English Language & Literature at Harvard University

What traits are you looking for in a English language and literature school? To help you decide if Harvard University is right for you, we've gathered the following information about the school's English language and literature program.

Harvard is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and approximately 30,391 students attend the school each year. In 2021, 39 English language and literature majors received their bachelor's degree from Harvard.

Want to know more about the career opportunities in this field? Check out the Careers in English Language & Literature section at the bottom of this page.

Harvard English Language & Literature Degrees Available

• Bachelor’s Degree in English Language & Literature
• Master’s Degree in English Language & Literature
• Doctorate Degree in English Language & Literature

Online Classes Are Available at Harvard

If you are a working student or have a busy schedule, you may want to consider taking online classes. While these classes used to be mostly populated by returning adults, more and more traditional students are turning to this option.

For those who are interested in distance learning, Harvard does offer online courses in English language and literature for the following degree levels:

Harvard English Language & Literature Rankings

Each year, College Factual ranks English language and literature programs across the country. The following shows how Harvard performed in these rankings.

Note: Rankings don't always give a complete picture of a school's strengths and weaknesses, so it's a good idea to extend your research and also look at other factors when trying to decide if the school is right for you.

Bachelor’s Degree Overall Quality & Other Notable Rankings

The English language and literature major at Harvard is not ranked on College Factual’s Best Colleges and Universities for English Language & Literature. This could be for a number of reasons, such as not having enough data on the major or school to make an accurate assessment of its quality.

Ranking Type	Rank
Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools	39
	80
Most Focused English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools	83
Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools	96

In 2021, 47 students received their master’s degree in English language and literature from Harvard. This makes it the #20 most popular school for English language and literature master’s degree candidates in the country.

There were 7 students who received their doctoral degrees in English language and literature, making the school the #56 most popular school in the United States for this category of students.

English Language & Literature Student Demographics at Harvard

Take a look at the following statistics related to the make-up of the English language and literature majors at Harvard University.

Harvard English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Program

The English language and literature program at Harvard awarded 39 bachelor's degrees in 2020-2021. About 28% of these degrees went to men with the other 72% going to women.

About 51% of those who receive a bachelor's degree in English language and literature at Harvard are white. This is below average for this degree on the nationwide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor's in English language and literature.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	6
Black or African American	1
Hispanic or Latino	4
White	20
International Students	5
Other Races/Ethnicities	3

Harvard English Language & Literature Master’s Program

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 47 students earned a master's degree in English language and literature from Harvard. About 68% of these graduates were women and the other 32% were men. Nationwide, master's degree programs only see 28% men graduate in English language and literature each year. Harvard does a better job at serving the male population as it supports 4% more men than average.

Of the students who received a English language and literature master's degree from Harvard, 60% were white. This is typical for this degree on the natiowide level.

The following table and chart show the race/ethnicity for students who recently graduated from Harvard University with a master's in English language and literature.

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Students
Asian	7
Black or African American	2
Hispanic or Latino	3
White	28
International Students	2
Other Races/Ethnicities	5

Harvard also has a doctoral program available in English language and literature. In 2021, 7 students graduated with a doctor's degree in this field.

Concentrations Within English Language & Literature

English Language & Literature majors may want to concentrate their studies in one of these areas. The table shows all degrees awarded in this field awarded for all degree levels at Harvard University. A concentration may not be available for your level.

Concentration	Annual Degrees Awarded
General English Literature	76
Literature	20
Writing Studies	17

Related Majors

• Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities
• Philosophy & Religious Studies
• Theology & Religious Vocations
• Foreign Languages & Linguistics
• Visual & Performing Arts

Careers That English Language & Literature Grads May Go Into

A degree in English language and literature can lead to the following careers. Since job numbers and average salaries can vary by geographic location, we have only included the numbers for MA, the home state for Harvard University.

Occupation	Jobs in MA	Average Salary in MA
High School Teachers	26,420	$80,020
Editors	3,160	$89,280
English Language and Literature Professors	2,780	$80,450
Technical Writers	2,420	$89,630
Writers and Authors	1,490	$70,000

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• Image Credit: By Elisa.rolle under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.