Linguistics and Language Studies (Bachelor's) Programs in North Carolina, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt
- 5 programs report first-year pay
- 5 also report federal debt
- Bachelor's in Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
The median North Carolina linguistics and language studies bachelor's program pays its graduates $24,658 in their first year, $2,881 less than the national median. East Carolina University reports the highest first-year pay ($35,561), and UNC Chapel Hill the lowest median debt ($17,775).
All 5 programs, ranked
Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.
Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina linguistics and language studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the North Carolina medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Quick picks
Highest first-year pay
- East Carolina University$35,561
- NC State$34,099
- UNC Chapel Hill$24,658
- Appalachian State$24,657
- UNC Greensboro$24,058
Lowest median debt
- UNC Chapel Hill$17,775
- NC State$19,250
- Appalachian State$23,342
- East Carolina University$25,560
- UNC Greensboro$26,414
Lowest debt for the pay
"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to linguistics and language studies, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$57,650Median pay in North Carolina. 28,620 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Interpreters and Translators
$50,030Median pay in North Carolina. 1,780 people work in this job in North Carolina. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 6,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Common questions
East Carolina University in Greenville reports the highest median first-year pay, $35,561. Its median federal debt is $25,560.
UNC Chapel Hill reports the lowest median federal debt, $17,775, with first-year pay of $24,658.
The median across 5 North Carolina linguistics and language studies bachelor's programs is $24,658 in the first year after graduating and $76,115 five years after.
5 North Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.
Related pages
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of North Carolina rankings when their main campus is in another state.
- Medians are across the linguistics and language studies bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024