---
title: Is a Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies degree worth the debt?
cip: 2313
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 a Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **121** colleges (121 of 121 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $27,013 ($29,685 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,250 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.78× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $22,343–$34,290 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $27,013 | $23,250 | 0.78× | 121 | 121/121 |
| Master's | $37,543 | $41,000 | 1.25× | 71 | 71/71 |

## Where a 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 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion (AZ) | $49,391 | $23,495 |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion (AZ) | $49,391 | $23,495 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $41,090 | $13,000 |
| 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 |
| The University of Texas at Austin (TX) | $38,997 | $21,323 |
| Texas Tech University (TX) | $38,427 | $20,494 |
| Marquette University (WI) | $38,420 | $25,000 |
| Clemson University (SC) | $38,156 | $20,250 |
| University of South Florida (FL) | $38,029 | — |
| Oglethorpe University (GA) | $37,564 | $27,000 |
| University of North Texas (TX) | $37,474 | $17,931 |
| University of Utah (UT) | $37,281 | — |

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/rhetoric-and-composition-writing-studies.jsonld` · `/education/fields/rhetoric-and-composition-writing-studies.json`