College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 212 colleges (212 of 212 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$31,312

Graduates only, early career.$32,332 two years out.

Median federal debt

$20,450

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.66×

66% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics report early-career pay between $26,825 and $34,934 — a spread of $8,109 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $26,825 median $31,312 75th pct $34,934

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 212 colleges $31,312 $20,450 0.66×

Master's 3 colleges $52,205 $17,995 0.39×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Marist University NY $45,890 —

Bucknell University PA $45,358 $23,250 debt

Columbia University in the City of New York NY $45,021 $20,250 debt

Colby College ME $44,612 $17,500 debt

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI $43,580 $24,339 debt

Oklahoma State University-Main Campus OK $43,481 —

Southern Connecticut State University CT $43,453 $16,750 debt

Southern Methodist University TX $43,384 $19,730 debt

University of Utah UT $43,095 —

Iowa State University IA $42,285 $24,246 debt

George Washington University DC $42,187 —

Sam Houston State University TX $42,177 —

College of Saint Benedict MN $42,025 —

University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV $40,852 —

Fordham University NY $40,748 $27,000 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard