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2023 Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools

139 Colleges
$51,842 Avg Salary

Finding the Best English Language & Literature Doctor'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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 139 schools in the United States to see which doctor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences 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 Doctor’s Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best for English language and literature majors pursuing a doctor's degree.

Top 15% Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in the United States for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

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#2

University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame, IN

The excellent doctor’s degree programs at University of Notre Dame helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best English language and literature schools in the United States. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.

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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means The Graduate Center, CUNY is a great place for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. The Graduate Center is a medium-sized public school located in the city of New York.

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#4

Yale University

New Haven, CT

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Yale University. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

Full English Language & Literature at Yale University Report

#5

Duke University

Durham, NC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Duke University

#6

University of Chicago

Chicago, IL

University of Chicago ranked #6 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Chicago

#7

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA

With a ranking of #7, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Full English Language & Literature at Carnegie Mellon University Report

University of Washington - Seattle Campus came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Washington - Seattle Campus

#9

Texas Christian University

Fort Worth, TX

Texas Christian University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.

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#10

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, IN

With a ranking of #10, Purdue University - Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. Purdue is a fairly large public school located in the city of West Lafayette.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Purdue University - Main Campus

Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. IUP is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Indiana.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Indiana University of Pennsylvania - Main Campus

#12

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

With a ranking of #12, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Pennsylvania

#13

Emory University

Atlanta, GA

Emory University ranked #13 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Emory is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Atlanta.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Emory University

#14

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Charlottesville, VA

University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the small suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a very large student population.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Virginia - Main Campus

#15

Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD

Johns Hopkins University ranked #15 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools list. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Johns Hopkins University

#16

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, TN

With a ranking of #16, Vanderbilt University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their doctor’s degree. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Vanderbilt University

#17

Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

Northwestern University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #17 on the list. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Evanston.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Northwestern University

University of Maryland - College Park landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best doctor’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a very large student population.

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#19

Marquette University

Milwaukee, WI

Marquette University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Doctor’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.

Read full report on English Language & Literature at Marquette University

#20

Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Michigan State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a doctor’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public college with a fairly large student population.

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for English Language & Literature students that almost earned our Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools award.

Rank College Location
21 Iowa State University Ames, IA
22 Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA
23 Rice University Houston, TX
24 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
25 University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, WI
26 University of California - Berkeley Berkeley, CA
27 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL

English Language & Literature by Region

View the Best English Language & Literature Doctor'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

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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