2025 Best English Language & Literature Schools in the Great Lakes Region
74Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,959English Language & Literature Degrees Awarded
$32,613Avg Early-Career Salary
English Language & Literature isn't the most popular major in the world, but it's not the least popular either. To be more precise it ranks #18 in popularity out of 38 majors in the country. As such, the degree program isn't offered at every college in the United States, but there are schools that do have a program in the field that are top-notch when it comes to quality.
For its 2025 ranking, College Factual looked at 74 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for english language & literature students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,959 degrees in english language & literature to qualified students.
Choosing a Great English Language & Literature School
Your choice of english language & literature school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall English Language & Literature School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Pick Your English Language & Literature Degree Level
The english language & literature school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best English Language & Literature Schools in the Great Lakes Region.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Best Schools for English Language & Literature in the Great Lakes Region
If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the english language & literature degrees they offer, see the list below. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
14 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in English Language & Literature
It's difficult to beat Northwestern University if you want to pursue a degree in english language & literature. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 86 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, english language & literature degree recipients typically make an average of $31,748 in the first five years of their career.
It is hard to beat University of Notre Dame if you wish to pursue a degree in english language & literature. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.
There were approximately 74 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Those english language & literature students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame make $7,732 more than the typical english language & literature grad.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in english language & literature. Located in the medium-sized city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were roughly 169 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the english language & literature program report average early career earnings of $33,391.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in english language & literature. UIUC is a very large public university located in the small city of Champaign. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 143 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the english language & literature program report average early career income of $33,385.
Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.
There were about 112 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the english language & literature program earn about $30,840 in the first couple years of their career.
UW - Madison is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were roughly 138 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. After graduation, english language & literature degree recipients generally earn about $28,526 in their early careers.
Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.
There were approximately 82 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, english language & literature degree recipients usually make about $32,377 in their early careers.
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Located in the large city of Columbus, Ohio State is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #70 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Ohio State is a great university overall.
There were roughly 165 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Ohio State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the english language & literature program earn an average of $32,065 in the first couple years of their career.
Illinois State is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Normal. This university ranks 8th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 120 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Illinois State in the most recent year we have data available. English Language & Literature degree recipients from Illinois State University receive an earnings boost of approximately $6,950 above the average earnings of english language & literature majors.
Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #134 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.
There were about 158 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available. English Language & Literature degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford receive an earnings boost of around $8,367 above the average income of english language & literature graduates.
Located in the fringe town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 18th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were about 172 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at BGSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the english language & literature program report average early career income of $33,288.
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Located in the city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.
There were about 134 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the english language & literature program at Purdue University - Main Campus get $8,426 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
Located in the city of Dayton, UDayton is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 8th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.
There were approximately 31 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at UDayton in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the english language & literature program make around $30,063 in their early career salary.
Located in the large city of Chicago, UIC is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 10th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 102 english language & literature students who graduated with this degree at UIC in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the english language & literature program earn an average of $31,066 in their early career salary.
Here are some additional great schools for English Language & Literature students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best English Language & Literature Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Credit for the banner image above goes to Mike Hazard.
Your choice of english language & literature school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall English Language & Literature School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
