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Best Colleges for English Language & Literature

50 English Language & Literature programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.

⚡Quick answer

For English Language & Literature, Georgetown University (District of Columbia) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $78,370. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.

#	School	Credential	Median earnings	Median debt	Completers	Score
1	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$78,370	$16,000	77	96.2
2	Brown University Providence, RI	Bachelor's Degree	$73,497	$12,974	60	96.2
3	Middlebury College Middlebury, VT	Master's Degree	$75,807	$16,042	59	95.1
4	Williams College Williamstown, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,065	$13,125	45	94
5	Duke University Durham, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$78,024	$15,362	29	93.9
6	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$70,141	$18,940	91	92.7
7	Tufts University Medford, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$69,475	$14,670	31	92.7
8	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	Bachelor's Degree	$70,837	$15,500	26	91.8
9	Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$77,847	$19,500	39	91
10	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$65,089	$16,300	52	90.3
11	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$60,187	$12,979	221	89.7
12	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$62,147	$15,450	56	88.9
13	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$64,555	$19,500	99	88.4
14	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,012	$13,500	187	87.7
15	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	Bachelor's Degree	$78,169	—	54	87.6
16	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	Bachelor's Degree	$60,439	$15,050	63	87.4
17	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	Bachelor's Degree	$73,804	$19,500	17	87.1
18	Barnard College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$61,327	$18,558	60	86.4
19	Stanford University Stanford, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$82,036	—	33	86.4
20	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,334	$16,892	168	86.1
21	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$60,702	$15,875	36	86.1
22	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$71,474	$19,707	15	85.9
23	Seattle University Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$78,906	$19,500	8	85.8
24	Emory University Atlanta, GA	Bachelor's Degree	$66,762	$21,000	36	85.6
25	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN	Master's Degree	$77,544	—	28	85.3
26	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,345	$3,500	27	85.2
27	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	Bachelor's Degree	$61,989	$19,500	62	85.2
28	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	Bachelor's Degree	$60,998	$19,000	53	84.9
29	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$82,650	—	22	84.8
30	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$66,806	$22,000	65	84.6
31	Northeastern University Boston, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$67,877	$21,250	24	84.2
32	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$64,225	$21,625	86	84.1
33	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	Bachelor's Degree	$57,649	$15,000	109	84.1
34	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,418	$19,375	81	83.8
35	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$59,865	$10,925	18	83.8
36	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	Bachelor's Degree	$73,619	—	22	83.5
37	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY	Doctoral Degree	$75,306	—	19	83.4
38	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD	Bachelor's Degree	$59,288	$19,500	118	83.1
39	Elon University Elon, NC	Bachelor's Degree	$68,927	—	28	83.1
40	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	Bachelor's Degree	$57,809	$16,887	98	82.9
41	George Washington University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$70,766	$23,250	30	82.8
42	Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$60,461	$19,000	29	82.5
43	College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY	Master's Degree	$71,707	—	18	82.4
44	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$56,768	$9,319	52	82.4
45	Salem State University Salem, MA	Master's Degree	$69,754	—	21	82.3
46	Amherst College Amherst, MA	Bachelor's Degree	$65,195	—	41	82.2
47	Trinity College Hartford, CT	Bachelor's Degree	$68,063	$22,592	26	82.1
48	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	Bachelor's Degree	$55,759	$13,533	194	82.1
49	Howard University Washington, DC	Bachelor's Degree	$73,929	—	14	81.9
50	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	Doctoral Degree	$69,667	—	18	81.8

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Hidden Gems for English Language & Literature

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for English Language & Literature — the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#	School	Median earnings	Admit rate	Score
1	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$73,804	63%	87.1
2	Seattle University Seattle, WA Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$78,906	77%	85.8
3	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$77,544	88%	85.3
4	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$59,418	93%	83.8
5	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$73,619	71%	83.5
6	CUNY Graduate School and University Center New York, NY Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$75,306	68%	83.4
7	Elon University Elon, NC Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$68,927	66%	83.1
8	College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$71,707	92%	82.4
9	Salem State University Salem, MA Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$69,754	96%	82.3
10	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$69,380	64%	80.2
11	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, lower-profile than the field’s famous names	$57,547	72%	80.1
12	Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore, MD Strong English Language & Literature outcome score, accessible admissions, smaller, lower-profile campus	$68,760	82%	79.9

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

How we ranked this

Programs are scored 0–100 within the English Language & Literature field (CIP 23.01) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other English Language & Literature programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.

Frequently asked questions

Which college has the best English Language & Literature program?+

By our outcome score, Georgetown University (District of Columbia) ranks #1 for English Language & Literature, with median graduate earnings of $78,370.

How are these English Language & Literature programs ranked?+

Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.

Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+

The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.

Can I filter English Language & Literature programs by state or degree level?+

Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).

Keep exploring

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Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.