Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics at University of the Pacific

University of the Pacific's Romance Languages program produces surprisingly strong outcomes—graduates earn $43,472 in their first year, placing them in the 92nd percentile nationally and 80th percentile in California. That's roughly $14,000 more than the typical California graduate in this field and $9,000 above the national median. Even compared to UC Berkeley's well-regarded program ($40,818), Pacific students come out ahead initially, though the sample size here is small enough that individual graduate outcomes heavily influence these figures.

The financial picture looks manageable with $23,750 in median debt and a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.55—meaning debt equals just over half of first-year salary. More encouraging is the 27% earnings growth to $55,111 by year four, suggesting graduates find career traction rather than hitting an early ceiling. This trajectory outpaces many language programs where earnings often plateau quickly.

The major caveat: with fewer than 30 graduates in this dataset, these numbers could shift dramatically year to year. A few graduates landing competitive international business or translation roles could inflate the median considerably. That said, Pacific's 95% admission rate and reasonable outcomes suggest this isn't a highly selective program producing outlier results—these earnings appear achievable for typical admits. If your child is drawn to language study and career flexibility matters, this program delivers better-than-expected returns, though you're accepting some uncertainty given the limited data.