Council of Independent Colleges 6 November 2011 St. Petersburg, FL
The MLA has counted the number of jobs announced in the Job Information List since 1975 76. The chart displaying the trend lines for jobs in the JIL s English and foreign language editions over the past 30+ years presents the picture of the job market most familiar to graduate students and faculty members in the field.
The trend lines of the chart make vivid how closely the academic employment opportunities announced in the JIL have followed the economic cycles of the wider US economy. The dramatic plunge in JIL jobs following the 2008 financial crisis mirrors the recession of the 1990s. The ups and downs recorded over more than three decades suggest a structural range that varies from between ~2,000 advertised positions total at the upper end to ~1,000 advertised positions total at the lower end.
The MLA uses the term advertised positions advisedly, because the JIL is not a census of all available positions. Only a few two-year colleges, and not all four-year institutions, use the JIL. The extensive market in part-time positions and the unknown portion of the full-time non-tenure-track positions that departments fill each year are absent. On the MLA s fall 2010 survey of departmental hiring, English departments reported hiring 6 non-tenure-track faculty members for every tenure-track hire they made in AY2009 10.
2,500 Total Number of Jobs Advertised in the MLA Job Information List, 1975 76 to 2010 11 (projected) 2,000 1,500 1,000 1,515 1,441 1,450 1,456 1,310 1,325 1,327 1,575 1,387 1,354 1,352 1,461 1,338 1,297 1,237 1,166 1,368 1,492 1,238 1,700 1,741 1,442 1,622 1,978 1,703 2,075 1,857 1,873 1,637 1,895 1,507 1,488 1,288 1,517 1,670 1,365 1,193 1,152 1,159 1,121 1,075 1,134 1,238 1,192 1,188 1,129 1,088 1,109 1,098 1,047 1,828 1,482 1,732 1,680 1,541 1,369 1,367 1,2851,369 1,739 1,687 1,793 1,826 1,591 1,361 1,680 1,227 1,380 1,175 1,100 1,100 1,022 500 English edition Foreign language edition 0 1975 76 1976 77 1977 78 1978 79 1979 80 1980 81 1981 82 1982 83 1983 84 1984 85 1985 86 1986 87 1987 88 1988 89 1989 90 1990 91 1991 92 1992 93 1993 94 1994 95 1995 96 1996 97 1997 98 1998 99 1999 2000 2000 01 2001 02 2002 03 2003 04 2004 05 2005 06 2006 07 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11
Percentage of Positions Advertised in Five Languages, October MLA Job Information List, Foreign Language Edition, 1985 2009 50.0 40.0 30.0 34 25 25 33 31 Spanish French German Russian Chinese 29 26 34 35 36 40 39 40 45 48 46 50 48 42 41.8 45 43 37 38 33 36 20.0 10.0 0.0 22 22 22 24 21 23 18 18 17 17 17 16 16 15 15 15 14 14 13 13 13 12 12 11.9 12 12 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 9 9 9 9 9 10 9 8 8 8 9.2 9 9 7 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 3 4 5 4 2 2 3 2 2 2 1.8 2 2 1 2 2 2 1 4 2 3 4 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
FOREIGN LANGUAGE PROGRAM CLOSURES AND CUTBACKS 2008 Miami University, Oxford Spanish MA cut University of Southern California Department of German closed 2009 California State University, Bakersfield Spanish BA cut; minor in French with a special major in French available to interested students University of Arkansas, Little Rock German program under a two-year reprieve University of Florida The French and German PhD programs were suspended for three years (2009 12). The departments will be able to petition for reinstatement. The MA programs were not affected.
2010 Albany State University French eliminated Alfred University German major discontinued Armstrong Atlantic State University German has been suspended and might be reinstated. A BA in Spanish is the only foreign language degree offered. Bethel College, Indiana German phased out California State University, Fullerton Courses in languages are being moved online. The MA in French has been suspended, and the status of the German BA and the Portuguese minor is unclear. Indiana University of Pennsylvania Suspended upper-division French classes Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Reduced funding for the Center for French and Francophone Studies Loyola University, Chicago Introductory German courses offered, but no BA or minor
Meredith College French BA eliminated Nicholls State University French BA eliminated Northwestern State University of Louisiana French minor eliminated Penn State University, Beaver Instructors replaced by televised French courses Rice University French MA and PhD programs eliminated South Carolina State University French BA eliminated Southeastern Louisiana University French BA eliminated Southern Illinois University, Carbondale French MA suspended Southern Utah University German taught through online courses
University at Albany, State University of New York Suspension of admission to programs of study in classics, French (BA, MA, and PhD), Italian, Russian, and theater University of Arizona, Tucson French PhD and BA in teaching cut University of Illinois, Urbana French MAT eliminated University of Iowa Two-year suspension of PhD program in German University of Maine BA in German canceled; French MA suspended University of Nevada, Reno German and Italian have been cut University of Tennessee, Martin Program cuts under consideration Vanderbilt University Teaching program in Spanish cut Washington State University Phasing out of German
Wells College French BA eliminated 2011 Winona State University French BA eliminated Foothill College (community college) French canceled Gallaudet University Cancellation of BS in French and minors in other languages being considered ` Howard University Department of classics eliminated Louisiana State University Termination of BA in Latin and German (failed to meet Louisiana Regents standards for number of degrees awarded) Queen s University Graduate programs in French and German canceled Southern State University Termination of BA in Latin and German (failed to meet Louisiana Regents standards for number of degrees awarded)
Tennessee State University It was announced on 14 April 2011 that the following academic programs would be discontinued: BA in foreign languages, BS in physics, EdS in school psychology, MA in English, MS in mathematics, MS in music education, BA in Africana studies, EdS in administration and supervision. University at Albany, State University of New York Being considered for cancellation are all degree programs in French (BA, MA, PhD), Italian (BA), Russian (BA), and classics (BA). There is no degree-granting program in German. Undergraduate minors in theater, French, and Russian are being negotiated, as well as continued instruction in Italian language. University of Nevada, Reno All degree programs in French are being considered for cancellation. The Regents of the State of Louisiana Flagged by the Regents as low competers are programs that averaged fewer than eight BA degrees, five MAs, or 3 PhDs in the past three years. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, has suspended BA degrees in Latin and German. Southern State University is losing French and Spanish.