CIP 16.0102 Foreign Languages and Linguistics

Linguistics

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

2,675

2025 · 155 schools

International share

11.7%

312 international students

Bachelor's degrees

1,975

4.7% international

Master's degrees

451

25.7% international

Overview

Linguistics is the scientific study of language and its structure, encompassing various aspects such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. This interdisciplinary field examines how languages are formed, understood, and used in social contexts. Linguists explore the complexities of language, including how it evolves over time and how it varies across different cultures and communities.

Students studying linguistics engage in analyzing the sounds and patterns that make up languages, as well as the rules governing their combination. They may investigate language acquisition, focusing on how children learn languages, or delve into sociolinguistics, which studies how language interacts with social factors like class, gender, and ethnicity. Another area of interest is psycholinguistics, which explores the cognitive processes involved in language comprehension and production.

Linguistics has practical applications in various fields, including education, artificial intelligence, translation, and speech therapy. For example, understanding linguistic principles can enhance language teaching methods or improve natural language processing technologies. With the growing importance of globalization and communication, linguistics is increasingly relevant, providing insights into cross-cultural interactions and the role of language in shaping human experience.

A degree in linguistics opens up diverse career opportunities, including academia, research, language policy, and roles in tech companies focused on language technologies. Overall, linguistics offers a rich and rewarding field of study for those interested in the complexities of human communication.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

1,626 02

1,734 03

1,900 04

1,949 05

2,148 06

2,256 07

2,441 08

2,521 09

2,660 10

2,861 11

3,206 12

3,274 13

3,329 14

3,391 15

3,360 16

3,172 17

3,166 18

3,159 19

2,998 20

3,105 21

2,970 22

2,808 23

2,740 24

2,675 25

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates grew 65% and the international share went from 19.8% to 11.7%.

International share (%)

20 02

20 03

18 04

18 05

16 06

15 07

14 08

13 09

12 10

12 11

12 12

11 13

11 14

13 15

12 16

13 17

13 18

13 19

11 20

13 21

12 22

13 23

12 24

12 25

Graduates by group, 2025

White

47.7%

Asian

10.2%

Hispanic

16.0%

Black

3.2%

Other

11.2%

Intl.

11.7%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 155 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

Rank	School	State	Graduates	International
#1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Massachusetts	9	7
#2	Princeton University	New Jersey	6	1
#3	Harvard University	Massachusetts	12	6
#4	Yale University	Connecticut	14	5
#5	Stanford University	California	22	4
#7	University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	5	2
#8	Duke University	North Carolina	2	0
#9	University of Chicago	Illinois	16	5
#9	Northwestern University	Illinois	18	3
#12	Dartmouth College	New Hampshire	6	3
#12	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York	6	0
#14	Cornell University	New York	16	6
#14	Carnegie Mellon University	Pennsylvania	4	2
#16	Washington University in St Louis	Missouri	12	2
#16	Brown University	Rhode Island	2	0
#16	Rice University	Texas	7	0
#20	University of California-Berkeley	California	62	6
#20	University of California-Los Angeles	California	40	11
#23	Georgetown University	D.C.	49	11
#23	Emory University	Georgia	6	4
#25	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	Michigan	33	6
#26	University of Virginia-Main Campus	Virginia	6	4
#27	University of Southern California	California	11	5
#27	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	North Carolina	20	3
#31	Boston College	Massachusetts	3	0
#34	University of California-Davis	California	56	2
#34	University of Florida	Florida	40	3
#34	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Illinois	27	5
#34	Boston University	Massachusetts	22	3
#34	The University of Texas at Austin	Texas	43	3
#34	University of Wisconsin-Madison	Wisconsin	21	0
#42	Northeastern University	Massachusetts	8	0
#44	University of California-Santa Barbara	California	11	5
#44	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	New Jersey	60	5
#44	Ohio State University-Main Campus	Ohio	33	2
#49	University of Maryland-College Park	Maryland	21	5
#49	University of Rochester	New York	16	1
#49	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	Washington	52	4
#52	University of Georgia	Georgia	20	2
#52	College of William and Mary	Virginia	18	0
#55	The Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania	5	4
#55	Purdue University-Main Campus	Indiana	18	5
#59	Florida State University	Florida	8	0
#59	Tulane University of Louisiana	Louisiana	8	0
#59	Brandeis University	Massachusetts	9	0
#59	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	Massachusetts	38	5
#59	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	Minnesota	13	0
#59	Stony Brook University	New York	48	1
#59	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	Pennsylvania	35	5
#69	Michigan State University	Michigan	15	2
#72	Syracuse University	New York	14	9
#73	University of Connecticut	Connecticut	14	3
#73	Indiana University-Bloomington	Indiana	20	7
#73	Binghamton University	New York	27	2
#80	University of California-Riverside	California	22	1
#85	University of Delaware	Delaware	21	7
#85	University at Buffalo	New York	23	4
#90	Baylor University	Texas	5	0
#95	University of Illinois at Chicago	Illinois	1	0
#95	University of Missouri-Columbia	Missouri	11	0
#100	Florida International University	Florida	1	0
#100	University of South Florida-Main Campus	Florida	6	1
#100	University of Iowa	Iowa	19	4
#109	University of California-Santa Cruz	California	52	0
#109	University of Colorado Boulder	Colorado	38	3
#109	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	New Hampshire	12	0
#116	Iowa State University	Iowa	13	0
#116	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	Oklahoma	7	0
#116	University of Oregon	Oregon	24	4
#116	Brigham Young University-Provo	Utah	58	2
#121	Arizona State University-Tempe	Arizona	18	4
#121	University of Arizona	Arizona	32	2
#121	SUNY at Albany	New York	17	0
#121	University of South Carolina-Columbia	South Carolina	8	2
#133	Miami University-Oxford	Ohio	7	0
#133	University of Vermont	Vermont	14	0
#137	California State University--Long Beach	California	46	4
#137	San Diego State University	California	22	3
#137	San Jose State University	California	11	0
#137	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1	0
#148	University of Kansas	Kansas	21	2
#148	University of Kentucky	Kentucky	9	0
#156	California State University-Fullerton	California	20	0
#156	Montclair State University	New Jersey	53	1
#156	CUNY--City College	New York	4	2
#179	Gallaudet University	D.C.	2	0
#179	University of Utah	Utah	17	4
#186	University of Hawaii at Manoa	Hawaii	21	4
#186	Wayne State University	Michigan	9	1
#191	Georgia State University	Georgia	24	0
#191	Hofstra University	New York	10	0
#208	California State University--Fresno	California	16	1
#208	University of North Texas	Texas	27	0
#227	Ball State University	Indiana	4	2
#227	West Chester University of Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania	1	0
#227	West Virginia University	West Virginia	8	4
#236	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	New Mexico	15	3
#236	Portland State University	Oregon	23	1
#236	University of Texas-Arlington	Texas	14	2
#262	University of Texas--El Paso	Texas	24	0
#262	Seattle Pacific University	Washington	3	0
#276	Northern Arizona University	Arizona	3	0
#288	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	Illinois	17	5
#288	University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee	Wisconsin	15	2
#299	Boise State University	Idaho	13	0
#308	Oakland University	Michigan	11	0
#342	Cleveland State University	Ohio	7	1
#353	University of Michigan--Flint	Michigan	1	0
#353	University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras	Puerto Rico	4	0
#365	University of Central Arkansas	Arkansas	5	0
#365	The University of Montana	Montana	4	1
#365	Liberty University	Virginia	31	1
#382	University of Alaska Fairbanks	Alaska	5	0
#382	University of Southern Maine	Maine	11	0
LAC #3	Pomona College	California	8	0
LAC #3	Swarthmore College	Pennsylvania	9	0
LAC #16	Carleton College	Minnesota	5	0
LAC #26	Haverford College	Pennsylvania	3	0
LAC #28	Macalester College	Minnesota	7	1
LAC #29	Bucknell University	Pennsylvania	2	0
LAC #31	Bryn Mawr College	Pennsylvania	7	1
LAC #38	Scripps College	California	4	0
LAC #44	Pitzer College	California	3	0
LAC #60	Reed College	Oregon	8	0
LAC #68	Lawrence University	Wisconsin	7	1
LAC #83	Earlham College	Indiana	4	1
LAC #132	Bennington College	Vermont	1	1
LAC #138	Truman State University	Missouri	7	0
LAC #146	Gordon College	Massachusetts	4	0
LAC #153	University of Hawaii--Hilo	Hawaii	10	0
—	Western Washington University	Washington	31	1
—	Benedictine University	Illinois	28	0
—	Teachers College at Columbia University	New York	24	13
—	California State University-Northridge	California	21	0
—	CUNY Graduate School and University Center	New York	16	5
—	Long Beach City College	California	15	1
—	Cedarville University	Ohio	15	0
—	CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College	New York	14	2
—	Northeastern Illinois University	Illinois	9	1
—	CUNY Queens College	New York	9	0
—	CUNY Brooklyn College	New York	8	0
—	California State University-San Marcos	California	8	0
—	Monterey Peninsula College	California	5	0
—	Metropolitan State University of Denver	Colorado	5	0
—	University of Minnesota-Duluth	Minnesota	4	0
—	CUNY Lehman College	New York	4	0
—	Pasadena City College	California	3	0
—	Hampshire College	Massachusetts	3	0
—	Union University	Tennessee	3	0
—	Eastern Michigan University	Michigan	2	0
—	Central College	Iowa	1	0
—	Simon's Rock at Bard College	New York	1	0
—	State University of New York at Oswego	New York	1	0
—	Carson-Newman University	Tennessee	1	0
—	Lee University	Tennessee	1	0