Best Colleges for Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies

Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies programs prepare students for careers in education, publishing, technical writing, and content creation. With 151 schools offering this major nationwide, graduates can expect median earnings of $29,027 annually, though salaries vary significantly by career path and location.

When evaluating programs, students should prioritize institutions with strong writing centers, diverse faculty specializations, and strong internship opportunities. Look for curricula that balance theoretical foundations with practical application, including digital literacy and multimodal composition. Faculty research areas, graduate placement rates, and access to publishing opportunities are key indicators of program quality. The best programs also offer teaching assistantships and connections to local writing communities.

Schools Ranked

$40,263

Avg. Program Earnings

70.3%

Avg. Graduation Rate

Top 25 Schools

College rankings
#	School	Median Earnings	Graduation Rate	School Type
1	University of Houston-Downtown Houston, Texas	$49,683	33.8%	public
2	Wabash College Crawfordsville, Indiana	$49,058	77.1%	private-nonprofit
3	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas	$43,319	56.5%	public
4	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$42,682	92.5%	private-nonprofit
5	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, Colorado	$42,276	29.9%	public
6	Bucknell University Lewisburg, Pennsylvania	$41,565	86.2%	private-nonprofit
7	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, Missouri	$41,193	57.3%	public
8	Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan	$40,945	82.2%	public
9	Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts	$40,368	86.1%	private-nonprofit
10	University of Southern California Los Angeles, California	$39,909	92.0%	private-nonprofit
11	George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia	$39,729	69.3%	public
12	Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina	$39,489	87.9%	public
13	Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, Maryland	$39,009	80.5%	private-nonprofit
14	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, Pennsylvania	$38,721	51.6%	public
15	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, Minnesota	$38,498	84.8%	public
16	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, California	$38,289	92.9%	public
17	Illinois College Jacksonville, Illinois	$38,289	61.1%	private-nonprofit
18	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, Illinois	$38,289	56.3%	public
19	University of Michigan-Flint Flint, Michigan	$38,289	44.6%	public
20	James Madison University Harrisonburg, Virginia	$38,289	80.9%	public
21	West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, Pennsylvania	$38,072	69.8%	public
22	University of North Texas Denton, Texas	$37,808	59.6%	public
23	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas	$37,671	87.6%	public
24	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, Arizona	$37,568	67.8%	public
25	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, Arizona	$37,568		public