Majors

Best Colleges for Writing, by Earnings

353 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Writing, about 5,629 degrees a year. Across the 113 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $47,141 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Richmond	VA	$81,253	21	22.2%
2	University of Utah	UT	$75,686	27	86%
3	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	$71,205	15	11.7%
4	Iowa State University	IA	$69,673	14	88.7%
5	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$69,373	42	11%
6	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$68,522	14	64%
7	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$68,314	35	26.6%
8	Clemson University	SC	$67,102	53	38.3%
9	Wabash College	IN	$65,605	11	63.3%
10	Johns Hopkins University	MD	$63,503	26	6.4%
11	Loyola University Maryland	MD	$62,745	16	75.5%
12	Marquette University	WI	$62,473	15	81.3%
13	George Mason University	VA	$62,383	26	87.5%
14	University of Nebraska at Kearney	NE	$61,941	13	89.5%
15	Arizona State University	AZ	$61,676	9	89.9%
16	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$61,474	71	75.4%
17	Syracuse University	NY	$61,159	27	45.9%
18	Texas Tech University	TX	$60,563	11	72.7%
19	University of Minnesota	MN	$60,415	139	79.8%
20	Seattle University	WA	$60,291	15	76.9%
21	Metropolitan State University	MN	$59,779	16	98.7%
22	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$59,281	72	78.9%
23	San Francisco State University	CA	$59,032	16	96.4%
24	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$58,918	46	98.8%
25	Texas State University	TX	$58,484	20	89.3%
26	James Madison University	VA	$57,179	37	71.5%
27	University of Pittsburgh	PA	$57,012	170	58.1%
28	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg	PA	$57,012	21	95.2%
29	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	$57,012	13	94.8%
30	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford	PA	$57,012	2	88.5%
31	Michigan State University	MI	$56,662	25	84.8%
32	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$56,244	68	95.2%
33	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$55,361	16	74.7%
34	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$54,917	13	90.5%
35	Emory University	GA	$54,848	30	10.7%
36	University of South Florida	FL	$54,778	27	43.2%
37	Old Dominion University	VA	$54,390	171	90.4%
38	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$53,436	10	87.7%
39	Saint Edward's University	TX	$53,151	16	81.4%
40	University of Rhode Island	RI	$52,625	16	72.2%
41	DePauw University	IN	$51,983	20	57.2%
42	Emerson College	MA	$51,742	92	51.3%
43	Ithaca College	NY	$51,001	29	69%
44	Saginaw Valley State University	MI	$50,875	20	72.1%
45	Drake University	IA	$50,591	11	63.9%
46	Drury University	MO	$50,287	8	57.6%
47	Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies	MO	$50,287	1
48	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$50,120	67	81%
49	Purdue University	IN	$49,918	61	49.9%
50	Binghamton University	NY	$49,366	29	38.6%
51	East Tennessee State University	TN	$48,263	12	86.2%
52	Savannah College of Art and Design	GA	$48,189	20	83%
53	Ferris State University	MI	$47,823	17	91.4%
54	Columbia University	NY	$47,702	33	4%
55	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	$47,530	29	90.8%
56	Georgia Southern University	GA	$47,439	63	87.9%
57	Champlain College	VT	$47,141	15	82.9%
58	University of Washington	WA	$47,124	36	39.1%
59	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	$47,124	26	82.5%
60	Elmhurst University	IL	$47,052	13	73.6%
61	University of Montevallo	AL	$46,767	13	53.9%
62	Manhattanville University	NY	$46,500	14	87.3%
63	Loyola University New Orleans	LA	$46,374	18	93.1%
64	Capital University	OH	$46,135	8	70.2%
65	Illinois College	IL	$45,716	13	78.2%
66	Rhode Island College	RI	$45,378	8	91.8%
67	Hamline University	MN	$45,253	13	87.6%
68	University of Arizona	AZ	$44,260	49	86.1%
69	Chapman University	CA	$44,183	37	65.4%
70	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$44,004	32	42.4%
71	Roanoke College	VA	$43,974	8	83.1%
72	University of Michigan	MI	$43,689	27	15.6%
73	East Carolina University	NC	$43,647	1	89.2%
74	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$43,607	17	86.5%
75	Grand Valley State University	MI	$43,552	37	83%
76	Youngstown State University	OH	$43,031	40	84.5%
77	Hamilton College	NY	$42,806	15	13.6%
78	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	$42,372	11	74.1%
79	Central Washington University	WA	$41,971	67	90.6%
80	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	$41,870	15	78.1%
81	University of Southern California	CA	$41,637	41	9.8%
82	Susquehanna University	PA	$40,989	35	81.4%
83	Eastern Michigan University	MI	$40,929	9	79.6%
84	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	$40,814	9	78.4%
85	Western Michigan University	MI	$40,792	35	84.6%
86	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	$40,579	27	80.6%
87	Taylor University	IN	$40,573	4	73.5%
88	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$40,479	22	85%
89	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	$40,479	1
90	University of Maine at Farmington	ME	$40,081	14	96.7%
91	Truman State University	MO	$40,026	17	83.8%
92	Northern Michigan University	MI	$39,982	8	84%
93	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$39,966	580	99.5%
94	Pratt Institute-Main	NY	$39,915	23	73.3%
95	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$39,837	17	58.4%
96	Columbia College Chicago	IL	$39,751	46	89.5%
97	Beloit College	WI	$39,702	20	63%
98	Aquinas College	MI	$39,465	4	89.9%
99	Knox College	IL	$38,967	20	70.8%
100	University of Puget Sound	WA	$38,871	8	72.3%

Showing the top 100 of 113 colleges that report earnings. 240 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Writing graduates?

University of Richmond ($81,253), University of Utah ($75,686), Carnegie Mellon University ($71,205), Iowa State University ($69,673), University of California-Berkeley ($69,373) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Writing majors make?

The median across 113 colleges is $47,141 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $32,267 to $81,253.

Which colleges have the biggest Writing programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Southern New Hampshire University (580), Old Dominion University (171), University of Pittsburgh (170), Liberty University (146), University of Minnesota (139).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.