MASTER'S DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a master's degree in English Language and Literature, General worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 43 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$61,269 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$61,269Median year-4 earnings
$17,938Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$61,269Typical earnings four years after completion
$60,376Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
19thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
Not availableDegrees awarded in 2024–25
43College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 1 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about English Language and Literature, General
How much do English Language and Literature, General master's degree graduates earn?
The national median is $61,269 four years after completion across reportable master's degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for English Language and Literature, General?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $55,691 to $65,658 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to English Language and Literature, General?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 3 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
OPEN PROFILE
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma
- Year-4 earnings
- $29,719
- Federal debt
- $8,711
- Programs in the comparison
- 12
Associate's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $34,868
- Federal debt
- $8,923
- Programs in the comparison
- 15
Bachelor's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $48,926
- Federal debt
- $24,636
- Programs in the comparison
- 614
Master's Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $61,269
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 43
Doctoral Degree
- Year-4 earnings
- $66,586
- Federal debt
- Not available
- Programs in the comparison
- 13
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$55,691National median$61,26975th percentile$65,658
43 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$75,807Observed year-4 earnings$57,400
Georgetown University$40,815 price · $101,463 earningsWayne State University$12,766 price · $76,201 earningsMiddlebury College$31,483 price · $75,807 earningsCollege of Staten Island CUNY$5,579 price · $71,707 earningsCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Pomona$11,531 price · $69,842 earningsSalem State University$15,996 price · $69,754 earningsNotre Dame of Maryland University$19,169 price · $68,760 earningsGeorge Mason University$17,915 price · $67,126 earningsNational University$22,878 price · $66,189 earningsThe College of New Jersey$27,646 price · $66,123 earningsArizona State University Campus Immersion$14,967 price · $65,658 earningsMonmouth University$30,988 price · $65,238 earningsUniversity of Massachusetts-Boston$17,707 price · $64,893 earningsBoston College$41,704 price · $64,159 earningsCalifornia State University, Fullerton$6,555 price · $63,212 earningsCalifornia State University, Los Angeles$3,967 price · $62,904 earningsThe University of Texas Rio Grande Valley$4,831 price · $62,899 earningsBridgewater State University$16,383 price · $62,844 earningsSan Francisco State University$12,278 price · $62,210 earningsCalifornia State University, Northridge$7,021 price · $61,735 earningsMiami University-Oxford$28,384 price · $61,269 earningsUniversity of North Carolina at Charlotte$15,435 price · $60,452 earningsUniversity of Northern Iowa$15,901 price · $60,443 earningsThe University of Texas at Tyler$13,323 price · $59,336 earningsTexas State University$16,805 price · $58,914 earningsSalisbury University$17,743 price · $58,759 earningsSeton Hall University$31,446 price · $57,651 earningsOhio University-Main Campus$21,637 price · $57,400 earningsSlippery Rock University of Pennsylvania$19,608 price · $57,227 earnings
$4,831Annual college-wide average net price$31,483
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
30 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1Georgetown University$101,4632Wayne State University$76,2013Middlebury College$75,8074College of Staten Island CUNY$71,7075California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$69,8426Salem State University$69,7547Notre Dame of Maryland University$68,7608George Mason University$67,1269National University$66,18910The College of New Jersey$66,123Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Pay and projected demand
Related careers do not share one outlook
Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection
Higher median wage ↑
-7%Projected employment growth →12%
Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.
English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary$78,760 median wage57,720 jobs nationwide+0.0% projected growth through 2035 · 4,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$48,270–$137,250 typical wage rangeSecondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040 median wage1,065,210 jobs nationwide-0.2% projected growth through 2035 · 63,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$48,780–$107,600 typical wage rangeProofreaders and Copy Markers$51,120 median wage4,580 jobs nationwide-0.9% projected growth through 2035 · 1,100 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$34,510–$79,290 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
Where this degree has enough data to compare
State pages are published only when at least five operating colleges report year-4 earnings for this exact field and credential.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.