Career outlook
What can I do with a degree in languages?
A language degree prepares graduates to communicate with people worldwide and understand other cultural critical skills in a global society. Our programs are not just about learning a new language, though developing fluency is one of the goals. Our students learn to think critically about our globalized world and to see it through many different cultural, historical and political lenses.
You will be equipped with the skills you need for diverse professions and responsible global citizenship. Not only can you teach or be an interpreter or translator, but language can take you all over the globe and down different career paths, such as in business, law, medicine, journalism, and tourism. When you partner language with another area of interest, you add a global piece to your résumé.
Transferable skills
A language degree offers skills in:
- Critical thinking
- Communication
- Creativity
- Adaptability
- Time management
- Increased understanding of global, economic and political matters
- Rapport and relationship-building skills
Careers insights by degree
- Undergraduate programs
Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies
Bachelor of Arts in World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
- Asian Studies
- Chinese
- Classics, Greek and Latin
- French and Francophone Studies
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Near Eastern Languages and Cultures
- Spanish
Undergraduate Certificate in Arabic for the Health Care Professions
Undergraduate Certificate in Conversational and Professional French
Undergraduate Certificate in Practical French
Undergraduate Certificate in Professional Arabic
- Graduate programs
Still want more information about what degree is right for you? Visit our career insights explorer tool to learn more.
Graduate study
This degree also provides a solid foundation for graduate study.
- M.A. or Ph.D. in area studies, language, second language acquisition, sociology, psychology, etc.
- M.A. or Ph.D. in higher education, K-12 or student affairs
- Medical school
- Law school
- M.B.A.
Notable people with a language major
- J.K. Rowling majored in French; novelist, film producer, author and writer. She is most famously known for the Harry Potter series.
- Bill Clinton studied German; 42nd president of the United States, and gave a speech in Germany, speaking in German, in 1994.
- W.E.B. Dubois majored in Classics; social activist and co-founder of NAACP.
- Mayim Bialik majored in Hebrew, Jewish Studies and neuroscience; actress most famously known for role in Big Bang Theory.
- Miriam Rivera majored in Spanish; business owner and advisor Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford.
- Condoleezza Rice studied Russian language and political science; First female African-American secretary of state and the second female secretary of state (after Madeleine Albright, who also studied Russian).
- Andrew Nagorski studied in Poland; award-winning journalist who served as Newsweek's bureau chief in Hong Kong, Moscow, Rome, Bonn, Warsaw, and Berlin, and the author of many books, his most well-known being The Nazi Hunters (2016).