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CIP 16.0905 Foreign Languages and Linguistics

Spanish Language and Literature

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

7,647

2025 · 722 schools

International share

4.1%

310 international students

Bachelor's degrees

6,128

1.3% international

Master's degrees

558

28.7% international

Overview

Spanish Language and Literature is a vibrant and rich field of study that encompasses the language, culture, history, and literary traditions of Spanish-speaking countries. This major typically involves a deep dive into the Spanish language, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and advanced communication skills. Students will engage with a variety of texts, including poetry, prose, and drama from different historical periods and regions, helping them to understand the evolution of the language and its literary forms.

Courses often cover significant literary movements such as the Golden Age, Romanticism, Modernism, and Contemporary literature, allowing students to explore works by renowned authors such as Miguel de Cervantes, Gabriel García Márquez, and Federico García Lorca. Additionally, students may study the cultural and historical contexts that inform these works, providing a comprehensive understanding of how literature reflects societal changes and challenges.

Moreover, the program often emphasizes critical thinking and analytical skills, as students learn to interpret texts and express their insights effectively. Many programs also offer opportunities for immersion, such as study abroad options in Spanish-speaking countries, which enhance language proficiency and cultural understanding.

Graduates with a degree in Spanish Language and Literature can pursue various career paths, including education, translation, international relations, and cultural studies. They also possess valuable skills in communication and critical analysis, making them well-equipped for diverse professional opportunities in an increasingly globalized world.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2002 to 2025, graduates fell 32% and the international share went from 3.4% to 4.1%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
41.0%
Asian
2.0%
Hispanic
45.5%
Black
2.8%
Other
4.7%
Intl.
4.1%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 722 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
#4 Yale University Connecticut 11 5
#5 Stanford University California 1 0
#7 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 1 0
#8 Duke University North Carolina 2 0
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 3 0
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 5 3
#14 Cornell University New York 9 1
#14 Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania 1 0
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 7 4
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 2 0
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 5 1
#20 University of California-Los Angeles California 22 4
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 10 6
#23 Georgetown University D.C. 21 5
#23 Emory University Georgia 4 2
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 57 5
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 39 3
#27 University of Southern California California 11 0
#29 University of California-San Diego California 3 0
#31 Boston College Massachusetts 3 1
#31 Tufts University Massachusetts 3 0
#31 New York University New York 30 18
#34 University of California-Davis California 47 8
#34 University of California-Irvine California 22 2
#34 University of Florida Florida 10 4
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 30 10
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 4 2
#34 Wake Forest University North Carolina 5 0
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 19 1
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 73 2
#42 Northeastern University Massachusetts 4 0
#42 Villanova University Pennsylvania 6 0
#44 University of California-Santa Barbara California 16 0
#44 Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Jersey 13 2
#44 Case Western Reserve University Ohio 3 0
#44 Ohio State University-Main Campus Ohio 24 0
#44 Lehigh University Pennsylvania 4 0
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 24 3
#49 University of Rochester New York 1 0
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 15 2
#52 University of Georgia Georgia 59 0
#52 College of William and Mary Virginia 3 0
#55 Santa Clara University California 4 0
#55 University of Miami Florida 1 0
#55 The Pennsylvania State University Pennsylvania 39 6
#59 George Washington University D.C. 2 0
#59 Florida State University Florida 10 3
#59 Tulane University of Louisiana Louisiana 7 2
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 13 1
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 26 0
#59 Stony Brook University New York 28 6
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 6 0
#59 Texas A & M University-College Station Texas 6 0
#69 Michigan State University Michigan 15 0
#72 Syracuse University New York 11 3
#73 University of Connecticut Connecticut 12 0
#73 Howard University D.C. 5 0
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 29 4
#73 Rutgers University-Newark New Jersey 7 0
#73 Binghamton University New York 8 0
#80 University of California-Riverside California 26 1
#85 University of Delaware Delaware 10 0
#85 Fordham University New York 3 0
#85 University at Buffalo New York 5 1
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 12 0
#90 Baylor University Texas 9 2
#90 Texas Christian University Texas 12 0
#90 Gonzaga University Washington 4 0
#90 Marquette University Wisconsin 5 1
#95 American University D.C. 3 0
#95 University of Illinois at Chicago Illinois 21 4
#95 Rutgers University--Camden New Jersey 7 0
#100 Auburn University Alabama 19 9
#100 Chapman University California 2 0
#100 University of San Diego California 2 0
#100 Florida International University Florida 32 1
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 2 1
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 39 10
#100 Saint Louis University Missouri 3 0
#100 Creighton University Nebraska 3 0
#100 Elon University North Carolina 3 0
#109 University of California-Santa Cruz California 14 0
#109 Loyola Marymount University California 1 0
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 17 5
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 7 0
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 7 3
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 1 0
#116 University of San Francisco California 2 0
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 10 1
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 28 0
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 37 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 33 4
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 84 3
#121 University of the Pacific California 1 0
#121 University of Denver Colorado 6 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 10 1
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 9 0
#121 SUNY at Albany New York 15 0
#121 University of Dayton Ohio 1 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 1 0
#133 Clark University Massachusetts 5 0
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 15 1
#133 University of Vermont Vermont 5 0
#137 California State University--Long Beach California 28 0
#137 San Diego State University California 41 1
#137 San Jose State University California 16 0
#137 St John's University (NY) New York 2 0
#137 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Pennsylvania 1 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 18 4
#148 California State University-Los Angeles California 19 0
#148 Catholic University of America D.C. 1 1
#148 Mercer University Georgia 15 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 14 4
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 13 3
#148 University of Tulsa Oklahoma 1 0
#148 University of Rhode Island Rhode Island 25 1
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 15 0
#156 California State University-Fullerton California 35 0
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 4 0
#156 Montclair State University New Jersey 18 0
#156 CUNY--City College New York 3 0
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 28 0
#156 University of Portland Oregon 3 0
#169 Bradley University Illinois 4 0
#169 DePaul University Illinois 7 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 1 0
#169 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Nebraska 9 0
#169 Monmouth University New Jersey 2 1
#169 University of North Carolina at Charlotte North Carolina 47 1
#179 Gallaudet University D.C. 3 0
#179 University of Louisville Kentucky 8 0
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 3 1
#179 CUNY Hunter College New York 21 3
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 13 3
#179 University of Utah Utah 12 0
#179 Seattle University Washington 5 0
#186 California Lutheran University California 10 0
#186 University of Hawaii at Manoa Hawaii 3 2
#186 Texas Tech University Texas 25 2
#191 Samford University Alabama 3 0
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 24 4
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 1 0
#191 Drake University Iowa 6 1
#191 Rowan University New Jersey 12 0
#191 Hofstra University New York 4 0
#191 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma 4 0
#191 Washington State University Washington 12 0
#202 Sacred Heart University Connecticut 1 0
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 15 0
#202 University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts 4 0
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 18 5
#208 California State University--Fresno California 52 0
#208 California State University-Sacramento California 32 0
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 5 0
#208 University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina 20 0
#208 Ohio Northern University Ohio 1 0
#208 Xavier University Ohio 7 0
#208 Willamette University Oregon 1 0
#208 Belmont University Tennessee 4 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 25 0
#219 Illinois State University Illinois 20 3
#219 Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis Indiana 10 0
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 41 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 23 0
#219 Gannon University Pennsylvania 1 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 9 1
#227 Ball State University Indiana 4 0
#227 University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan 2 0
#227 University of North Dakota North Dakota 8 0
#227 University of Texas-San Antonio Texas 18 0
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 4 0
#236 University of Colorado Denver Colorado 7 0
#236 University of North Florida Florida 10 0
#236 Bethel University Minnesota 4 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 4 1
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 25 1
#236 North Dakota State University-Main Campus North Dakota 2 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 6 0
#236 Portland State University Oregon 14 2
#236 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 2 0
#236 University of Texas-Arlington Texas 9 0
#250 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Massachusetts 1 0
#250 New Mexico State University-Main Campus New Mexico 12 2
#250 La Salle University Pennsylvania 1 0
#250 South Dakota State University South Dakota 8 1
#250 Lipscomb University Tennessee 6 0
#250 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Texas 23 0
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 12 2
#262 Aurora University Illinois 4 0
#262 Suffolk University Massachusetts 1 0
#262 Andrews University Michigan 15 2
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 4 0
#262 George Fox University Oregon 1 0
#262 University of South Dakota South Dakota 3 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 10 3
#276 Northern Arizona University Arizona 13 0
#276 Harding University Arkansas 7 0
#276 California Baptist University California 2 0
#276 Regis University Colorado 1 0
#276 Marian University (IN) Indiana 5 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 21 7
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 10 4
#288 University of Indianapolis Indiana 2 0
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 2 0
#288 Arcadia University Pennsylvania 3 0
#288 Texas State University Texas 30 0
#288 Utah State University Utah 9 0
#288 Shenandoah University Virginia 1 0
#288 University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee Wisconsin 7 0
#299 Azusa Pacific University California 12 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 12 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 16 0
#299 University of Toledo Ohio 3 0
#299 Concordia University Wisconsin Wisconsin 1 0
#308 Northern Illinois University Illinois 17 0
#308 Oakland University Michigan 6 0
#308 Wilkes University Pennsylvania 5 2
#308 Abilene Christian University Texas 2 0
#308 University of the Incarnate Word Texas 1 0
#317 Xavier University of Louisiana Louisiana 2 0
#317 Kean University New Jersey 15 1
#317 Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Pennsylvania 5 0
#328 Georgia Southern University Georgia 6 1
#328 University of North Texas at Dallas Texas 14 1
#332 Mercy University New York 9 0
#332 Texas A&M University--Kingsville Texas 1 0
#332 University of Lynchburg Virginia 2 0
#342 University of Northern Colorado Colorado 1 0
#342 Mississippi College Mississippi 1 0
#342 Campbell University North Carolina 1 0
#342 University of Akron Ohio 1 0
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 1 0
#342 University of Texas--Tyler Texas 5 0
#353 Youngstown State University Ohio 3 1
#353 University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras Puerto Rico 12 0
#365 Troy University Alabama 2 0
#365 Northern Kentucky University Kentucky 3 0
#365 William Carey University Mississippi 1 0
#365 The University of Montana Montana 6 0
#365 Gardner-Webb University North Carolina 6 0
#365 Liberty University Virginia 7 0
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 8 0
#376 Barry University Florida 3 0
#382 Grand Canyon University Arizona 4 0
#382 University of Colorado--Colorado Springs Colorado 2 0
#382 Valdosta State University Georgia 15 1
#382 Idaho State University Idaho 39 0
#382 Chicago State University Illinois 1 0
#382 Concordia University-Chicago Illinois 1 0
#382 Wright State University-Main Campus Ohio 9 0
#382 Northeastern State University Oklahoma 1 1
#382 Angelo State University Texas 1 0
#382 Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi Texas 1 0
#382 Dallas Baptist University Texas 2 1
#382 East Texas A&M University Texas 10 0
#382 Houston Christian University Texas 1 0
#382 Tarleton State University Texas 8 0
#382 Texas Wesleyan University Texas 1 0
#382 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Puerto Rico 3 0
LAC #2 Amherst College Massachusetts 3 0
LAC #3 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania 4 0
LAC #9 The United States Military Academy at West Point New York 5 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 6 0
LAC #12 Vassar College New York 1 0
LAC #12 Washington and Lee University Virginia 3 0
LAC #16 Grinnell College Iowa 3 0
LAC #16 Davidson College North Carolina 7 0
LAC #19 Barnard College New York 5 0
LAC #19 Middlebury College Vermont 32 1
LAC #21 University of Richmond Virginia 6 1
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 4 0
LAC #22 College of the Holy Cross Massachusetts 10 0
LAC #22 Smith College Massachusetts 2 0
LAC #22 Colgate University New York 4 0
LAC #26 Bates College Maine 1 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 4 0
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #30 Lafayette College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #31 Trinity College Connecticut 2 0
LAC #31 Denison University Ohio 4 0
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 2 0
LAC #34 Spelman College Georgia 2 0
LAC #34 Mount Holyoke College Massachusetts 3 0
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #38 Occidental College California 2 0
LAC #38 Scripps College California 1 0
LAC #38 Trinity University Texas 8 0
LAC #41 Skidmore College New York 3 0
LAC #41 Kenyon College Ohio 7 0
LAC #44 Wabash College Indiana 4 0
LAC #44 Union College New York 2 0
LAC #47 Connecticut College Connecticut 2 0
LAC #47 Hillsdale College Michigan 7 0
LAC #49 St. Olaf College Minnesota 6 0
LAC #49 St. Lawrence University New York 3 0
LAC #49 Rhodes College Tennessee 6 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 1 0
LAC #54 Centre College Kentucky 7 0
LAC #54 Gettysburg College Pennsylvania 4 0
LAC #57 Wheaton College (IL) Illinois 5 0
LAC #57 Furman University South Carolina 3 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 6 0
LAC #60 Hobart and William Smith Colleges New York 4 0
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 1 0
LAC #62 Lake Forest College Illinois 3 0
LAC #62 Berea College Kentucky 3 0
LAC #62 Gustavus Adolphus College Minnesota 16 0
LAC #68 Wofford College South Carolina 14 0
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 3 0
LAC #74 Rollins College Florida 3 0
LAC #74 Principia College Illinois 2 0
LAC #74 Kalamazoo College Michigan 4 0
LAC #74 St. John's University (MN) Minnesota 2 0
LAC #78 Saint Mary's College Indiana 4 0
LAC #78 Hope College Michigan 3 0
LAC #83 Morehouse College Georgia 4 0
LAC #83 Earlham College Indiana 2 0
LAC #85 Knox College Illinois 3 0
LAC #85 Stonehill College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #85 Drew University New Jersey 6 0
LAC #85 Allegheny College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 3 0
LAC #85 Randolph-Macon College Virginia 1 0
LAC #91 College of Wooster Ohio 3 1
LAC #91 Juniata College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #91 Ursinus College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #91 Washington and Jefferson College Pennsylvania 4 0
LAC #91 Southwestern University Texas 1 0
LAC #97 Lewis & Clark College Oregon 7 0
LAC #97 Austin College Texas 4 0
LAC #100 Hendrix College Arkansas 3 0
LAC #100 Whittier College California 3 0
LAC #100 SUNY College at Geneseo New York 2 0
LAC #100 Lycoming College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Washington 5 0
LAC #100 Beloit College Wisconsin 3 0
LAC #109 Westmont College California 1 0
LAC #109 Hanover College Indiana 2 0
LAC #111 Saint Vincent College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #116 Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio 1 0
LAC #116 Roanoke College Virginia 2 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 1 0
LAC #119 Meredith College North Carolina 1 0
LAC #119 Ripon College Wisconsin 1 0
LAC #119 California State University-Channel Islands California 10 0
LAC #125 Goucher College Maryland 2 0
LAC #125 Emmanuel College Massachusetts 1 0
LAC #128 Cornell College Iowa 2 0
LAC #128 University of Minnesota-Morris Minnesota 3 0
LAC #132 Eckerd College Florida 2 0
LAC #132 Bennington College Vermont 1 0
LAC #132 Saint Norbert College Wisconsin 2 0
LAC #138 Millsaps College Mississippi 1 0
LAC #142 Eastern Connecticut State University Connecticut 2 0
LAC #142 Covenant College Georgia 1 0
LAC #142 The College of Idaho Idaho 2 1
LAC #146 Oglethorpe University Georgia 1 0
LAC #154 SUNY Old Westbury New York 7 0
LAC #158 Presbyterian College South Carolina 1 1
LAC #160 Salem College North Carolina 4 1
LAC #160 Albright College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #160 University of Puerto Rico at Cayey Puerto Rico 2 0
LAC #165 Bridgewater College Virginia 3 0
LAC #168 Lyon College Arkansas 1 0
LAC #170 Western Oregon University Oregon 6 0
LAC #172 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Wisconsin 4 0
LAC #176 Virginia Wesleyan University Virginia 1 0
LAC #184 Young Harris College Georgia 1 0
LAC #184 Indiana University-Southeast Indiana 1 0
LAC #184 Utah Tech University Utah 4 0
LAC #184 Southern Virginia University Virginia 1 0
— Weber State University Utah 63 1
— Bakersfield College California 59 0
— Arizona State University Digital Immersion Arizona 57 0
— San Joaquin Delta College California 43 0
— California State University-Northridge California 40 1
— The University of Texas Permian Basin Texas 40 4
— Austin Community College District Texas 35 0
— California State University-San Marcos California 34 0
— California State University--San Bernardino California 31 0
— California State University-Stanislaus California 27 0
— College of Charleston South Carolina 24 0
— California State University-Bakersfield California 23 1
— El Camino Community College District California 23 0
— San Diego Mesa College California 22 0
— California State University-Dominguez Hills California 21 0
— California State Polytechnic University-Pomona California 19 0
— Hartnell College California 19 0
— Western Washington University Washington 19 1
— Saddleback College California 17 0
— Santa Rosa Junior College California 17 0
— Cabrillo College California 16 0
— Utah Valley University Utah 16 0
— University of Wisconsin--La Crosse Wisconsin 16 0
— Sonoma State University California 15 0
— CUNY Lehman College New York 15 1
— Chaffey College California 14 0
— Fresno City College California 14 0
— University of Minnesota-Duluth Minnesota 14 0
— Winona State University Minnesota 14 0
— California State University-Chico California 13 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.