What can I do with a linguistics degree?

There's really more than one answer to this question, depending on how the question is framed.  So, let us answer this question by contextualizing it properly.

Answer 1. For many students, and often their parents, the choice of what to study is linked to beliefs about the suitability of the major for finding initial employment after graduation. This focus—something we can call an instrumental focus—on finding a concrete link between major and employment in the end is neither essential nor a good predictor of either professional of personal success. We’ll take that up below in a minute. For now, it is possible to answer the instrumental question concretely: students who major in linguistics can pursue opportunities in a variety of fields tied to language: education, especially second language and ESL teaching; computer program and human –computer interface design; publishing; writing; advertising; research and staff positions in non-profit or for profit enterprises; administrative positions requiring analysis and writing; museum or library work; grant writing or technical writing; among others. Plus, the focus on analysis, argumentation and reasoning, and communication found in a linguistics major is of particular value in pursuing professional degrees in law, business or government.

The UO has also developed a new program, the Professional Distinctions Program, as further means to support student efforts to get ready for employment after graduation.

Answer 2. This answer is the one that matters most: the completion of a strong program anywhere in the liberal arts represents the best long-term investment of resources and energy a student can make. This preparation, the combination of the breadth of knowledge found in one’s general education courses coupled with the intellectual discipline and depth found in a serious major, fosters the intellectual abilities most in demand from employers: written and oral communications skills, critical thinking and problem solving, international perspectives, teamwork, as well as creativity, moral and ethical judgment, and intellectual courage. It is not an accident that the deans of major law schools and schools of business consistently indicate a preference for students with strong liberal arts degrees as their candidates of choice for admission. It is the liberal arts degree that develops most deeply the intellectual abilities critical to professional success, and there is considerable empirical evidence to support this view.

Answer 3. We don’t have this one ready for you yet, but we expect to present this last answer sometime as the year progresses. We hope to summarize the experience of our alumni—both undergraduate and graduate alums—in finding employment and developing their careers and how majoring in linguistics helped (or did not help) in professional life and personal satisfaction. So, stay tuned on this one…

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