Major Rankings

Best Colleges for English Language and Literature, General

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 493

Avg grad salary: $40,496

Total graduates: 27,840

Top Colleges for English Language and Literature, General — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	$69,556	$43,362	71	$27,000	21.1%
2	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$65,722	$47,019	19	$19,500	61.2%
3	Duke University Durham, NC	$65,074	$20,483	19	$15,362	6.8%
4	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$64,967	$37,643	39	$26,899	25.1%
5	Barnard College New York, NY	$63,564	$40,414	37	$19,000	8.0%
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	$60,462	$41,045	22	N/A	4.5%
7	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	$60,450	$34,043	17	$27,000	32.0%
8	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$60,383	$40,345	30	$19,500	12.4%
9	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	$59,811	$27,206	27	$27,000	45.0%
10	Bates College Lewiston, ME	$58,988	$40,233	16	N/A	13.0%
11	Columbia University New York, NY	$58,459	$35,838	51	$25,500	4.2%
12	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$57,848	$35,468	26	$26,000	50.8%
13	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$57,075	$41,878	91	$18,832	15.7%
14	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	$57,001	$35,584	21	$26,000	78.3%
15	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$56,857	$52,122	50	$16,500	13.1%
16	Williams College Williamstown, MA	$56,571	$49,340	44	$13,125	10.0%
17	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	$56,242	$25,510	33	$19,000	43.1%
18	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$56,111	$19,346	41	$22,565	40.3%
19	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$55,862	$25,860	55	$26,750	41.7%
20	George Washington University Washington, DC	$55,736	$38,985	27	$23,250	43.5%
21	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	$55,730	$45,157	26	$20,407	6.2%
22	NYU New York, NY	$55,481	$29,967	71	$22,625	9.4%
23	Georgian Court University Lakewood, NJ	$54,818	$44,982	37	$26,000	70.5%
24	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	$54,525	$38,376	29	$12,000	13.9%
25	University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA	$54,107	$40,092	83	$15,000	16.9%
26	Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA	$54,100	$40,601	43	$26,724	47.5%
27	Wofford College Spartanburg, SC	$54,078	$34,478	34	$25,941	58.6%
28	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	$53,767	$34,633	33	$13,420	6.3%
29	California State University-Stanislaus Turlock, CA	$53,207	$14,407	38	$13,000	97.5%
30	Elon University Elon, NC	$52,954	$36,302	20	N/A	67.3%
31	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$52,942	$27,462	200	$13,500	11.7%
32	Monmouth University West Long Branch, NJ	$52,920	$50,737	53	$27,000	89.5%
33	UCLA Los Angeles, CA	$52,432	$27,889	268	$14,376	8.7%
34	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$52,278	$32,339	71	$17,243	96.2%
35	Morehouse College Atlanta, GA	$52,273	$24,659	30	$26,000	51.4%
36	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA	$52,197	$41,077	30	$27,000	76.0%
37	Stonehill College Easton, MA	$52,006	$44,629	19	$24,737	72.6%
38	UIUC Champaign, IL	$51,888	$37,031	126	$20,961	43.7%
39	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$51,789	$36,019	27	$21,000	11.1%
40	Fordham University Bronx, NY	$51,721	$26,652	83	$27,000	56.3%
41	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$51,573	$35,237	105	$21,500	37.7%
42	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	$51,194	$40,697	47	$19,500	32.7%
43	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	$50,797	$31,748	46	$15,564	7.1%
44	The College of New Jersey Ewing, NJ	$50,697	$35,925	58	$25,000	62.1%
45	Providence College Providence, RI	$50,679	$40,798	27	$25,500	48.7%
46	Cal Poly SLO San Luis Obispo, CA	$50,644	$34,718	32	$23,956	29.8%
47	University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, MA	$50,529	$24,521	56	$23,950	57.8%
48	Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY	$50,391	$26,058	28	$20,000	22.9%
49	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA	$50,274	$31,266	25	$27,000	86.4%
50	Washington & Jefferson College Washington, PA	$49,992	$37,046	23	$27,000	81.5%
51	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	$49,675	$30,838	17	N/A	3.5%
52	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	$49,657	$48,008	24	$15,875	11.9%
53	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	$49,487	$31,282	54	$18,239	94.7%
54	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ	$49,473	$48,368	24	$25,139	78.9%
55	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	N/A	$49,421	16	N/A	8.0%
56	University of Houston-Clear Lake Houston, TX	$49,368	$50,876	20	$15,875	75.3%
57	Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA	$49,364	$17,062	24	$27,000	64.0%
58	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$49,332	$26,518	44	$20,500	70.9%
59	Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI	$49,257	$24,329	33	$25,456	76.2%
60	Amherst College Amherst, MA	$49,206	$41,979	18	N/A	9.8%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best English Language and Literature, General Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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