	$30,970/yr	5.1x
144	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	31 27–31	$24,880/yr	10.4x
145	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX · Public	31 25–31	$27,138/yr	10.5x
146	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, CA · Public	30 24–30	$27,657/yr	8.3x
147	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	30 26–31	$24,453/yr	8.6x
148	Wheaton College Wheaton, IL · Private nonprofit	30 21–31	$37,025/yr	1.1x
149	Williams College Williamstown, MA · Private nonprofit	30 22–31	$37,968/yr	0.5x
150	Rowan University Glassboro, NJ · Public	30 22–30	$33,081/yr	5.8x
151	Fordham University Bronx, NY · Private nonprofit	30 21–31	$44,073/yr	1.2x
152	Hamilton College Clinton, NY · Private nonprofit	30 21–31	$41,946/yr	1.2x
153	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH · Public	30 23–30	$30,504/yr	4.6x
154	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	30 24–30	$27,427/yr	11.2x
155	Chapman University Orange, CA · Private nonprofit	29 21–30	$36,546/yr	0.5x
156	Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit	29 20–30	$38,068/yr	2.2x
157	Hope College Holland, MI · Private nonprofit	29 21–30	$35,992/yr	2.4x
158	Denison University Granville, OH · Private nonprofit	29 20–30	$42,992/yr	1.0x
159	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	29 22–29	$29,617/yr	5.0x
160	Wofford College Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit	29 20–29	$39,499/yr	1.5x
161	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	28 19–29	$41,865/yr	0.8x
162	Baylor University Waco, TX · Private nonprofit	28 20–28	$34,649/yr	0.6x
163	University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Oshkosh, WI · Public	28 23–28	$26,584/yr	7.1x
164	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	27 24–27	$20,433/yr	12.9x
165	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	27 23–28	$25,242/yr	7.5x
166	Central College Pella, IA · Private nonprofit	27 20–27	$30,211/yr	2.6x
167	Central Michigan University Mount Pleasant, MI · Public	27 21–27	$28,231/yr	6.8x
168	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	27 22–28	$27,312/yr	5.6x
169	Monmouth College Monmouth, IL · Private nonprofit	26 18–26	$32,036/yr	0.8x
170	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA · Private nonprofit	26 17–27	$36,776/yr	1.2x
171	St Olaf College Northfield, MN · Private nonprofit	26 18–26	$32,094/yr	0.4x
172	Portland State University Portland, OR · Public	26 20–26	$27,500/yr	7.7x
173	Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	25 16–25	$35,622/yr	1.3x
174	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY · Public	25 21–25	$24,967/yr	8.1x
175	Smith College Northampton, MA · Private nonprofit	25 16–25	$35,407/yr	1.1x
176	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH · Public	25 21–25	$23,739/yr	8.5x
177	University of Redlands Redlands, CA · Private nonprofit	24 18–24	$27,731/yr	1.9x
178	Dominican University River Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	24 17–24	$29,102/yr	0.9x
179	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA · Private nonprofit	24 16–24	$32,356/yr	1.3x
180	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA · Private nonprofit	24 17–24	$29,859/yr	0.4x
181	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit	23 16–23	$31,752/yr	1.7x
182	Centre College Danville, KY · Private nonprofit	23 20–23	$19,503/yr	-0.0x
183	Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit	22 17–22	$26,952/yr	0.6x
184	Drew University Madison, NJ · Private nonprofit	21 15–21	$27,823/yr	2.0x
185	Nazareth University Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit	21 16–21	$25,979/yr	0.6x
186	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	21 18–22	$22,734/yr	5.9x
187	Grinnell College Grinnell, IA · Private nonprofit	20 14–20	$28,691/yr	1.3x
188	Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	20 16–20	$24,773/yr	0.2x
189	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	20 16–21	$25,035/yr	1.7x
190	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY · Private nonprofit	19 13–19	$28,999/yr	1.0x
191	Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH · Private nonprofit	19 15–20	$23,537/yr	0.1x
192	Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA · Private nonprofit	19 15–20	$23,699/yr	0.0x
193	Augustana College Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit	18 14–18	$24,208/yr	1.8x
194	Washington & Jefferson College Washington, PA · Private nonprofit	18 15–18	$19,700/yr	0.7x
195	Seattle University Seattle, WA · Private nonprofit	18 13–19	$28,082/yr	1.2x
196	Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA · Private nonprofit	17 12–17	$26,013/yr	1.1x
197	Willamette University Salem, OR · Private nonprofit	17 12–18	$27,044/yr	1.2x
198	Allegheny College Meadville, PA · Private nonprofit	16 13–17	$21,822/yr	1.6x

FAQ

Frequently asked

What is the best school for Romance Languages?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, Brigham Young University ranks #1 for Romance Languages with a score of 57/100 and graduate earnings of $40,002/yr.

How much do Romance Languages graduates earn?

Across 198 schools, Romance Languages graduates earn an average of $34,638/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $66,917/yr.

Is Romance Languages a good major for AI resistance?

Romance Languages has an average AI task exposure of 61%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Programs are ranked by DegreeOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.