College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 121 colleges (121 of 121 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$27,013

Graduates only, early career.$29,685 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,250

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.78×

78% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies report early-career pay between $22,343 and $34,290 — a spread of $11,947 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $22,343 median $27,013 75th pct $34,290

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Bachelor's 121 colleges $27,013 $23,250 0.78×

Master's 71 colleges $37,543 $41,000 1.25×

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

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $49,391 $23,495 debt

Arizona State University Digital Immersion AZ $49,391 $23,495 debt

University of California-Berkeley CA $41,090 $13,000 debt

Iowa State University IA $41,011 —

College of Saint Benedict MN $40,713 —

Carnegie Mellon University PA $39,593 —

George Mason University VA $39,051 $20,000 debt

The University of Texas at Austin TX $38,997 $21,323 debt

Texas Tech University TX $38,427 $20,494 debt

Marquette University WI $38,420 $25,000 debt

Clemson University SC $38,156 $20,250 debt

University of South Florida FL $38,029 —

Oglethorpe University GA $37,564 $27,000 debt

University of North Texas TX $37,474 $17,931 debt

University of Utah UT $37,281 —

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard