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CIP 16.0901 Foreign Languages and Linguistics

French Language and Literature

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

Total graduates

1,775

2025 · 305 schools

International share

8.2%

146 international students

Bachelor's degrees

1,470

4.6% international

Master's degrees

155

36.1% international

Overview

French Language and Literature is a vibrant and comprehensive academic field that explores the French language, its literature, and cultural contexts. This major typically encompasses the study of various literary genres, critical theories, and historical periods, ranging from medieval texts to contemporary works. Students delve into the nuances of the French language, enhancing their proficiency through reading, writing, and oral communication.

The curriculum often includes the analysis of notable authors such as Victor Hugo, Marcel Proust, and Simone de Beauvoir, as well as movements like Romanticism, Existentialism, and Surrealism. Students are encouraged to engage with literary criticism and theory, allowing them to interpret texts in depth and understand their significance within broader cultural and historical frameworks.

In addition to literature, the program may cover French culture, philosophy, and cinema, providing a holistic understanding of the Francophone world. Students are often encouraged to study abroad in French-speaking countries, which enriches their language skills and cultural insights.

Graduates with a degree in French Language and Literature often pursue careers in education, translation, international relations, and cultural institutions. The skills acquired—such as critical thinking, communication, and analytical abilities—are highly valued in various fields. Overall, this major not only fosters a deep appreciation for French literary heritage but also equips students with valuable competencies for a globalized job market.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates fell 54% and the international share went from 6.1% to 8.2%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
62.0%
Asian
4.2%
Hispanic
10.7%
Black
5.8%
Other
9.1%
Intl.
8.2%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 305 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.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#2 Princeton University New Jersey 15 4
#4 Yale University Connecticut 12 7
#5 Stanford University California 3 0
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2 0
#8 Duke University North Carolina 2 0
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 2 1
#12 Dartmouth College New Hampshire 3 1
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 17 7
#14 Cornell University New York 2 1
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 1 1
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 11 0
#20 University of California-Berkeley California 14 2
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 5 2
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 2 0
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 6 0
#23 Emory University Georgia 4 3
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 8 1
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 13 3
#27 University of Southern California California 6 1
#31 Boston College Massachusetts 6 3
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 1 0
#31 New York University New York 15 6
#34 University of California-Davis California 1 0
#34 University of California-Irvine California 2 0
#34 University of Florida Florida 5 2
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 5 1
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 4 0
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 2 0
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 17 1
#42 Villanova University Pennsylvania 1 0
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 6 0
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 6 1
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 7 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 8 0
#49 University of Rochester New York 2 0
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 13 1
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 12 0
#52 College of William and Mary Virginia 2 0
#55 University of Miami Florida 1 0
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 23 5
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 4 1
#59 George Washington University D.C. 2 0
#59 Florida State University Florida 6 1
#59 Tulane University of Louisiana Louisiana 2 0
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 7 0
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 9 0
#59 Stony Brook University New York 5 0
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 6 0
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 8 0
#72 Syracuse University New York 4 2
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 6 0
#73 Howard University D.C. 1 0
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 13 2
#73 Binghamton University New York 4 0
#80 University of California-Riverside California 2 0
#80 Pepperdine University California 4 0
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 1 0
#85 University at Buffalo New York 9 1
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 10 1
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 1 0
#90 Gonzaga University Washington 1 0
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 4 2
#100 Auburn University Alabama 1 0
#100 Chapman University California 8 0
#100 University of San Diego California 1 0
#100 Florida International University Florida 2 0
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 2 0
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 4 0
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 2 0
#100 Creighton University Nebraska 1 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 1 0
#109 Loyola Marymount University California 2 1
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 2 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 6 1
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 2 1
#116 University of San Francisco California 1 0
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 3 1
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 3 0
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 8 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 14 0
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 15 7
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 2 0
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 3 0
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 1 0
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 3 1
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 1 0
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 5 1
#137 San Diego State University California 3 0
#137 San Jose State University California 1 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 2 0
#148 California State University-Los Angeles California 3 0
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 1 0
#148 Mercer University Georgia 2 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 10 0
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 3 2
#148 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 1 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 12 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 1 0
#156 Montclair State University New Jersey 7 0
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 16 0
#169 DePaul University Illinois 1 0
#169 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska 8 0
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 8 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 1 0
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 4 1
#179 University of Utah Utah 5 0
#179 Seattle University Washington 1 0
#186 California Lutheran University California 2 0
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 3 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 6 1
#191 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma 2 0
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 12 3
#202 University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts 1 0
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 4 0
#208 California State University--Fresno California 1 0
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 2 0
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 1 0
#208 Xavier University Ohio 1 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 1 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 7 1
#219 Illinois State University Illinois 1 0
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 1 0
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 9 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 4 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 2 0
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 1 0
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 3 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 1 0
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 3 2
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 4 0
#236 Pacific University Oregon 1 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 1 0
#236 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 1 0
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 2 0
#250 Lipscomb University Tennessee 2 0
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 2 0
#262 University of Maine Maine 1 0
#262 Andrews University Michigan 1 0
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 2 0
#276 Harding University Arkansas 2 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 5 0
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 1 0
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 2 0
#288 Texas State University Texas 3 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 5 0
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 3 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 3 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 3 0
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 1 0
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 3 0
#308 Oakland University Michigan 3 0
#308 Montana State University Montana 2 0
#353 University of Louisiana--Lafayette Louisiana 2 1
#365 Northern Kentucky University Kentucky 1 0
#382 Valdosta State University Georgia 7 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 6 0
#382 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Puerto Rico 8 0
LAC #1 Williams College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #2 Amherst College Massachusetts 10 2
LAC #3 Pomona College California 1 1
LAC #3 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #9 The United States Military Academy at West Point New York 5 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 4 1
LAC #12 Vassar College New York 5 0
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 4 1
LAC #16 Grinnell College Iowa 4 0
LAC #16 Davidson College North Carolina 1 0
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 2 0
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 34 1
LAC #21 University of Richmond Virginia 3 0
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 5 0
LAC #22 College of the Holy Cross Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 5 1
LAC #22 Colgate University New York 4 0
LAC #26 Bates College Maine 5 0
LAC #26 Haverford College Pennsylvania 4 1
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 3 0
LAC #31 Denison University Ohio 1 0
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 9 0
LAC #34 Spelman College Georgia 1 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 8 1
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 2 0
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 2 0
LAC #44 Wabash College Indiana 1 0
LAC #44 Union College New York 2 0
LAC #47 Connecticut College Connecticut 1 0
LAC #47 Hillsdale College Michigan 4 0
LAC #49 St. Olaf College Minnesota 1 0
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 2 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 2 0
LAC #54 Centre College Kentucky 1 0
LAC #54 Dickinson College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #57 Wheaton College (IL) Illinois 2 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 6 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 3 0
LAC #60 Hobart and William Smith Colleges New York 1 1
LAC #60 Reed College Oregon 2 0
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 1 0
LAC #62 Lake Forest College Illinois 1 0
LAC #62 Gustavus Adolphus College Minnesota 1 0
LAC #68 Wofford College South Carolina 4 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 1 0
LAC #72 Saint Anselm College New Hampshire 2 0
LAC #74 Kalamazoo College Michigan 5 2
LAC #78 Hope College Michigan 2 0
LAC #78 Whitman College Washington 1 0
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 5 0
LAC #85 Allegheny College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #91 Augustana College Illinois 2 0
LAC #91 Ursinus College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #91 Washington and Jefferson College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #97 Lewis & Clark College Oregon 2 0
LAC #100 Hendrix College Arkansas 1 0
LAC #100 Whittier College California 1 0
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Washington 1 0
LAC #100 Beloit College Wisconsin 1 0
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Washington 2 0
LAC #111 Whitworth University Washington 1 0
LAC #119 Coe College Iowa 1 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 3 0
LAC #125 Goucher College Maryland 1 0
LAC #128 University of Minnesota-Morris Minnesota 1 0
LAC #132 Centenary College of Louisiana Louisiana 3 0
LAC #132 Saint Norbert College Wisconsin 1 0
LAC #184 Indiana University-Southeast Indiana 1 0
— Weber State University Utah 24 1
— Pasadena City College California 7 0
— CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York 6 2
— Western Washington University Washington 6 0
— Solano Community College California 5 0
— College of Charleston South Carolina 5 0
— Austin Community College District Texas 5 0
— City College of San Francisco California 4 1
— El Camino Community College District California 4 0
— San Diego Mesa College California 4 0
— University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Puerto Rico 4 0
— Diablo Valley College California 3 0
— Irvine Valley College California 3 1
— Los Angeles Valley College California 3 0
— MiraCosta College California 3 0
— Palomar College California 3 0
— Benedictine College Kansas 3 0
— Southern Utah University Utah 3 0
— Chabot College California 2 0
— Glendale Community College California 2 0
— Los Angeles Pierce College California 2 0
— Red Rocks Community College Colorado 2 0
— Eastern Michigan University Michigan 2 0
— Minnesota State University-Mankato Minnesota 2 0
— University of Minnesota-Duluth Minnesota 2 0
— CUNY Brooklyn College New York 2 0
— CUNY Queens College New York 2 0
— Le Moyne College New York 2 0
— State University of New York at New Paltz New York 2 0
— High Point University North Carolina 2 0

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 1,065,210 — $76,320
Interpreters and Translators 52,060 $31.90 $66,360
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 19,830 — $89,990

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2002–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.