Bachelor's degree · English language and literature · CIP 23.13
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies: earnings and debt by college
The College Scorecard lists 393 colleges that award bachelor's degrees in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, together awarding 5,958 of these degrees in the most recent year. At the median institution, graduates who received federal aid earn $35,399 one year after finishing and $47,901 five years after finishing (two separate graduating classes). The median institution's graduates leave with $22,952 in federal student loans.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Compare Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies programs on one chart
Pick any two measures. Hover a dot to see the college; click it to open the college's page.
Each dot is one institution's program; branch campuses share their institution's figures and appear as one dot. Dashed lines mark the median for all colleges. Showing 62 of 379; programs missing either value are left out (the Scorecard withholds figures for small programs).
Colleges with a bachelor's in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
| Southern New Hampshire University Manchester · Private nonprofit | NH | 607 | $33,584 | $44,741 | $31,360 |
| Full Sail University Winter Park · Private for-profit | FL | 203 | $27,906 | $34,882 | $37,375 |
| Liberty University Lynchburg · Private nonprofit | VA | 202 | $30,895 | n/a | $21,747 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh · Public | PA | 188 | $39,692 | $58,611 | $22,250 |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis · Public | MN | 132 | $47,736 | $64,650 | $19,500 |
| Western Washington University Bellingham · Public | WA | 127 | $28,807 | $44,159 | $15,742 |
| Emerson College Boston · Private nonprofit | MA | 118 | $39,432 | $57,593 | $23,313 |
| Old Dominion University Norfolk · Public | VA | 118 | $39,322 | $62,770 | $25,000 |
| Grand Canyon University Phoenix · Private nonprofit | AZ | 88 | $35,482 | n/a | $29,166 |
| Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green · Public | OH | 79 | $41,548 | $52,603 | $27,000 |
| Clemson University Clemson · Public | SC | 78 | $50,374 | $64,684 | $20,500 |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester · Public | PA | 76 | $46,732 | $64,906 | $22,500 |
| University of California-Riverside Riverside · Public | CA | 61 | $26,549 | $41,121 | $17,296 |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati · Public | OH | 61 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Miami University-Oxford Oxford · Public | OH | 55 | $41,295 | $69,591 | $23,250 |
| University of Arizona Tucson · Public | AZ | 54 | $32,103 | $44,524 | $16,500 |
| University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque · Public | NM | 52 | $45,392 | $53,137 | $22,903 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York New York · Private nonprofit | NY | 51 | $44,703 | $40,539 | $37,500 |
| Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver · Public | CO | 48 | $49,666 | $60,054 | $21,906 |
| Boise State University Boise · Public | ID | 47 | n/a | n/a | $25,500 |
| James Madison University Harrisonburg · Public | VA | 46 | $39,049 | $66,987 | $15,000 |
| Central Washington University Ellensburg · Public | WA | 44 | $34,114 | $41,447 | $23,499 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale · Public | AZ | 42 | $54,078 | $76,989 | $25,954 |
| Brown University Providence · Private nonprofit | RI | 41 | $42,487 | $60,798 | n/a |
| Youngstown State University Youngstown · Public | OH | 41 | $38,537 | $43,987 | $23,680 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette · Public | IN | 40 | $35,359 | $50,017 | $15,696 |
| University of Southern California Los Angeles · Private nonprofit | CA | 40 | $39,020 | $56,791 | $18,125 |
| University of California-Berkeley Berkeley · Public | CA | 39 | $57,788 | $86,050 | $12,500 |
| Oberlin College Oberlin · Private nonprofit | OH | 38 | n/a | n/a | $27,000 |
| University of Chicago Chicago · Private nonprofit | IL | 38 | $47,906 | n/a | n/a |
| Weber State University Ogden · Public | UT | 38 | $27,496 | $48,894 | $23,000 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle · Public | WA | 37 | $35,700 | $47,473 | $14,906 |
| Binghamton University Vestal · Public | NY | 36 | $34,126 | $63,451 | $12,000 |
| Columbia College Chicago Chicago · Private nonprofit | IL | 36 | $26,973 | $41,641 | $27,000 |
| San Francisco State University San Francisco · Public | CA | 36 | $40,228 | $55,308 | $18,750 |
| Oakland University Rochester Hills · Public | MI | 35 | n/a | $45,250 | $25,403 |
| The University of Texas at Austin Austin · Public | TX | 34 | $49,298 | $72,603 | $16,000 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington · Public | NC | 34 | $23,439 | $38,124 | $27,000 |
| Chapman University Orange · Private nonprofit | CA | 33 | $34,583 | $40,403 | $21,500 |
| Grand Valley State University Allendale · Public | MI | 33 | $40,239 | $47,901 | $24,450 |
| Emory University Atlanta · Private nonprofit | GA | 32 | $38,852 | n/a | $12,000 |
| Pratt Institute-Main Brooklyn · Private nonprofit | NY | 32 | $20,535 | $43,073 | $26,348 |
| Oregon State University Corvallis · Public | OR | 30 | n/a | n/a | $19,500 |
| Ferris State University Big Rapids · Public | MI | 29 | $31,711 | $44,762 | $27,000 |
| Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah · Private nonprofit | GA | 29 | $37,167 | $39,418 | $22,000 |
| Western Michigan University Kalamazoo · Public | MI | 29 | $31,068 | $39,306 | $27,000 |
| Syracuse University Syracuse · Private nonprofit | NY | 28 | $54,123 | $72,519 | $23,000 |
| Ithaca College Ithaca · Private nonprofit | NY | 27 | $33,740 | $55,119 | $20,250 |
| Loyola University Chicago Chicago · Private nonprofit | IL | 26 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Susquehanna University Selinsgrove · Private nonprofit | PA | 26 | $30,175 | $44,699 | $27,000 |
Quick facts: Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
- How many colleges offer a bachelor's degree in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies?
- The College Scorecard lists 393 colleges that award bachelor's degrees in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies.
- How much do Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates earn?
- Across institutions, the median of graduates' median earnings is $35,399 one year after graduation (104 institutions reporting) and $47,901 five years after graduation (121 institutions reporting). These figures cover graduates who received federal aid and are working and not enrolled in school. Branch campuses share their institution's figures, so each institution counts once.
- Where do Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates earn the most five years after graduation?
- By reported median earnings five years after graduation: University of California-Berkeley ($86,050), Arizona State University Digital Immersion ($76,989), Carnegie Mellon University ($74,945), The University of Texas at Austin ($72,603), and Syracuse University ($72,519).
- How much student debt do Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates have?
- The median institution's Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates leave with $22,952 in federal student loans (76 institutions reporting). Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
- Which colleges award the most Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies degrees?
- By bachelor's degrees awarded in the most recent year: Southern New Hampshire University (607), Full Sail University (203), Liberty University (202), University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus (188), and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (132).
Related majors in english language and literature
How these numbers work
Figures cover bachelor's degree programs in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (CIP code 23.13), as reported in the College Scorecard. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid, measured one and five years after they finished, among those working and not enrolled in school; the one-year and five-year figures describe different graduating classes. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation. The Scorecard withholds figures for programs with few graduates, so many smaller programs show n/a. Summary figures are medians across institutions: the Scorecard reports program earnings and debt for a whole institution, so branch campuses share one figure and count once. All figures are from the Scorecard's most recent field-of-study release. More on the data.