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2023 Best Literature Schools

30 Colleges
$26,788 Avg Salary
$26,372 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Literature School for You

In 2020-2021, 683 people earned a degree or certificate in literature, making the major the #266 most popular in the United States.

With all the programs available today, it can be tough to choose which one is the best for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Literature Schools ranking. This report analyzed 30 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Literature Schools in the United States

Check out the literature programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Literature Schools

#1

Duke University

Durham, NC

Our 2023 rankings named Duke University the best school in the United States for literature students. Located in the city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

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#2

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA

Out of the 30 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Harvard University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the medium-sized city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Literature at Harvard University

#3

American University

Washington, DC

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means American University is a great place for literature students. Located in the large city of Washington, The American University is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

While working on their degree, literature majors at The American University accumulate an average of around $24,889 in student debt.

Full Literature at American University Report

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means The Graduate Center, CUNY is a great place for literature students. Located in the city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

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#5

Rowan University

Glassboro, NJ

The excellent programs at Rowan University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best literature schools in the United States. Rowan is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Glassboro.

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University of California - Los Angeles did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for literature students. It came in at #6 on the list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a very large student population.

Full Literature at University of California - Los Angeles Report

#7

New York University

New York, NY

New York University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Literature Schools ranking. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Full Literature at New York University Report

With a ranking of #8, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for literature students. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Literature majors at Pitt take out an average of $27,000 in student loans while working on their egree.

Full Literature at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report

#9

George Mason University

Fairfax, VA

George Mason University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best literature programs. GMU is a fairly large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.

Full Literature at George Mason University Report

#10

Pacific University

Forest Grove, OR

Pacific University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for literature students. It came in at #10 on the list. Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Forest Grove.

Read full report on Literature at Pacific University

Literature by Region

View the Best Literature Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 3 majors within the area of study, literature has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
General English Literature 40,481
Writing Studies 12,529
English Literature (Other) 942

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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