Linguistics

CIP Code: 16.0102

A linguistics degree prepares graduates for careers in Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, Interpreters and translators. 159 colleges and universities offer this program.

Annual Degrees Awarded

2,847

                Colleges Offering
                159
            

                Avg. Career Salary
                $68,225
            

                Top Career Salary
                $77,010
            

Linguistics Salary by College

Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $49,984 four years after graduating (middle half: $32,888–$69,881). Where you study it matters: across 90 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $29,715 to $88,098.

Sort by:

#	College	4 yrs after	Wage-adjusted	1 yr after	Median debt	Outcome Rating
1	Duke University Durham, NC	$88,098	$94,542	—	—	A+
2	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	$78,746	$69,344	—	—	A
3	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$76,993	$79,703	—	$19,760	A+
4	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$76,724	$69,814	$25,059	$14,000	A+
5	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	$73,971	$67,357	$43,923	—	A
6	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	$68,263	$62,160	$37,389	$22,500	A
7	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	$66,241	$67,348	—	$19,500	A
8	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	$65,667	$69,238	—	$24,915	A
9	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$65,574	$57,460	$28,278	$17,500	A+
10	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$64,547	$61,435	$24,407	$18,938	A
11	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$62,927	$57,259	$30,524	$15,000	A+
12	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$62,366	$56,790	$45,122	$18,879	B+
13	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	$61,774	$60,693	$25,921	$19,500	A+
14	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$61,580	$56,034	$27,629	$13,000	A
15	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	$61,080	$65,491	$35,409	$18,500	A
16	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	$60,883	$53,436	$16,796	$22,345	A
17	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$60,469	$57,310	$34,279	$11,742	A
18	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	$60,031	$64,422	$34,099	$19,000	A
19	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	$59,742	$60,740	$32,185	$21,696	A+
20	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$58,931	$53,662	$40,105	$19,500	B+
21	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	$58,443	$53,179	$22,965	$13,798	A
22	Ashford University San Diego, CA	$56,666	$51,562	$37,853	$30,073	F
23	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	$55,778	$59,858	$24,657	$20,625	C+
24	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	$55,776	$50,753	$19,809	$14,497	A+
25	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	$55,647	$52,041	—	$15,479	C+
26	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	$55,540	$51,085	—	—	A
27	University of Southern Maine Portland, ME	$55,435	$58,913	$27,895	$23,018	C
28	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	$55,352	$60,463	$33,415	$27,000	C+
29	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	$55,137	$58,136	$27,699	$13,720	A+
30	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	$54,985	$55,904	$31,993	$20,205	A
31	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	$54,276	$55,769	$38,177	$20,500	C+
32	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$54,215	$51,601	$26,353	$20,843	A
33	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$54,181	$58,144	$24,658	$16,782	A+
34	Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA	$53,564	$48,775	—	—	C+
35	Gordon College Wenham, MA	$53,475	$47,090	—	—	D
36	Western Illinois University Macomb, IL	$53,453	$52,517	$37,155	$29,875	C
37	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA	$53,282	$48,518	—	$21,021	C+
38	Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ	$53,085	$46,592	$31,622	$22,925	B
39	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	$52,805	$54,258	—	—	B
40	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	$52,703	$57,572	$31,713	$20,612	B+
41	Clemson University Clemson, SC	$52,044	$57,709	$29,560	$22,250	A+
42	Portland State University Portland, OR	$51,925	$52,231	—	$23,499	C+
43	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX	$51,494	$52,354	$38,375	$19,495	D
44	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	$51,416	$52,291	$37,859	$21,750	A
45	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	$50,926	$47,626	$29,803	$24,867	F
46	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	$50,571	$48,133	—	—	B+
47	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	$49,763	$45,281	$21,793	$16,740	B+
48	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	$49,732	$45,253	$24,961	—	C
49	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$48,959	$44,549	—	—	B
50	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA	$48,495	$49,320	$29,821	$27,000	C
51	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	$48,331	$57,178	$32,684	$20,916	B+
52	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$48,198	$51,301	$30,205	$17,758	A+
53	Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO	$47,362	$44,293	—	—	D
54	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL	$46,915	$49,935	$32,756	$19,500	B
55	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	$46,886	$47,162	$23,615	$20,680	B
56	University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE	$46,595	$48,158	$33,828	$12,250	C
57	Towson University Towson, MD	$46,447	$40,763	—	—	C+
58	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	$46,306	$42,135	$20,212	$17,500	B+
59	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	$46,081	$44,017	$28,340	$16,677	A
60	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	$45,607	$41,529	$30,635	$21,627	C
61	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	$45,148	$51,121	$27,449	$26,000	B+
62	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	$44,941	$47,959	$27,788	$19,798	A
63	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	$44,841	$42,679	$26,703	$16,525	B+
64	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	$44,615	$41,036	$24,232	$19,798	C+
65	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$44,336	$42,020	$30,251	$20,250	B+
66	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	$43,813	$46,633	$28,658	$14,250	B+
67	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	$43,666	$47,700	$34,856	$18,578	C
68	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	$43,012	$46,158	$35,561	$24,250	B
69	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$42,922	$39,056	$22,001	$11,000	B
70	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	$42,905	$42,154	$25,921	$23,625	C
71	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	$42,321	$45,403	—	$18,635	A
72	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN	$42,031	$45,914	—	—	C+
73	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	$42,017	$36,878	$23,754	$26,375	C+
74	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX	$41,778	$42,476	—	$27,000	C+
75	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	$41,766	$44,782	$29,830	$20,250	C
76	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	$41,124	$42,238	$14,094	$21,625	B+
77	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO	$40,768	$43,712	$20,319	$23,282	C+
78	Iowa State University Ames, IA	$40,726	$42,839	$25,065	$23,250	B+
79	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	$40,641	$46,131	—	$22,000	C+
80	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	$40,432	$46,814	$27,720	$19,125	F
81	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	$40,310	$41,729	$16,568	$21,588	D
82	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX	$39,907	$40,574	$26,475	$16,502	C
83	University of Memphis Memphis, TN	$39,001	$42,604	$23,533	$21,279	C
84	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$38,996	$35,484	$18,393	$11,543	B
85	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	$38,926	$41,043	$20,939	$20,195	C+
86	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	$38,631	$45,523	—	—	C
87	University of North Texas Denton, TX	$37,441	$38,067	$20,522	$19,750	C+
88	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$32,939	$29,972	$21,501	—	C
89	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	$31,036	$35,935	$27,366	—	C
90	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$29,715	$27,039	$22,723	$12,979	C+

Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.

What Can You Do With a Linguistics Degree?

Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:

Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary

$77,010 -0.2% growth

View Career →

Interpreters and translators

$59,440 +1.7% growth

View Career →

$68,225

Average Salary Across Careers

$77,010

Highest Paying Career

Career Paths Available

Best Colleges for Linguistics

Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in linguistics.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor, MI	34	A+
2	University of California-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	34	A+
3	University of California-Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	74	A
4	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	65	A
5	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	58	A
6	The University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	38	A
7	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	36	A
8	William & Mary	Williamsburg, VA	34	A
9	University of Georgia	Athens, GA	34	A
10	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	28	A
11	Boston University	Boston, MA	27	A
12	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	25	A
13	Georgetown University	Washington, DC	76	B+
14	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Pittsburgh, PA	71	B+
15	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Amherst, MA	55	B+
16	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Seattle, WA	55	B+
17	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY	51	B+
18	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Columbus, OH	42	B+
19	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Brunswick, NJ	42	B+
20	University of California-Davis	Davis, CA	36	B+
21	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, IL	34	B+
22	California State University-Long Beach	Long Beach, CA	33	B+
23	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minneapolis, MN	31	B+
24	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Madison, WI	28	B+
25	Brigham Young University	Provo, UT	55	B
26	University of California-Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	52	B
27	University of California-Riverside	Riverside, CA	44	B
28	Montclair State University	Montclair, NJ	42	B
29	University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, CO	38	B
30	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	34	B

Largest Linguistics Programs

Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most linguistics graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	Georgetown University	Washington, DC	76	B+
2	University of California-Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	74	A
3	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Pittsburgh, PA	71	B+
4	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	65	A
5	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	58	A
6	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Seattle, WA	55	B+
7	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Amherst, MA	55	B+
8	Brigham Young University	Provo, UT	55	B
9	University of California-Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	52	B
10	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY	51	B+
11	University of California-Riverside	Riverside, CA	44	B
12	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Columbus, OH	42	B+
13	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Brunswick, NJ	42	B+
14	Montclair State University	Montclair, NJ	42	B
15	The University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, TX	39	C+
16	The University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	38	A
17	University of Colorado Boulder	Boulder, CO	38	B
18	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	36	A
19	University of California-Davis	Davis, CA	36	B+
20	Teachers College at Columbia University	New York, NY	35	C
21	University of California-Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	34	A+
22	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor, MI	34	A+
23	William & Mary	Williamsburg, VA	34	A
24	University of Georgia	Athens, GA	34	A
25	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, IL	34	B+
26	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	34	B
27	California State University-Long Beach	Long Beach, CA	33	B+
28	Indiana University-Bloomington	Bloomington, IN	32	B
29	Michigan State University	East Lansing, MI	32	B
30	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minneapolis, MN	31	B+

2,847

Degrees Awarded Annually

159

Colleges Offering Program

Related Careers

About Linguistics

Linguistics is a degree program offered at 159 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 2,847 students graduate with this degree.

Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, interpreters and translators.

Program Classification

CIP Code 16.0102

Field (2-digit CIP) 16

Category (4-digit CIP) 16.01

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do with a Linguistics degree?

A Linguistics degree can lead to careers as a foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, interpreters and translators, and more. Top earners in related careers can make up to $77,010 annually.

How many colleges offer Linguistics?

159 colleges and universities in the United States offer Linguistics as a degree program. Each year, approximately 2,847 students graduate with this degree.

What are the best colleges for Linguistics?

The best colleges for Linguistics based on Repit's ratings include University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of California-Los Angeles, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of Florida, University of California-Berkeley. Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.

What is the salary potential with a Linguistics degree?

Graduates with a Linguistics degree can expect average salaries around $68,225 in related careers, with top earners making up to $77,010. Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.

Linguistics

Linguistics Salary by College

What Can You Do With a Linguistics Degree?

Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary

Interpreters and translators

Best Colleges for Linguistics

Largest Linguistics Programs

About Linguistics

Program Classification

Frequently Asked Questions

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