Best Colleges by Major / English Language and Literature

Best Colleges for English Language and Literature 2025

20 schools ranked by graduate earnings — real data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

English Language and Literature graduates are well-positioned for careers across multiple industries. The rankings below are based on actual graduate earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Earnings shown are median graduate earnings 4 years after graduation (or 1 year if 4-year data is unavailable), sourced from the College Scorecard.See full major data

Top 20 English Language and Literature Programs by Graduate Earnings

#	School	Earnings	Tuition	Accept Rate	Enrollment
1	College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA	$69,556	$60,850	21%	3,015
2	Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX	$65,722	$64,460	61%	7,106
3	Duke University Durham, NC	$65,074	$65,805	7%	6,417
4	Villanova University Villanova, PA	$64,967	$64,701	25%	7,005
5	Barnard College New York, NY	$63,564	$66,246	8%	3,219
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	$60,462	$64,700	5%	6,811
7	Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA	$60,450	$64,772	32%	3,818
8	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	$60,383	$62,693	12%	8,923
9	Fairfield University Fairfield, CT	$59,811	$56,360	45%	4,938
10	Bates College Lewiston, ME	$58,988	$63,478	13%	1,753
11	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	$58,459	$69,045	4%	8,899
12	University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA	$57,848	$58,222	51%	5,697
13	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	$57,075	$67,680	16%	9,865
14	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	$57,001	$46,810	78%	2,032
15	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$56,857	$65,081	13%	7,462
16	Williams College Williamstown, MA	$56,571	$64,860	10%	2,060
17	Dickinson College Carlisle, PA	$56,242	$63,475	43%	2,157
18	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	$56,111	$58,974	40%	7,171
19	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$55,862	$63,061	42%	15,245
20	George Washington University Washington, DC	$55,736	$64,990	44%	10,848