2023 Best English Language & Literature Master's Degree Schools
Finding the Best English Language & Literature Master'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.
The Best English Language & Literature Master's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 372 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best master'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.
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2023 Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools in the United States
Check out the English language and literature master's degree programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 25 Top Schools for a Master'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 master’s degree. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Wake Forest University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem.
Out of the 372 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Yale University landed the # 3 spot on the list. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of New Haven.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Yale University
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Notre Dame. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Notre Dame.
Full English Language & Literature at University of Notre Dame Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend The Graduate Center, CUNY. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of New York.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at The Graduate Center, CUNY
Duke University ranked #6 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. Duke is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Durham.
University of Washington - Bothell Campus landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree English language and literature programs. UW Bothell is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Bothell.
St. Mary’s University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #8 on the list. St. Mary's is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Antonio.
Full English Language & Literature at St. Mary’s University Report
Monmouth University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the large suburb of West Long Branch, Monmouth is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Monmouth University
Villanova University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Villanova is a large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Villanova.
Full English Language & Literature at Villanova University Report
Johns Hopkins University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit college with a very large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at Johns Hopkins University Report
University of Maryland - College Park came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at University of Maryland - College Park Report
University of Pennsylvania came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Philadelphia.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Pennsylvania
With a ranking of #14, University of Chicago did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their master’s degree. Located in the city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at University of Chicago Report
University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #15 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best master’s degree English language and literature programs. Located in the suburb of Charlottesville, University of Virginia is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at University of Virginia - Main Campus
The College of New Jersey did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #16 on the list. TCNJ is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Ewing.
With a ranking of #17, Middlebury College did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their master’s degree. Located in the distant town of Middlebury, Middlebury is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Trinity College came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the city of Hartford, Trinity Bantams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Texas Christian University ranked #19 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. Located in the large city of Fort Worth, TCU is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at Texas Christian University Report
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for English language and literature students to get a master’s degree. It came in at #20 on the list. Located in the city of Seattle, UW Seattle is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Marquette University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Milwaukee, Marquette is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
Full English Language & Literature at Marquette University Report
Northwestern University ranked #22 on this year’s Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools list. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Evanston.
Full English Language & Literature at Northwestern University Report
Vanderbilt University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best English Language & Literature Master’s Degree Schools ranking. Vanderbilt is a large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Nashville.
With a ranking of #24, University of Houston - Clear Lake did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their master’s degree. UH Clear Lake is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Houston.
With a ranking of #25, Carnegie Mellon University did quite well on this year’s best schools for English language and literature students working on their master’s degree. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Read full report on English Language & Literature at Carnegie Mellon University
Rest of the Top Best English Language & Literature Master's Degree Schools
Additional Award Winners
This list represents the remainder of the colleges awarded a Best English Language & Literature Master's Degree Schools badge. Showing in this list means the school was ranked in the top 15% of the 372 different United States English language and literature schools we analyzed.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Towson University | Towson, MD |
| 52 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
| 53 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 54 | University of Nebraska - Lincoln | Lincoln, NE |
| 55 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, TX |
Honorable Mentions
Here are some additional great schools for English Language & Literature students that almost earned our Best English Language & Literature Master's Degree Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 56 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester, PA |
| 57 | University of Wisconsin - Stout | Menomonie, WI |
| 58 | Salisbury University | Salisbury, MD |
| 59 | University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire | Eau Claire, WI |
| 60 | Rowan University | Glassboro, NJ |
| 61 | University of San Francisco | San Francisco, CA |
| 62 | James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA |
| 63 | Boston University | Boston, MA |
| 64 | George Washington University | Washington, DC |
| 65 | Auburn University | Auburn, AL |
| 66 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 67 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 68 | California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 69 | Rutgers University - New Brunswick | New Brunswick, NJ |
| 70 | Fairfield University | Fairfield, CT |
| 71 | Winona State University | Winona, MN |
| 72 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY |
| 73 | University of North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND |
| 74 | The University of Texas at Arlington | Arlington, TX |
English Language & Literature by Region
View the Best English Language & Literature Master'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.
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