by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 1,871 people earned their degree in rhetoric and composition, making the major the 297th most popular in the United States.
For this year’s “Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major” ranking, we looked at 129 colleges that offer a degree in rhetoric and composition. To top this list, a school must have a successful rhetoric and composition program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major” list to help you make the college decision.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major”.
Out of the 129 schools in the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Old Dominion University landed the #1 spot on the list. Old Dominion University is a large public school situated in Norfolk, Virginia. It awarded 225 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 193 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Out of the 129 schools in the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 179 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to qualified students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of New Mexico - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major. University of New Mexico - Main Campus is a public institution located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The school has a large population, and it awarded 125 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at University of New Mexico - Main Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend West Chester University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. This fairly large school is located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 125 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Bowling Green State University - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking. Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Bowling Green, Ohio. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 81 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
Metropolitan State University of Denver ranked #7 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. Denver, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to 73 students in 2020-2021.
Clemson University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking. Clemson is a public institution located in Clemson, South Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 65 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at Clemson University
University of California - Berkeley did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking, coming in at #9. UC Berkeley is a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 60 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Rhetoric & Composition at University of California - Berkeley
With a ranking of #10, Georgia Southern University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. GaSou is a large public school situated in Statesboro, Georgia. It awarded 45 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking, coming in at #11. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 41 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Youngstown State University ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. Located in Youngstown, Ohio, this fairly large public school awarded 34 degrees to qualified ’s rhetoric and composition students in 2020-2021.
Full Youngstown State University Rhetoric & Composition Report
University of Cincinnati - Main Campus came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking. This large school is located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and it awarded 31 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
With a ranking of #14, University of Central Florida did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. This large school is located in Orlando, Florida, and it awarded 26 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
University of Utah ranked #15 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. University of Utah is a large school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 25 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #16, University of Montevallo did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. University of Montevallo is a small school located in Montevallo, Alabama that handed out 24 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
Wabash College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking, coming in at #17. Located in Crawfordsville, Indiana, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 22 diplomas to qualified ’s rhetoric and composition students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
University of Richmond did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking, coming in at #18. URichmond is located in University of Richmond, Virginia and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 20 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to qualified students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Marshall University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Huntington, West Virginia, and it awarded 19 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at Marshall University
Kingsborough Community College ranked #20 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. KCC is a fairly large public school situated in Brooklyn, New York. It awarded 18 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Rhetoric & Composition at Kingsborough Community College
University of Pittsburgh - Greensburg ranked #20 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. Pitt Greensburg is a small school located in Greensburg, Pennsylvania that handed out 18 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at University of Pittsburgh - Greensburg
Elmhurst University ranked #22 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. Elmhurst is located in Elmhurst, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Rhetoric & Composition at Elmhurst University
University of Pittsburgh - Johnstown did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking, coming in at #22. Johnstown, Pennsylvania is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Illinois College came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major ranking. This small school is located in Jacksonville, Illinois, and it awarded 17 ’s rhetoric and composition degrees in 2020-2021.
East Tennessee State University ranked #25 on this year’s Most Well Attended Rhetoric and Composition Major list. Johnson City, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s rhetoric and composition degrees to 16 students in 2020-2021.
Full East Tennessee State University Rhetoric & Composition Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
