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2024 Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools

129 Colleges in the United States
1,092 Doctor's Degrees
$51,842 Avg Early-Career Salary
English Language & Literature isn't the most popular doctorate program in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #16 in popularity out of 36 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 129 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,092 doctor's degrees in english language & literature during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Our Methodology

Choosing a Great English Language & Literature School for Your Doctor's Degree

Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools The english language & literature doctor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality english language & literature program can vary widely even among the top schools. 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 take this into account we include a school's overall Best Colleges for a Doctor's Degree ranking which itself looks at a collection of various factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.

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 doctor's degree from the school. After all, your doctor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.

Other Factors We Consider

The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.

Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for english language & literature students working on their doctor's degree.

More Ways to Rank English Language & Literature Schools

Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More English Language & 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 English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools list to help you make the college decision.


 

Best Schools for Doctorate Students to Study English Language & Literature in the United States

The following list ranks the best colleges and universities for pursuing a doctor's degree in english language & literature. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

19 Top Schools for a Doctorate in English Language & Literature

1
Yale crest
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7 Annual Graduates

Any student pursuing a degree in a doctor's degree in english language & literature needs to take a look at Yale University. Yale is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Yale University

2
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8 Annual Graduates

University of Pennsylvania is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a doctor's degree in english language & literature. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Philadelphia.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Pennsylvania

3
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7 Annual Graduates

Stanford University is a wonderful choice for individuals pursuing a doctor's degree in english language & literature. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Stanford University

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10 Annual Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Notre Dame if you want to pursue a doctor's degree in english language & literature. Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Notre Dame

5
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, NC
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11 Annual Graduates

Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Durham.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Duke University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
23 Annual Graduates

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Columbia University in the City of New York

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12 Annual Graduates

UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Chicago

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Northwestern University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
20 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Purdue University - Main Campus

10
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3 Annual Graduates

Emory is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Emory University

11
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7 Annual Graduates

Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Harvard University

12
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
12 Annual Graduates

UW Seattle is a very large public university located in the city of Seattle.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

13
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11 Annual Graduates

UMass Amherst is a fairly large public university located in the large suburb of Amherst.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Massachusetts Amherst

14
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

Carnegie Mellon is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Carnegie Mellon University

15
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
10 Annual Graduates

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Wisconsin - Madison

16
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
11 Annual Graduates

UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of California - Los Angeles

17
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from University of Southern California

18
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
6 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Vanderbilt University

19
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7 Annual Graduates

Located in the large city of Houston, Rice is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.More information about a doctorate in english language & literature from Rice University

Rest of the Top Best English Language & Literature Doctor's Degree Schools


 

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
20 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
21 Princeton University Princeton, NJ
22 Brown University Providence, RI
23 Michigan State University East Lansing, MI
24 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA
25 University of Maryland - College Park College Park, MD

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
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

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English Language & Literature Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
General English Literature 924
Writing Studies 129
Literature 20
English Literature (Other) 19

Related Major Annual Graduates
Social Sciences 3,487
Theology & Religious Vocations 2,356
Foreign Languages & Linguistics 1,000
History 721
Philosophy & Religious Studies 629
Communication & Journalism 533
Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 342
Family, Consumer & Human Sciences 233
Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities 90

Notes and References

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