Majors

Best Colleges for Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services, by Earnings

285 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services, about 4,811 degrees a year. Across the 88 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $50,749 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Duke University	NC	$88,098	29	5.7%
2	Brandeis University	MA	$78,746	18	40.5%
3	Emory University	GA	$76,993	13	10.7%
4	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$76,724	88	11%
5	Virginia Military Institute	VA	$73,971	16	71.3%
6	Virginia Tech	VA	$68,263	53	54.8%
7	Texas A&M University	TX	$66,241	13	57.4%
8	Michigan State University	MI	$65,667	11	84.8%
9	Georgetown University	DC	$65,574	24	12.9%
10	Stony Brook University	NY	$64,547	39	49%
11	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$62,927	125	9%
12	James Madison University	VA	$62,366	34	71.5%
13	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$61,774	17	42.4%
14	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	$61,580	125	33%
15	University of Missouri	MO	$61,080	45	78.5%
16	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$60,883	41	58.1%
17	Brigham Young University	UT	$60,469	60	67.8%
18	North Carolina State University	NC	$60,031	64	41.7%
19	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$59,742	26	26.6%
20	George Mason University	VA	$58,931	34	87.5%
21	University of California-Davis	CA	$58,443	48	41.8%
22	The University of Arizona Global Campus	AZ	$56,666	5
23	Appalachian State University	NC	$55,778	25	90.1%
24	University of California-San Diego	CA	$55,776	13	26.7%
25	Colorado State University	CO	$55,647	37	88.5%
26	University of Washington	WA	$55,540	57	39.1%
27	University of Southern Maine	ME	$55,435	19	79.2%
28	Montana State University	MT	$55,352	26	82.1%
29	University of Michigan	MI	$55,137	32	15.6%
30	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	$54,985	37	65.1%
31	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$54,276	39	89.6%
32	Binghamton University	NY	$54,215	38	38.6%
33	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$54,181	48	15.3%
34	Christopher Newport University	VA	$53,564	13	86%
35	Gordon College	MA	$53,475	6	69.2%
36	Western Illinois University	IL	$53,453	9	71.2%
37	University of Mary Washington	VA	$53,282	19	79.8%
38	University of Arizona	AZ	$52,805	27	86.1%
39	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$52,703	47	41.6%
40	Clemson University	SC	$52,044	16	38.3%
41	Portland State University	OR	$51,925	17	90.9%
42	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	$51,494	7	94%
43	University of Pittsburgh	PA	$51,416	15	58.1%
44	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$50,926	32	98.8%
45	Hofstra University	NY	$50,571	6	68.1%
46	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	$49,763	175	65.8%
47	San Francisco State University	CA	$48,959	10	96.4%
48	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	$48,495	16	93.1%
49	University of Florida	FL	$48,198	109	24.2%
50	Colorado State University Pueblo	CO	$47,362	3	94.9%
51	Florida Atlantic University	FL	$46,915	15	66.1%
52	University of Oregon	OR	$46,886	39	88.3%
53	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	$46,595	20	87%
54	Towson University	MD	$46,447	18	82%
55	University of California-Riverside	CA	$46,306	47	76.4%
56	University of Minnesota	MN	$46,081	22	79.8%
57	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	$45,607	5	92.6%
58	University of Kentucky	KY	$45,148	29	92.9%
59	Ohio State University	OH	$44,941	36	60.6%
60	University at Buffalo	NY	$44,841	23	74.2%
61	Western Washington University	WA	$44,615	33	93.3%
62	University of Utah	UT	$44,336	22	86%
63	University of South Florida	FL	$43,813	68	43.2%
64	Middle Tennessee State University	TN	$43,666	37	69.1%
65	East Carolina University	NC	$43,012	15	89.2%
66	San Diego State University	CA	$42,922	26	36.2%
67	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$42,905	28	86.9%
68	Indiana University	IN	$42,321	25	78.2%
69	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga	TN	$42,031	17	81.1%
70	Montclair State University	NJ	$42,017	55	87.9%
71	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	$41,778	38	86.8%
72	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$41,766	32	90.5%
73	University of Vermont	VT	$41,124	7	65.3%
74	University of Missouri-St Louis	MO	$40,768	12	62.7%
75	Iowa State University	IA	$40,726	19	88.7%
76	University of South Alabama	AL	$40,641	7	71%
77	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	$40,432	46	89%
78	Georgia State University	GA	$40,310	29	55.4%
79	The University of Texas at El Paso	TX	$39,907	25	99.9%
80	University of Memphis	TN	$39,001	48	72%
81	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$38,996	48	46.3%
82	Wayne State University	MI	$38,926	18	81.2%
83	University of Central Arkansas	AR	$38,631	17	89.5%
84	University of North Texas	TX	$37,441	22	72.2%
85	California State University-Northridge	CA	$32,939	21	93.5%
86	University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras	PR	$31,930	98	54.6%
87	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$31,036	9	95.2%
88	California State University-Fullerton	CA	$29,715	15	90.5%

197 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services graduates?

Duke University ($88,098), Brandeis University ($78,746), Emory University ($76,993), University of California-Berkeley ($76,724), Virginia Military Institute ($73,971) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services majors make?

The median across 88 colleges is $50,749 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $29,715 to $88,098.

Which colleges have the biggest Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of California-Santa Cruz (175), University of California-Los Angeles (125), University of California-Santa Barbara (125), University of Florida (109), University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras (98).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.