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2024 Best Literature Master's Degree Schools

10 Colleges in the United States
116 Master's Degrees
$44,365 Avg Early-Career Salary
Literaturemaster's programs are on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of popularity. In fact, the major degree program ranks #230 out of the 343 majors we look at each year. As such, your educational options may be more limited than if you were in a more popular field.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 10 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Literature Master's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 116 master's degrees in literature during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great Literature School for Your Master's Degree

Best Literature Master's Degree Schools Your choice of literature for getting your master's degree school matters. This section explores some of the factors we include in our ranking and how much they vary depending on the school you select. When choosing a school we recommend considering some of the following factors:

Quality Overall Is Important

A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges for a Master's Degree ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.

Average Earnings

To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their master's degree from the school. This is because one of the main reasons people pursue their master's degree is to enable themselves to find better-paying positions.

Other Factors We Consider

In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for literature students working on their master's degree.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Literature Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Literature Master's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.

Best Schools for Master’s Students to Study Literature in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a master's degree in literature.

10 Top Schools for a Master's in Literature

1
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY

Every student who is interested in a master's degree in literature has to look into New York University. Located in the large city of New York, NYU is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.

Soon after graduating, literature master's recipients generally make about $44,365 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a master’s in literature from New York University

2
24 Annual Graduates

George Mason University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a master's degree in literature. GMU is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Fairfax.More information about a master’s in literature from George Mason University

3
The American University crest
American University
Washington, DC
1 Annual Graduates

American University is a great decision for students interested in a master's degree in literature. The American University is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.More information about a master’s in literature from American University

4
9 Annual Graduates

Every student pursuing a degree in a master's degree in literature has to look into Eastern Michigan University. Eastern Michigan is a fairly large public university located in the suburb of Ypsilanti.More information about a master’s in literature from Eastern Michigan University

5

Located in the small city of Flagstaff, NAU is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in literature from Northern Arizona University

6
1 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, The Graduate Center is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in literature from The Graduate Center, CUNY

7
Mills crest
Mills College
Oakland, CA
3 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Oakland, Mills is a private not-for-profit college with a student population.More information about a master’s in literature from Mills College

7
Hunter crest
Hunter College
New York, NY
3 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of New York, Hunter is a public college with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in literature from Hunter College

8
3 Annual Graduates

Located in the town of Ellensburg, CWU is a public university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a master’s in literature from Central Washington University

9

Located in the midsize city of Boise, Boise State is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a master’s in literature from Boise State University

Literature by Region

View the Best 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
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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One of 9 majors within the English Language & Literature area of study, Literature has other similar majors worth exploring.

Literature Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
English Literature (British & Commonwealth) 70
Other Literature 11
General Literature 8
American Literature (United States) 1

Related Major Annual Graduates
General English Literature 3,951
Writing Studies 3,697
English Literature (Other) 145

Notes and References

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