Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies: bachelor's degree earnings by college

Median earnings of rhetoric and composition/writing studies graduates (bachelor's degree) one year after graduation, at 115 colleges. National median: $35,359, rising to $46,767 after four years.

#	College	State	Earnings after 1 yr	After 4 yrs	Median debt
1	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$57,788	$69,373	$12,136
2	Wabash College	IN	$57,243	$65,605	—
3	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$54,647	$54,917	—
4	Syracuse University	NY	$54,123	$61,159	$21,875
5	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	$54,078	$61,676	$25,000
6	Arizona State University Digital Immersion	AZ	$54,078	$61,676	$25,000
7	Texas State University	TX	$51,405	$58,484	—
8	Clemson University	SC	$50,374	$67,102	$19,500
9	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$50,101	$53,436	—
10	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	$49,666	$58,918	$18,120
11	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	$49,298	$68,314	$15,500
12	University of Chicago	IL	$47,906	—	—
13	Michigan State University	MI	$47,809	$56,662	—
14	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$47,736	$60,415	$16,829
15	West Chester University of Pennsylvania	PA	$46,732	$64,906	$19,500
16	University of Houston-Downtown	TX	$46,513	$47,586	—
17	Metropolitan State University	MN	$45,949	$59,779	—
18	University of Utah	UT	$45,398	$75,686	—
19	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	$45,392	$56,244	$23,357
20	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	$44,703	$47,702	$35,252
21	Hamilton College	NY	$44,397	$42,806	—
22	Texas Tech University	TX	$43,012	$60,563	$24,125
23	Brown University	RI	$42,487	$60,798	—
24	University of St Thomas	MN	$41,643	—	—
25	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	$41,548	$50,120	$25,476
26	Arcadia University	PA	$41,441	$33,980	—
27	Miami University-Oxford	OH	$41,295	$61,474	$23,250
28	Drake University	IA	$41,219	$50,591	—
29	University of South Florida	FL	$41,123	$54,778	$13,874
30	Grand Valley State University	MI	$40,239	$43,552	$24,450
31	San Francisco State University	CA	$40,228	$59,032	$16,085
32	Loyola University Maryland	MD	$40,110	$62,745	$25,053
33	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	$40,078	$71,205	—
34	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	$39,960	$43,607	—
35	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford	PA	$39,692	$57,012	$20,885
36	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg	PA	$39,692	$57,012	$20,885
37	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	$39,692	$57,012	$20,885
38	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	$39,692	$57,012	$20,885
39	Emerson College	MA	$39,432	$51,742	$22,500
40	Old Dominion University	VA	$39,322	$54,390	$25,000
41	James Madison University	VA	$39,049	$57,179	$15,000
42	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	$39,023	$41,105	—
43	University of Southern California	CA	$39,020	$41,637	$17,727
44	Emory University	GA	$38,852	$54,848	$12,000
45	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	$38,729	$51,414	$14,400
46	Youngstown State University	OH	$38,537	$43,031	$20,222
47	Elmhurst University	IL	$37,601	$47,052	—
48	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	$37,565	$57,305	—
49	Savannah College of Art and Design	GA	$37,167	$48,189	$22,000
50	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	$36,657	$68,522	—
51	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$36,568	$44,004	$22,000
52	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	$36,127	$47,530	$24,250
53	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	$35,700	$47,124	$12,739
54	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	$35,700	$47,124	$12,739
55	University of Central Florida	FL	$35,640	—	—
56	Grand Canyon University	AZ	$35,482	$59,281	$25,986
57	DePauw University	IN	$35,439	$51,983	—
58	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	$35,359	$49,918	$16,604
59	Capital University	OH	$35,339	$46,135	—
60	School of the Art Institute of Chicago	IL	$35,300	—	—
61	University of Arkansas at Little Rock	AR	$34,750	$38,403	—
62	Champlain College	VT	$34,621	$47,141	$22,250
63	Chapman University	CA	$34,583	$44,183	$19,500
64	University of Montevallo	AL	$34,398	$46,767	—
65	Binghamton University	NY	$34,126	$49,366	$12,000
66	Central Washington University	WA	$34,114	$41,971	$20,563
67	Saginaw Valley State University	MI	$34,036	$50,875	$23,250
68	Ithaca College	NY	$33,740	$51,001	$20,500
69	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$33,584	$39,966	$20,919
70	Calvin University	MI	$33,552	$32,843	—
71	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	$32,922	$37,986	—
72	Northern Michigan University	MI	$32,776	$39,982	—
73	University of Arizona	AZ	$32,103	$44,260	$16,500
74	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$32,071	$55,361	$21,500
75	Ferris State University	MI	$31,711	$47,823	$25,564
76	Baylor University	TX	$31,640	—	—
77	Saint Edward's University	TX	$31,227	$53,151	—
78	University of Rhode Island	RI	$31,214	$52,625	—
79	Hamline University	MN	$31,145	$45,253	$25,000
80	Western Michigan University	MI	$31,068	$40,792	$27,000
81	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	$30,927	$38,562	—
82	Liberty University	VA	$30,895	—	$19,500
83	Georgia Southern University	GA	$30,582	$47,439	$25,093
84	SUNY Buffalo State University	NY	$30,462	—	$21,315
85	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$30,460	$41,123	$13,588
86	Susquehanna University	PA	$30,175	$40,989	$27,000
87	Marquette University	WI	$30,074	$62,473	—
88	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
89	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
90	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
91	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
92	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
93	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	$29,964	$40,479	$20,500
94	Western Washington University	WA	$28,807	$38,460	$15,000
95	University of Central Arkansas	AR	$28,248	$32,267	$20,125
96	Full Sail University	FL	$27,906	$33,429	$34,737
97	Weber State University	UT	$27,496	$50,847	$19,834
98	Coe College	IA	$27,269	$36,151	—
99	Columbia College Chicago	IL	$26,973	$39,751	$26,000
100	University of California-Riverside	CA	$26,549	$35,583	$16,448
101	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$26,181	$42,232	$14,375
102	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$25,649	$43,689	—
103	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	$25,582	$40,579	$25,875
104	Knox College	IL	$25,366	$38,967	—
105	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	$24,886	$41,870	—
106	Western Connecticut State University	CT	$24,412	$43,056	$25,500
107	Stephen F Austin State University	TX	$23,499	$34,743	—
108	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$23,439	$37,968	$25,000
109	Truman State University	MO	$23,319	$40,026	—
110	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus	NJ	$23,162	$35,169	—
111	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus	NJ	$23,162	$35,169	—
112	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	$22,915	$42,372	—
113	University of Maine at Farmington	ME	$22,744	$40,081	$23,250
114	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	$22,524	$39,837	—
115	Pratt Institute-Main	NY	$20,535	$39,915	$26,696

Earnings are median annual earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured by the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges with too few graduates are not shown.

Frequently asked questions

How much do rhetoric and composition/writing studies graduates earn?

The median college reports $35,359 in earnings one year after a bachelor's degree in rhetoric and composition/writing studies and $46,767 four years after. The highest is $57,788 at University of California-Berkeley.

How much student debt do rhetoric and composition/writing studies graduates have?

The median federal loan debt for this degree is about $20,885 at the typical college.