2023 Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree Schools
Finding the Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree 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.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 579 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best bachelor's degree programs for students. To come up with a school's ranking, we analyzed numerous factors related to post-graduation wages, the quality of education offered by the school, average accumulated student debt, and more.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the United States
The colleges and universities below are the best for English language and literature majors pursuing a bachelor's degree.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Bachelor's in English Language & Literature
Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Request Information
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Colgate University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Colgate is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Hamilton.
Request Information
Out of the 579 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Wake Forest University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Winston-Salem.
Request Information
A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of Notre Dame is a great place for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
Request Information
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Virginia Military Institute helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best English language and literature schools in the United States. Located in the town of Lexington, VMI is a public school with a small student population.
Full English Language & Literature at Virginia Military Institute Report
Request Information
Yale University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree English language and literature programs. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.
Request Information
Dartmouth College ranked #7 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Dartmouth is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the town of Hanover.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Dartmouth College
Request Information
With a ranking of #8, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large city of Washington, Georgetown is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Request Information
Santa Clara University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the midsize city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Santa Clara University
Request Information
Duke University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Durham.
Request Information
Vassar College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree English language and literature programs. Vassar is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Poughkeepsie.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Vassar College
Request Information
With a ranking of #12, Lafayette College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Easton, Lafayette is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Request Information
American University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking. The American University is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
Full English Language & Literature at American University Report
Request Information
Gettysburg College landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the small city of Gettysburg, Gettysburg is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Gettysburg College
Request Information
With a ranking of #15, Trinity College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the medium-sized city of Hartford, Trinity Bantams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request Information
With a ranking of #16, St. Mary’s University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. St. Mary's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Antonio.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at St. Mary’s University
Request Information
Monmouth University ranked #17 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a moderately-sized student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Monmouth University
Request Information
Wellesley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #18 on the list. Located in the suburb of Wellesley, Wellesley is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Request Information
University of Chicago ranked #19 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Chicago
Request Information
Villanova University ranked #20 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Villanova is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Villanova.
Request Information
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #21 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at Carnegie Mellon University Report
Request Information
With a ranking of #22, University of Virginia - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at University of Virginia - Main Campus Report
Request Information
University of Pennsylvania ranked #23 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Full English Language & Literature at University of Pennsylvania Report
Request Information
National University ranked #24 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Bachelor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of La Jolla, National University is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at National University
Request Information
The College of New Jersey landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree English language and literature programs. TCNJ is a medium-sized public school located in the large suburb of Ewing.
Full English Language & Literature at The College of New Jersey Report
Request InformationRest of the Top 50 Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree Schools
Additional Award Winners
This section represents the remainder of the schools awarded a Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 15% of the 579 different United States English language and literature schools we analyzed.
Honorable Mentions
These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
English Language & Literature by Region
View the Best English Language & Literature Bachelor's Degree 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.
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.