---
title: Is an English Language and Literature, General degree worth the debt?
cip: 2301
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is an English Language and Literature, General degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **531** colleges (531 of 531 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $27,864 ($29,141 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $21,668 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.77× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $24,608–$31,409 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $22,781 | — | — | 9 | 9/9 |
| Bachelor's | $27,864 | $21,668 | 0.77× | 531 | 531/531 |
| Master's | $44,793 | $32,500 | 0.74× | 45 | 45/45 |
| Doctoral | $50,754 | $57,997 | 1.17× | 17 | 17/17 |

## Where an Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $49,812 | $16,000 |
| Yale University (CT) | $48,264 | — |
| Colgate University (NY) | $44,610 | $15,875 |
| Stanford University (CA) | $44,251 | — |
| Santa Clara University (CA) | $43,732 | — |
| St. Mary's University (TX) | $43,673 | $26,000 |
| Wake Forest University (NC) | $43,018 | $19,500 |
| Monmouth University (NJ) | $42,988 | $26,000 |
| University of Houston-Clear Lake (TX) | $41,385 | $14,125 |
| Trinity College (CT) | $41,078 | $22,592 |
| Dartmouth College (NH) | $39,770 | $17,000 |
| Virginia Military Institute (VA) | $39,671 | — |
| Northeastern University (MA) | $39,443 | $21,250 |
| Northeastern University Professional Programs (MA) | $39,443 | $21,250 |
| Seton Hall University (NJ) | $39,262 | $24,188 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/english-language-and-literature-general.jsonld` · `/education/fields/english-language-and-literature-general.json`