Modern Languages Schools and Programs in The United States

Modern Languages Studies in The United States

Modern languages covers the study of living languages other than English together with the literature, film, history and society of the places where they are spoken. In the United States the subject is taught in almost every type of college: the Modern Language Association's census of language enrolments for fall 2021 drew on reports from 2,455 colleges and universities, from two-year colleges to PhD-granting universities. Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Arabic are widely offered, and larger universities add languages such as Korean, Persian, Portuguese or Hindi-Urdu.

How the degrees are organised

US undergraduate education is based on the liberal arts and sciences: students take classes in many subjects besides their major, and a bachelor's degree usually takes four years of full-time study. Languages can therefore be studied as a major, as a second (double) major or as a minor alongside another field. There is no national curriculum; universities are accredited by independent bodies and design their own programmes.

• Associate degree (two years) at a community college, often designed for transfer to a university
• Bachelor of Arts (BA) in a single language and its culture, or in combined fields such as Romance languages
• Bachelor of Science degrees that pair languages with another field at some technical universities
• Master's degrees (MA, MS, MFA) and doctorates in literature, linguistics, second language acquisition or translation

Where to study modern languages in the United States

The 84 schools listed on this page range from large research universities to small private colleges and community colleges across the country, with the largest group in the Boston area (Boston University, Northeastern University, Suffolk University) and others in Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, Dayton and Huntsville. Examples from the schools' own pages:

• Georgia Institute of Technology combines languages with other fields in degrees such as International Affairs and Modern Languages and Global Economics and Modern Languages, and offers a five-year B.S./M.S. in Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies
• Carnegie Mellon University teaches Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian and Spanish, with two undergraduate and four graduate programmes and seven study abroad programmes
• The University of Maryland teaches twelve languages, including Hebrew, Persian and Portuguese, offers a PhD in Second Language Acquisition and runs a Language House living-learning programme
• Boston University's World Languages & Literatures department teaches languages such as Hindi-Urdu, Persian/Farsi and Turkish and offers an MFA in Literary Translation

Community colleges are a lower-cost starting point. Community colleges offer two-year Associate of Arts degrees, and in the "2+2" model students complete a bachelor's degree with two further years at a university. American River College in Sacramento, for instance, offers an Associate in Arts in Spanish for Transfer, which gives priority admission with junior status to the California State University system.

Admission and visa

Students apply to the college or university rather than to the language department, and choose or declare a major later. Many language departments use placement tests to decide the level at which new students start; Georgia Tech, for example, lists placement tests and advanced standing for its language courses. For graduate study, the two main degrees are the master's and the doctorate; departments set their own requirements. International students need an F student visa for degree study, issued after admission to a school certified to accept foreign students. EducationUSA notes that such a school may not hold national or regional accreditation, so check its status, and that there is no official ranking of US universities.

Careers

A languages degree leads to work in education, translation and interpreting, international business, government, media and the non-profit sector. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that interpreters and translators typically need at least a bachelor's degree, often in a foreign language, business or communications, and that most states require certification for court interpreters. Interpreters and translators held about 73,900 jobs in 2025, employment is projected to grow 2 percent between 2025 and 2035, and the median annual wage was $60,170 in May 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Can I combine a modern language with another major?

Yes. In the US system students often take a language as a second major or minor, and some universities offer combined degrees, such as Georgia Tech's Global Economics and Modern Languages.

Which languages can I study at US universities?

Spanish, French, German, Chinese and Japanese are widely taught; larger universities also offer languages such as Arabic, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Hindi-Urdu or Turkish.

Can I start at a community college?

Yes. Community colleges offer two-year associate degrees, and transfer agreements allow students to complete a bachelor's degree with two more years at a university.

Do I need a degree to work as a translator or interpreter?

According to the BLS, interpreters and translators typically need at least a bachelor's degree, and court interpreters need certification in most states.