Rhetoric & Composition

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2020

2,482

declining 10.8%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$7,429

growing 3.32%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$42,530

growing 5.61%

Average Wage

$75,096

growing 1.01%

People in Workforce

1.48M

declining 0.408%

Average Employee Age

43.8

growing 0.44%

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Rhetoric & Composition degree recipients are Norfolk, VA, Minneapolis, MN, and Pittsburgh, PA. The locations with a relatively high number of Rhetoric & Composition degree recipients are Crawfordsville, IN, Montevallo, AL, and West Chester, PA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Rhetoric & Composition is a bachelors degree.

English Rhetoric & Composition

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Rhetoric & Composition and the types of students that study this field. Old Dominion University awards the most degrees in Rhetoric & Composition in the US, but University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg and Wabash College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition.

Tuition costs for Rhetoric & Composition majors are, on average, $7,429 for in-state public colleges, and $42,530 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Rhetoric & Composition programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (94 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (2,259 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Rhetoric & Composition

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition, is Public, 4-year or above (2,259 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Rhetoric & Composition programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$7,429

Median In-State Public

$42,530

Median Out of State Private

Old Dominion University has the most Rhetoric & Composition degree recipients, with 218 degrees awarded in 2020.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition.

Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg
5.25%
Wabash College
5.1%
Bates College
3.99%

Out of all institutions that offer Rhetoric & Composition programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition, with 5.25%.

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Rhetoric & Composition

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition by year.

Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Rhetoric & Composition.

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ English graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for English majors is $75,096 and the most common occupations are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

The industry that employs the most English majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Wholesale electronic markets & agents & brokers.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

$75,096

Average Wage in Workforce

± $1,690

1.01%

1 Year Growth

± 3.2%

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for English majors.

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

Highest Paying Pumas

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of English majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that English majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

Occupations

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

The most common occupations English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & middle school teachers, Postsecondary teachers, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of English majors working as Proofreaders & copy markers, Editors, and Writers & authors.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

The highest paid occupations by median income for English majors are Computer and information research scientists, Physicians, and Chief executives & legislators.

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

1.48M

2019 Workforce

± 29,716

0.408%

1 Year Growth

± 2.85%

The number of English graduates in the workforce has been declining at a rate of 0.408%, from 1.49M in 2018 to 1.48M in 2019.

The largest single share of English graduates go on to work as Elementary & middle school teachers (6.2%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in English by share of the total number of graduates.

Industries

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

The most common industries that employ English majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Legal services.

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

The highest paying industries of English majors, by average wage, are Wholesale electronic markets & agents & brokers, Electric lighting & electrical equipment manufacturing, & other electrical component manufacturing, n.e.c., and Communications, & audio & video equipment manufacturing.

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

1.48M

2019 Workforce

± 29,716

0.408%

1 Year Growth

± 2.85%

The number of English graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 0.408%, from 1.49M in 2018 to 1.48M in 2019.

The industry which employs the most English graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in English.

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of English majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of English majors.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in English in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in English is 43.8.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Bachelors Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold English degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in English (1,490 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

43.8

Average Age in 2019

± 0.27 Years

0.44%

1 Year Change

± 0.866%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in English. The most common ages of employees with this major are 33 and 48 years old, which represent 2.99% and 2.83% of the population, respectively.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Rhetoric & Composition are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Research Doctorate.

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

The most common degree types held by the working population in English are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (62.9%)

Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Rhetoric & Composition.

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
1,490 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
346 degrees awarded
Black or African American
317 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Rhetoric & Composition for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination

White Female
776 degrees awarded
White Male
504 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
200 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Rhetoric & Composition. White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Rhetoric & Composition is from the 2 Digit Course English.

Most Common Countries of Origin

China
18,810 degree recipients
India
14,008 degree recipients
Korea
10,590 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Kazakhstan
5.78 times more than expected
Japan
5.49 times more than expected
Syria
4.88 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Kazakhstan that hold English degrees (5.78 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is China (18,810 degree recipients).

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Rhetoric & Composition field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Rhetoric & Composition majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Rhetoric & Composition majors need more than the average amount of Writing, Persuasion, and Reading Comprehension.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Rhetoric & Composition majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Writing is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Writing, and Active Listening are the three most important skills for people in the field.