Literature: earnings, debt, and careers

CIP 23.14. Official graduate outcomes from the U.S. Department of Education across 185 programs, and the careers this field is linked to.

Graduate earnings by credential level

National earnings of Literature graduates who were working and not enrolled one year after completing, by credential. Undergraduate certificate: median $30,823; Bachelor's degree: median $35,235; Master's degree: median $49,868. The bar spans the 25th to 75th percentile, the thin line spans the 10th to 90th percentile, and the red mark is the median.

Credential	Programs	Graduates (recent year)	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Typical program median debt
Undergraduate certificate	10	46	$30,823	$57,951	$22,000 2 programs
Associate's degree	17	74	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Bachelor's degree	87	499	$35,235	$46,173	$21,720 10 programs
Master's degree	44	123	$49,868	$55,337	Data unavailable
Doctoral degree	6	21	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
Graduate certificate	21	20	Data unavailable	Data unavailable	Data unavailable

National earnings are published by the Department of Education for each field and credential level Verified data. Typical program median debt is ConnectPrep's calculation: the median across programs of each program's median federal debt Calculated estimate. It covers federal loans only.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most Recent Field of Study Data. Varies by measure; see measure definitions. Published October 15, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Undergraduate certificate programs with the highest early earnings

School	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg PA · Public · 26 graduates measured	$30,933	$56,649	$22,000
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus PA · Public · 26 graduates measured	$30,933	$56,649	$22,000

Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.

Bachelor's degree programs with the highest early earnings

School	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt
Pace University NY · Private, nonprofit · 35 graduates measured	$48,868	$58,051	$25,000
New York University NY · Private, nonprofit · 47 graduates measured	$47,231	Data unavailable	$21,941
American University DC · Private, nonprofit · 17 graduates measured	$45,230	$54,436	$22,176
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg PA · Public · 29 graduates measured	$34,133	$45,749	$21,500
University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown PA · Public · 29 graduates measured	$34,133	$45,749	$21,500
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus PA · Public · 29 graduates measured	$34,133	$45,749	$21,500
The New School NY · Private, nonprofit · 49 graduates measured	$31,459	$42,674	$19,500
University of California-Los Angeles CA · Public · 36 graduates measured	$27,827	Data unavailable	Data unavailable
SUNY at Purchase College NY · Public · 19 graduates measured	$19,657	$49,153	$18,750

Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.

Master's degree programs with the highest early earnings

School	Median earnings, 1 yr	Median earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt
New York University NY · Private, nonprofit · 17 graduates measured	$55,351	$59,921	Data unavailable

Ranked by published median earnings one year after completion. Programs with suppressed earnings do not appear, so this is not a ranking of program quality.

Careers linked to Literature

Occupation	Median wage, all workers	Change 2025 to 2035	Typical entry education
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	$78,760	0.0%	Doctoral or professional degree
Editors	$77,920	-1.1%	Bachelor's degree
Writers and authors	$76,910	-0.3%	Bachelor's degree

Occupations mapped to this field in the NCES and BLS CIP to SOC crosswalk. Occupation wages describe all workers, not recent graduates.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk. CIP 2020 and SOC 2018 taxonomies. Published April 30, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, National. May 2025 reference period. Published April 30, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections, 2025-35, and worker characteristics, 2025. Base year 2025, projected year 2035. Published August 27, 2026. Retrieved October 18, 2026. Methodology.

Detailed CIP codes in this field (6)

23.1401 General Literature
23.1402 American Literature (United States)
23.1403 American Literature (Canadian)
23.1404 English Literature (British and Commonwealth)
23.1405 Children's and Adolescent Literature
23.1499 Literature, Other