Literature

Types of Degrees Literature Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many literature graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	486
Master’s Degree	134
Associate Degree	63
Basic Certificate	51
Graduate Certificate	27
Doctor’s Degree	13

What Literature Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, literature majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Literature Majors

Literature majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Literature Majors

A major in literature prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Literature Majors

As a literature major, you will find yourself needing the following abilities:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

What Can You Do With a Literature Major?

People with a literature degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
English Language and Literature Professors	9.8%	$66,590
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers	7.6%	$62,170

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature?

This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 460 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in literature in 2021, making it rank #210 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 74% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of literature majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	32
Black or African American	19
Hispanic or Latino	63
White	315
International Students	19
Other Races/Ethnicities	38

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Literature, too. About 3.9% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Literature

Some degrees associated with literature may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to literature have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	10.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.0%
Some College Courses	2.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.6%
Master’s Degree	18.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	26.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Literature Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	17	1
Bachelor’s Degree	17	10
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	21	1
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	2	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	1	0

Majors Related to Literature

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to literature.

Major	Number of Grads
General English Literature	35,472
Writing Studies	13,176
English Literature (Other)	877

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
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.