2023 Best Linguistics & Literature Schools
Finding the Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature School for You
Linguistics & Comparative Literature is the #97 most popular major in the country with 8,539 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 166 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools in the United States
The following schools top our list of the Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Colleges.
Top 15% Best Linguistics & Comparative Literature Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey the best school in the United States for linguistics and comparative literature students. Middlebury Institute is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Monterey.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Virginia Military Institute. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Linguistics & Literature Schools list. VMI is a small public school located in the distant town of Lexington.
Comparative Literature majors at VMI take out an average of $25,396 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at Virginia Military Institute Report
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Bucknell University is a great place for linguistics and comparative literature students. Bucknell is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Lewisburg.
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The excellent programs at University of Notre Dame helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best linguistics and comparative literature schools in the United States. Located in the large suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Duke University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Linguistics & Literature Schools list. Located in the large city of Durham, Duke is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at Duke University Report
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University of Missouri - Columbia landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best linguistics and comparative literature programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Columbia, Mizzou is a public college with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, comparative literature majors at Mizzou accumulate an average of around $19,500 in student debt.
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With a ranking of #7, Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well on this year’s best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of New York.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at Columbia University in the City of New York Report
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Brandeis University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best linguistics and comparative literature programs. Located in the small city of Waltham, Brandeis is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population.
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With a ranking of #9, Georgetown University did quite well on this year’s best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Washington.
The average amount in student loans that comparative literature majors at Georgetown take out is $17,500.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at Georgetown University Report
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Texas A&M University - College Station came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. Texas A&M College Station is a very large public school located in the city of College Station.
After completing their degree, comparative literature graduates from Texas A&M College Station carry an average student debtload of $19,749.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at Texas A&M University - College Station Report
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James Madison University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best linguistics and comparative literature programs. Located in the small city of Harrisonburg, JMU is a public college with a very large student population.
While working on their degree, comparative literature majors at JMU accumulate an average of around $21,094 in student debt. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $327, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at James Madison University Report
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University of Virginia - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Linguistics & Literature Schools list. University of Virginia is a fairly large public school located in the small suburb of Charlottesville.
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Kennesaw State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. It came in at #13 on the list. Located in the suburb of Kennesaw, KSU Georgia is a public school with a very large student population.
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Virginia Tech landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best linguistics and comparative literature programs. Virginia Tech is a very large public school located in the small city of Blacksburg.
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With a ranking of #15, Wake Forest University did quite well on this year’s best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. Located in the midsize city of Winston-Salem, Wake Forest University is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.
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University of California - Los Angeles ranked #16 on this year’s Best Linguistics & Literature Schools list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public college with a fairly large student population.
On average, comparative literature graduates from UCLA take out $14,920 in student loans while working on their degree. This translates to an average monthly loan payment of $230, based on a 10-year repayment plan.
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With a ranking of #17, Hamilton College did quite well on this year’s best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. Hamilton is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Clinton.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best linguistics and comparative literature programs. Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that comparative literature majors at UIUC take out is $14,170.
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Brown University came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. Brown is a large private not-for-profit school located in the medium-sized city of Providence.
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With a ranking of #20, George Mason University did quite well on this year’s best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. GMU is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Fairfax.
While working on their degree, comparative literature majors at GMU accumulate an average of around $23,000 in student debt.
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Wellesley College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for linguistics and comparative literature students. It came in at #21 on the list. Wellesley is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Wellesley.
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University of Southern California came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.
On average, comparative literature graduates from USC take out $5,500 in student loans while working on their degree.
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University of California - Berkeley came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
The average amount in student loans that comparative literature majors at UC Berkeley take out is $12,842.
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University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Linguistics & Literature Schools ranking. Located in the large city of Pittsburgh, Pitt is a public college with a very large student population.
The average amount in student loans that comparative literature majors at Pitt take out is $25,844.
Full Linguistics & Comparative Literature at University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Report
Request InformationAdditional Noteworthy Schools
Here are some additional great schools for Linguistics & Literature students that almost earned our Best Linguistics & Literature Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 26 | William & Mary | Williamsburg, VA |
| 27 | University of Delaware | Newark, DE |
| 28 | Calvin University | Grand Rapids, MI |
| 29 | University of Nebraska at Omaha | Omaha, NE |
| 30 | The University of Tennessee - Knoxville | Knoxville, TN |
| 31 | University of Washington - Seattle Campus | Seattle, WA |
| 32 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
| 33 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC |
Linguistics & Comparative Literature by Region
View the Best Linguistics & 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 Linguistics & Comparative Literature Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Comparative Literature
One of 17 majors within the area of study, linguistics and comparative literature has other similar majors worth exploring.
Most Popular Majors Related to Comparative Literature
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Romance Languages | 15,009 |
| American Sign Language | 2,724 |
| East Asian Languages | 2,293 |
| Classical Languages & Literature | 1,428 |
| Germanic Languages | 1,425 |
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 Pandit Rahul Sanskrutayan, Banshidhar Mohanty.
More about our data sources and methodologies.