2023 Best English Language & Literature Schools
Finding the Best English Language & Literature School for You
In 2020-2021, 54,635 people earned a degree or certificate in English language and literature, making the major the #17 most popular in the United States.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best English Language & Literature Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 587 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best programs for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best English Language & Literature Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best English Language & Literature Colleges.
Top 25 Top Schools in English Language & Literature
Our analysis found Manhattan School of Computer Technology to be the best school for English language and literature students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Manhattan School of Computer Technology is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Brooklyn,.
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Out of the 587 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the # 2 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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The excellent programs at Colgate University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best English language and literature schools in the United States. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.
After completing their degree, English language and literature graduates from Colgate carry an average student debtload of $16,543.
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The excellent programs at Wake Forest University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best English language and literature schools in the United States. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
The average amount in student loans that English language and literature majors at Wake Forest University take out is $21,500.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Notre Dame. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
The average amount in student loans that English language and literature majors at Notre Dame take out is $19,000.
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Virginia Military Institute ranked #6 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. Located in the town of Lexington, VMI is a public school with a small student population.
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Yale University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best English language and literature programs. Yale is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
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Dartmouth College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for English language and literature students. It came in at #8 on the list. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Hanover.
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The Graduate Center, CUNY came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Schools ranking. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the large city of New York.
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With a ranking of #10, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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Duke University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best English language and literature programs. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
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With a ranking of #12, Vassar College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students. Vassar is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie.
On average, English language and literature graduates from Vassar take out $19,405 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #13, Lafayette College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students. Located in the suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average amount in student loans that English language and literature majors at Lafayette take out is $19,500.
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Georgetown University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
On average, English language and literature graduates from Georgetown take out $14,750 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of Washington - Bothell Campus ranked #15 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. UW Bothell is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Bothell.
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With a ranking of #16, Gettysburg College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students. Located in the city of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
English Language & Literature majors at Gettysburg take out an average of $25,974 in student loans while working on their egree.
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St. Mary’s University landed the #17 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best English language and literature programs. St. Mary's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Antonio.
On average, English language and literature graduates from St. Mary's take out $27,000 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Trinity College landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best English language and literature programs. Located in the city of Hartford, Trinity Bantams is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
After completing their degree, English language and literature graduates from Trinity Bantams carry an average student debtload of $22,592.
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Monmouth University ranked #19 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. Located in the large suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
After completing their degree, English language and literature graduates from Monmouth carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
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University of Pennsylvania landed the #20 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best English language and literature programs. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
On average, English language and literature graduates from UPenn take out $19,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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With a ranking of #21, Wellesley College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students. Located in the suburb of Wellesley, Wellesley is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
While working on their degree, English language and literature majors at Wellesley accumulate an average of around $10,539 in student debt.
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University of Chicago did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for English language and literature students. It came in at #22 on the list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
After completing their degree, English language and literature graduates from UChicago carry an average student debtload of $17,166.
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Villanova University ranked #23 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
After completing their degree, English language and literature graduates from Villanova carry an average student debtload of $27,000.
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University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for English language and literature students. It came in at #24 on the list. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public school with a fairly large student population.
English Language & Literature majors at University of Virginia take out an average of $14,026 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Carnegie Mellon University ranked #25 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Schools list. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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Additional Award Winners
This section shows the rest of the schools awarded a Best English Language & Literature Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 587 different United States English language and literature schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for English Language & Literature students that almost earned our Best English Language & Literature Schools award.
English Language & Literature by Region
View the Best English Language & Literature Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More English Language & Literature Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to English Language & Literature
English Language & Literature Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General English Literature | 40,481 |
| Writing Studies | 12,529 |
| English Literature (Other) | 942 |
| Literature | 683 |
Majors Similar to English Language & Literature
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities | 556,813 |
| Visual & Performing Arts | 149,215 |
| Foreign Languages & Linguistics | 33,333 |
| Theology & Religious Vocations | 27,459 |
| Philosophy & Religious Studies | 19,993 |
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).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Mike Hazard.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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