Back

English, Literature & Writing

Colleges offering this major Rankings Trends

What you'll do in college

English majors read widely—novels, poetry, plays, essays—and learn to write about what they read with clarity and depth. Coursework covers literary periods (Shakespeare, Romanticism, modernism), critical theory, and often electives in creative writing, journalism, or rhetoric.

Expect long reading lists and lots of papers. Creative writing tracks include workshops where students share and critique each other's stories or poems. Senior projects can be a long research paper or, in creative tracks, a thesis manuscript.

What you'll do after college

English grads go into journalism, publishing, marketing and advertising, education, law, consulting, tech (especially UX writing and content roles), and graduate study. The major builds writing, reading comprehension, and the ability to make a coherent argument—skills that employers say they value but find hard to find.

Pay varies: starting jobs in publishing or media tend to be modest, while law school grads, tech writers, and consultants make significantly more.

Famous graduates

  • Toni Morrison — Nobel laureate and novelist; B.A. in English from Howard University
  • Stephen King — Bestselling author; B.A. in English from University of Maine
  • Bradley Cooper — Actor and filmmaker; B.A. in English from Georgetown University

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$48,243
1,151
100–85%
$46,524
2,305
85–75%
$47,276
3,393
75–72%
$47,936
4,622
72–55%
$49,702
4,535
55–42%
$50,680
3,574
42–25%
$58,428
2,142
25–11%
$60,375
1,156
10–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

By SAT median

$47,626
876
400–1015
$46,878
1,763
1020–1090
$46,152
2,651
1090–1154
$49,563
3,508
1154–1245
$50,015
3,503
1245–1325
$54,855
2,645
1325–1405
$57,070
1,758
1405–1497
$62,303
885
1500–1600
Median SAT · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees ▼ Male/Female Intl 5yr Earn
English, Literature & Writing 1,176 29,013 26% / 74% 1% $49,387
English 1,092 23,087 26% / 74% 1% $48,985
Creative Writing 219 2,197 30% / 70% 1% $48,711
Rhetoric and Composition 43 902 36% / 64% 3% $57,133
Writing 73 426 23% / 77% 1% $47,687
Comparative Literature 71 385 27% / 73% 11% $49,675
Literature 32 329 27% / 73% 1% $42,331
English Language and Literature/Letters 5 248 24% / 76% 1% $47,130
Professional, Technical, Business, and Scientific Writing 14 171 26% / 74% 2% $49,626
English Language and Literature 17 139 23% / 77% 8% $61,928
Professional Writing 27 131 31% / 69% 0% $50,662
English and Literature 1 75 41% / 59% 11%
Modern Languages and Literatures 2 72 25% / 75% 0% $57,443
Technical Writing 14 63 25% / 75% 2% $60,070
English Literature 14 58 16% / 84% 2% $52,368
Literatures in English 2 56 32% / 68% 2%
General Literature 9 55 33% / 67% 2%
Literature, Media, and Communication 1 54 37% / 63% 6% $94,586
Rhetoric and Writing 3 53 19% / 81% 2% $61,884
Professional and Technical Writing 4 41 24% / 76% 0% $52,290
Rhetoric 2 41 66% / 34% 0% $61,719
English Literature (British and Commonwealth) 3 37 32% / 68% 0% $52,546
Languages and Literatures 6 35 20% / 80% 0%
British Literature 1 33 12% / 88% 0% $53,705
Literary Studies 1 32 12% / 88% 3%
Writing Studies 2 26 31% / 69% 0% $38,873
English and Creative Writing 1 26 19% / 81% 15% $55,013
Literary Arts 1 23 22% / 78% 22%
Writing Seminars 1 20 20% / 80% 5% $62,857
Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures 2 18 22% / 78% 0% $45,784
Writing and Rhetoric 2 18 17% / 83% 0%
Creative Writing and Literature 1 18 28% / 72% 0% $53,786
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies 4 17 24% / 76% 6%
American Literature and Culture 1 16 25% / 75% 0% $32,237
Composition and Rhetoric 1 16 44% / 56% 0% $44,834
Digital Humanities and Social Sciences 1 14 64% / 36% 0%
American Sign Language/English Interpreting 1 13 8% / 92% 0%
Comparative Literary Studies 1 13 23% / 77% 8%
Digital Humanities 3 9 22% / 78% 0%
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature 1 8 38% / 62% 0%
Literature (CCS) 1 8 25% / 75% 0% $51,540
Romance Studies 1 7 14% / 86% 0% $64,134
Letters 1 6 67% / 33% 0%
American Literature 1 4 25% / 75% 0%
Professional Writing and Rhetoric 1 3 33% / 67% 0%
Children's and Adolescent Literature 1 2 0% / 100% 0%
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies 1 2 0% / 100% 0%
Professional and Creative Writing 1 2 50% / 50% 0% $43,848
Writing (Course 21W) 1 2 50% / 50% 0%
Writing and Composition 1 2 0% / 100% 0%