Comparative Literature

CIP Code: 16.0104

A comparative literature degree prepares graduates for careers in English language and literature teachers, postsecondary. 83 colleges and universities offer this program.

Annual Degrees Awarded

917

                Colleges Offering
                83
            

                Avg. Career Salary
                $78,270
            

                Top Career Salary
                $78,270
            

Comparative Literature Salary by College

Nationally, bachelor’s graduates in this field earn a median $49,984 four years after graduating (middle half: $32,888–$69,881). Where you study it matters: across 90 colleges with reported results, pay ranges from $29,715 to $88,098.

Sort by:

#	College	4 yrs after	Wage-adjusted	1 yr after	Median debt	Outcome Rating
1	Duke University Durham, NC	$88,098	$94,542	—	—	A+
2	Brandeis University Waltham, MA	$78,746	$69,344	—	—	A
3	Emory University Atlanta, GA	$76,993	$79,703	—	$19,760	A+
4	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$76,724	$69,814	$25,059	$14,000	A+
5	Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA	$73,971	$67,357	$43,923	—	A
6	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA	$68,263	$62,160	$37,389	$22,500	A
7	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	$66,241	$67,348	—	$19,500	A
8	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI	$65,667	$69,238	—	$24,915	A
9	Georgetown University Washington, DC	$65,574	$57,460	$28,278	$17,500	A+
10	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	$64,547	$61,435	$24,407	$18,938	A
11	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$62,927	$57,259	$30,524	$15,000	A+
12	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$62,366	$56,790	$45,122	$18,879	B+
13	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL	$61,774	$60,693	$25,921	$19,500	A+
14	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	$61,580	$56,034	$27,629	$13,000	A
15	University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, MO	$61,080	$65,491	$35,409	$18,500	A
16	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	$60,883	$53,436	$16,796	$22,345	A
17	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	$60,469	$57,310	$34,279	$11,742	A
18	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC	$60,031	$64,422	$34,099	$19,000	A
19	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX	$59,742	$60,740	$32,185	$21,696	A+
20	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$58,931	$53,662	$40,105	$19,500	B+
21	University of California-Davis Davis, CA	$58,443	$53,179	$22,965	$13,798	A
22	Ashford University San Diego, CA	$56,666	$51,562	$37,853	$30,073	F
23	Appalachian State University Boone, NC	$55,778	$59,858	$24,657	$20,625	C+
24	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	$55,776	$50,753	$19,809	$14,497	A+
25	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	$55,647	$52,041	—	$15,479	C+
26	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	$55,540	$51,085	—	—	A
27	University of Southern Maine Portland, ME	$55,435	$58,913	$27,895	$23,018	C
28	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	$55,352	$60,463	$33,415	$27,000	C+
29	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI	$55,137	$58,136	$27,699	$13,720	A+
30	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	$54,985	$55,904	$31,993	$20,205	A
31	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	$54,276	$55,769	$38,177	$20,500	C+
32	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$54,215	$51,601	$26,353	$20,843	A
33	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC	$54,181	$58,144	$24,658	$16,782	A+
34	Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA	$53,564	$48,775	—	—	C+
35	Gordon College Wenham, MA	$53,475	$47,090	—	—	D
36	Western Illinois University Macomb, IL	$53,453	$52,517	$37,155	$29,875	C
37	University of Mary Washington Fredericksburg, VA	$53,282	$48,518	—	$21,021	C+
38	Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ	$53,085	$46,592	$31,622	$22,925	B
39	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	$52,805	$54,258	—	—	B
40	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN	$52,703	$57,572	$31,713	$20,612	B+
41	Clemson University Clemson, SC	$52,044	$57,709	$29,560	$22,250	A+
42	Portland State University Portland, OR	$51,925	$52,231	—	$23,499	C+
43	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX	$51,494	$52,354	$38,375	$19,495	D
44	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA	$51,416	$52,291	$37,859	$21,750	A
45	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	$50,926	$47,626	$29,803	$24,867	F
46	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	$50,571	$48,133	—	—	B+
47	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	$49,763	$45,281	$21,793	$16,740	B+
48	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	$49,732	$45,253	$24,961	—	C
49	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$48,959	$44,549	—	—	B
50	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA	$48,495	$49,320	$29,821	$27,000	C
51	West Virginia University Morgantown, WV	$48,331	$57,178	$32,684	$20,916	B+
52	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$48,198	$51,301	$30,205	$17,758	A+
53	Colorado State University Pueblo Pueblo, CO	$47,362	$44,293	—	—	D
54	Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, FL	$46,915	$49,935	$32,756	$19,500	B
55	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	$46,886	$47,162	$23,615	$20,680	B
56	University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE	$46,595	$48,158	$33,828	$12,250	C
57	Towson University Towson, MD	$46,447	$40,763	—	—	C+
58	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA	$46,306	$42,135	$20,212	$17,500	B+
59	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN	$46,081	$44,017	$28,340	$16,677	A
60	Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA	$45,607	$41,529	$30,635	$21,627	C
61	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	$45,148	$51,121	$27,449	$26,000	B+
62	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH	$44,941	$47,959	$27,788	$19,798	A
63	University at Buffalo Buffalo, NY	$44,841	$42,679	$26,703	$16,525	B+
64	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	$44,615	$41,036	$24,232	$19,798	C+
65	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$44,336	$42,020	$30,251	$20,250	B+
66	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	$43,813	$46,633	$28,658	$14,250	B+
67	Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN	$43,666	$47,700	$34,856	$18,578	C
68	East Carolina University Greenville, NC	$43,012	$46,158	$35,561	$24,250	B
69	San Diego State University San Diego, CA	$42,922	$39,056	$22,001	$11,000	B
70	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	$42,905	$42,154	$25,921	$23,625	C
71	Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, IN	$42,321	$45,403	—	$18,635	A
72	The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN	$42,031	$45,914	—	—	C+
73	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	$42,017	$36,878	$23,754	$26,375	C+
74	The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, TX	$41,778	$42,476	—	$27,000	C+
75	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	$41,766	$44,782	$29,830	$20,250	C
76	University of Vermont Burlington, VT	$41,124	$42,238	$14,094	$21,625	B+
77	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO	$40,768	$43,712	$20,319	$23,282	C+
78	Iowa State University Ames, IA	$40,726	$42,839	$25,065	$23,250	B+
79	University of South Alabama Mobile, AL	$40,641	$46,131	—	$22,000	C+
80	New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, NM	$40,432	$46,814	$27,720	$19,125	F
81	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	$40,310	$41,729	$16,568	$21,588	D
82	The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX	$39,907	$40,574	$26,475	$16,502	C
83	University of Memphis Memphis, TN	$39,001	$42,604	$23,533	$21,279	C
84	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$38,996	$35,484	$18,393	$11,543	B
85	Wayne State University Detroit, MI	$38,926	$41,043	$20,939	$20,195	C+
86	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	$38,631	$45,523	—	—	C
87	University of North Texas Denton, TX	$37,441	$38,067	$20,522	$19,750	C+
88	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$32,939	$29,972	$21,501	—	C
89	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	$31,036	$35,935	$27,366	—	C
90	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$29,715	$27,039	$22,723	$12,979	C+

Bachelor’s degrees. Wage-adjusted = pay ÷ √(state wage index). Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data.

What Can You Do With a Comparative Literature Degree?

Graduates with this degree pursue careers in the following fields:

English language and literature teachers, postsecondary

$78,270 +0.0% growth

View Career →

$78,270

Average Salary Across Careers

$78,270

Highest Paying Career

Career Paths Available

Best Colleges for Comparative Literature

Ranked by Repit grade, then by degrees awarded. These are the top-rated colleges that produce the most graduates in comparative literature.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York, NY	48	A
2	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	31	A
3	Brown University	Providence, RI	28	A
4	University of California-Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	140	B
5	The University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, TX	66	B

Largest Comparative Literature Programs

Schools ranked by number of graduates. These institutions produce the most comparative literature graduates annually, including online and distance learning programs.

#	College	Location	Degrees Awarded	Repit Grade
1	University of California-Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	140	B
2	The University of Texas at Dallas	Richardson, TX	66	B
3	Columbia University in the City of New York	New York, NY	48	A
4	University of California-Berkeley	Berkeley, CA	31	A
5	Brown University	Providence, RI	28	A

917

Degrees Awarded Annually

Colleges Offering Program

Related Careers

About Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature is a degree program offered at 83 colleges and universities across the United States. Each year, approximately 917 students graduate with this degree.

Graduates with this degree can pursue careers such as english language and literature teachers, postsecondary.

Program Classification

CIP Code 16.0104

Field (2-digit CIP) 16

Category (4-digit CIP) 16.01

Frequently Asked Questions

What can I do with a Comparative Literature degree?

A Comparative Literature degree can lead to careers as a english language and literature teachers, postsecondary, and more. Top earners in related careers can make up to $78,270 annually.

How many colleges offer Comparative Literature?

83 colleges and universities in the United States offer Comparative Literature as a degree program. Each year, approximately 917 students graduate with this degree.

What are the best colleges for Comparative Literature?

The best colleges for Comparative Literature based on Repit's ratings include Columbia University in the City of New York, University of California-Berkeley, Brown University, University of California-Santa Cruz, The University of Texas at Dallas. Rankings are based on the college's overall Repit grade and the number of degrees awarded in this program.

What is the salary potential with a Comparative Literature degree?

Graduates with a Comparative Literature degree can expect average salaries around $78,270 in related careers. Actual salaries depend on the specific career path, experience level, and location.

Comparative Literature

Comparative Literature Salary by College

What Can You Do With a Comparative Literature Degree?

English language and literature teachers, postsecondary

Best Colleges for Comparative Literature

Largest Comparative Literature Programs

About Comparative Literature

Program Classification

Frequently Asked Questions

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