Highest-Paying English Language & Literature Programs
Colleges whose english language & literature graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Ranked by median earnings, 1 year after completing · 695 of 2,406 institutions report this measure · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#1
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ
#3
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN
#5
Yale University
New Haven, CT
- 1Princeton UniversityPrinceton, NJ · Private$52,107Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Engineering#1
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#6
- Public Administration#10
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#11
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#14
- Psychology#15
- the Highest ACT Scores#20
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#24
- 2Bucknell UniversityLewisburg, PA · Private$50,661Compare nearby
- 3University of Notre DameNotre Dame, IN · Private$49,579Compare nearby
- 4Mount Saint Mary's UniversityLos Angeles, CA · Private$48,432Compare nearby
- 5Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT · Private$48,432Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- History#1
- Most Selective Colleges in America#5
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#7
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#7
- Computer Science#9
- Social Sciences#9
- Multidisciplinary Studies#10
- the Highest ACT Scores#11
- Are Least Likely to Leave#15
- the Highest SAT Averages#15
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#16
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#17
- Psychology#24
- 6Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC · Private$47,260Compare nearby
- 7Monmouth UniversityWest Long Branch, NJ · Private$46,673Compare nearby
- 8Harvard UniversityCambridge, MA · Private$46,478Compare nearby
Also on 13 other lists
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#2
- Most Selective Colleges in America#2
- the Highest ACT Scores#3
- Psychology#3
- the Highest SAT Averages#3
- Biological Sciences#4
- Computer Science#4
- Mathematics & Statistics#6
- History#8
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#10
- Are Least Likely to Leave#18
- Social Sciences#21
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#24
- 9Georgian Court UniversityLakewood, NJ · Private$45,852Compare nearby
- 10Trinity CollegeHartford, CT · Private$45,696Compare nearby
- 11University of MiamiCoral Gables, FL · Private$43,798Compare nearby
- 12Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA · Private$43,798Compare nearby
- 13Villanova UniversityVillanova, PA · Private$43,798Compare nearby
- 14Dartmouth CollegeHanover, NH · Private$42,682Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- Philosophy & Religious Studies#1
- Physical Sciences#1
- Mathematics & Statistics#3
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#9
- History#11
- Most Selective Colleges in America#12
- Computer Science#14
- the Highest SAT Averages#16
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#17
- the Highest ACT Scores#19
- Are Least Likely to Leave#25
- 15Barnard CollegeNew York, NY · Private$42,682Compare nearby
- 16Middlebury CollegeMiddlebury, VT · Private$42,682Compare nearby
- 17Virginia Military InstituteLexington, VA · Public$42,682Compare nearby
- 18Stanford UniversityStanford, CA · Private$42,682Compare nearby
Also on 15 other lists
- Computer Science#2
- Biological Sciences#3
- Engineering Technology#3
- Most Selective Colleges in America#3
- Best Earnings-to-Debt Ratio#4
- Psychology#6
- the Highest SAT Averages#6
- the Highest ACT Scores#7
- Best Early-Career Earnings, 6 Years After Enrolling#7
- Graduates Earn the Most 10 Years Out#7
- Area & Ethnic Studies#8
- Social Sciences#8
- Engineering#10
- Multidisciplinary Studies#22
- Are Least Likely to Leave#24
- 19Oglethorpe UniversityAtlanta, GA · Private$42,615Compare nearby
- 20College of the Holy CrossWorcester, MA · Private$42,402Compare nearby
- 21Baylor UniversityWaco, TX · Private$42,363Compare nearby
- 22Northeastern UniversityBoston, MA · Private$42,123Compare nearby
- 23The University of Texas Permian BasinOdessa, TX · Public$42,123Compare nearby
- 24San Jose State UniversitySan Jose, CA · Public$41,949Compare nearby
- 25Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · Public$41,914Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Median earnings, 1 year after completing — sorted highest to lowest
- Source variable
EARN_MDN_HI_1YR- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Field-of-Study (04-17-2025 release)
- Where a college offers several english language & literature programs, the figure shown is the median across those programs.
- Earnings cover graduates who received federal financial aid, were working and not enrolled one year after completing, and whose highest credential is that bachelor's degree.
- 695 institutions report earnings for this field; programs with too few graduates are suppressed for privacy by the Department of Education and cannot be ranked.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, filtered to English Language & Literature
- Showdown: Princeton University vs Bucknell UniversityHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at Princeton UniversityEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
Highest-Paying Communications Technology Programs
Colleges whose communications technology graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Highest-Paying Computer Science Programs
Colleges whose computer science graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.
Highest-Paying Education Programs
Colleges whose education graduates earn the most one year after finishing, across all bachelor's programs in the field.