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Best Schools for Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies in 2026

121 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduate earns $29,654/yr across 121 schools.

Programs Ranked

121

Avg Earnings

$29,654/yr

Avg DW Score

27/100

AI Risk

Very High

61% task exposure

All Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, AZ · Public	50 42–51	$44,411/yr	12.2x
2	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA · Public	50 42–51	$44,553/yr	10.7x
3	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	49 41–50	$43,505/yr	10.4x
4	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO · Public	47 39–49	$47,377/yr	12.9x
5	University of North Texas Denton, TX · Public	47 39–48	$45,015/yr	11.6x
6	The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX · Public	47 40–48	$37,883/yr	13.2x
7	The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX · Public	46 38–47	$38,713/yr	12.3x
8	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT · Public	46 37–47	$47,950/yr	11.9x
9	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	46 39–47	$40,114/yr	10.8x
10	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	45 37–46	$39,526/yr	12.2x
11	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	45 39–46	$35,634/yr	20.2x
12	Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania Shippensburg, PA · Public	45 38–46	$37,446/yr	11.4x
13	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX · Public	45 37–46	$39,943/yr	11.3x
14	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	42 35–42	$34,309/yr	15.6x
15	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN · Public	42 35–43	$39,558/yr	12.0x
16	Texas State University San Marcos, TX · Public	42 35–43	$37,548/yr	11.4x
17	Weber State University Ogden, UT · Public	42 35–42	$36,205/yr	17.3x
18	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA · Public	39 35–39	$28,725/yr	19.0x
19	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	39 32–40	$38,407/yr	7.8x
20	University of Nebraska at Kearney Kearney, NE · Public	39 33–40	$35,726/yr	13.5x
21	Miami University-Oxford Oxford, OH · Public	39 31–40	$42,287/yr	6.5x
22	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI · Public	39 32–40	$43,267/yr	6.9x
23	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM · Public	38 32–38	$33,999/yr	13.8x
24	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	38 31–39	$35,716/yr	10.0x
25	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI · Public	38 32–39	$35,423/yr	11.5x
26	Arizona State University Digital Immersion Scottsdale, AZ · Public	38 30–39	$44,411/yr	—
27	Michigan State University East Lansing, MI · Public	37 31–38	$33,401/yr	8.7x
28	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public	36 31–36	$31,447/yr	17.4x
29	Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN · Private nonprofit	36 29–38	$50,446/yr	1.6x
30	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford Bradford, PA · Public	36 29–36	$35,700/yr	8.2x
31	University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg Greensburg, PA · Public	36 29–36	$35,700/yr	8.2x
32	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown Johnstown, PA · Public	36 29–36	$35,700/yr	8.2x
33	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA · Public	35 29–35	$32,431/yr	13.6x
34	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus Denver, CO · Public	34 28–35	$34,339/yr	10.6x
35	Binghamton University Vestal, NY · Public	34 31–34	$24,377/yr	13.1x
36	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA · Public	33 26–33	$35,700/yr	5.2x
37	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit	31 23–32	$43,524/yr	1.5x
38	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, OH · Public	31 26–32	$31,218/yr	8.3x
39	St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit	30 24–31	$33,205/yr	3.5x
40	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI · Public	29 23–29	$31,239/yr	6.3x
41	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA · Public	28 26–29	$21,854/yr	14.6x
42	State University of New York at Oswego Oswego, NY · Public	28 24–28	$28,103/yr	11.2x
43	University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK · Public	28 25–28	$25,268/yr	12.0x
44	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Kutztown, PA · Public	28 24–28	$26,242/yr	9.9x
45	University of Central Florida Orlando, FL · Public	27 23–27	$26,282/yr	9.3x
46	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	27 24–27	$24,205/yr	13.0x
47	Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH · Public	27 21–27	$31,763/yr	8.1x
48	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	26 21–26	$31,006/yr	3.4x
49	University of Michigan-Flint Flint, MI · Public	26 23–27	$24,195/yr	8.4x
50	Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI · Public	26 19–26	$34,464/yr	4.6x
51	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY · Private nonprofit	26 19–27	$36,244/yr	1.4x
52	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	26 22–26	$27,832/yr	6.6x
53	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ · Public	25 22–26	$26,715/yr	7.8x
54	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR · Public	25 21–25	$27,366/yr	5.8x
55	Loyola University Maryland Baltimore, MD · Private nonprofit	25 19–25	$34,013/yr	0.5x
56	University of Nebraska at Omaha Omaha, NE · Public	25 21–25	$26,360/yr	6.9x
57	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA · Public	25 20–26	$29,758/yr	7.4x
58	Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN · Public	25 22–25	$25,084/yr	9.8x
59	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA · Public	25 20–25	$29,758/yr	7.3x
60	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA · Private nonprofit	24 18–24	$33,228/yr	0.2x
61	University of Idaho Moscow, ID · Public	24 21–24	$25,574/yr	6.3x
62	Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL · Private nonprofit	24 18–25	$33,556/yr	2.2x
63	Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI · Public	24 19–24	$31,016/yr	5.7x
64	CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, NY · Public	24 21–24	$20,242/yr	11.9x
65	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH · Public	24 22–25	$23,399/yr	8.5x
66	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH · Public	24 22–25	$23,399/yr	8.5x
67	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH · Public	24 22–25	$23,399/yr	8.5x
68	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH · Public	24 22–25	$23,399/yr	8.5x
69	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH · Public	24 22–25	$23,399/yr	8.5x
70	Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA · Private nonprofit	24 18–25	$33,476/yr	0.2x
71	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	24 20–24	$27,116/yr	9.3x
72	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit	23 18–23	$30,077/yr	5.1x
73	Saint Edward's University Austin, TX · Private nonprofit	23 17–23	$31,518/yr	0.5x
74	Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit	23 20–24	$24,127/yr	6.5x
75	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL · Public	22 19–23	$24,225/yr	6.4x
76	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI · Public	22 19–22	$23,508/yr	7.3x
77	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	22 19–23	$24,935/yr	-0.0x
78	Brown University Providence, RI · Private nonprofit	22 17–22	$30,741/yr	0.1x
79	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX · Public	22 19–22	$25,292/yr	8.2x
80	Oglethorpe University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	21 16–22	$32,415/yr	1.8x
81	Augustana College Rock Island, IL · Private nonprofit	21 18–21	$19,775/yr	-0.0x
82	DePauw University Greencastle, IN · Private nonprofit	21 15–21	$31,640/yr	1.6x
83	Macalester College Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	21 16–21	$29,487/yr	0.1x
84	Pratt Institute-Main Brooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit	21 18–21	$18,842/yr	-0.2x
85	University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA · Private nonprofit	21 19–22	$22,251/yr	-0.1x
86	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA · Public	20 18–21	$20,726/yr	9.5x
87	Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA · Private nonprofit	20 18–21	$18,241/yr	-0.1x
88	Emerson College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	20 14–21	$33,441/yr	1.2x
89	Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI · Public	20 17–20	$23,298/yr	6.9x
90	Hamilton College Clinton, NY · Private nonprofit	20 15–20	$28,442/yr	0.1x
91	Oberlin College Oberlin, OH · Private nonprofit	20 18–21	$15,501/yr	-0.4x
92	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	20 18–21	$23,399/yr	3.3x
93	Calvin University Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit	19 15–19	$26,637/yr	0.7x
94	Truman State University Kirksville, MO · Public	19 17–20	$16,569/yr	3.4x
95	Manhattanville College Purchase, NY · Private nonprofit	19 15–19	$26,779/yr	0.6x
96	Arcadia University Glenside, PA · Private nonprofit	19 15–19	$27,390/yr	0.4x
97	Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, PA · Private nonprofit	19 15–19	$26,534/yr	2.5x
98	Lipscomb University Nashville, TN · Private nonprofit	19 15–19	$26,994/yr	0.7x
99	University of California-Riverside Riverside, CA · Public	18 16–19	$21,765/yr	5.7x
100	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL · Private nonprofit	18 15–18	$25,510/yr	0.9x
101	Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI · Public	18 15–18	$21,468/yr	5.2x
102	SUNY College at Potsdam Potsdam, NY · Public	18 16–19	$20,455/yr	7.5x
103	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY · Public	18 16–19	$16,556/yr	8.2x
104	Seattle University Seattle, WA · Private nonprofit	18 13–19	$32,663/yr	0.5x
105	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA · Private nonprofit	17 14–18	$26,636/yr	1.4x
106	Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit	17 12–18	$29,909/yr	1.2x
107	Northern Michigan University Marquette, MI · Public	17 15–18	$21,696/yr	5.3x
108	Drury University Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit	17 14–18	$24,127/yr	0.7x
109	Roanoke College Salem, VA · Private nonprofit	16 13–16	$19,925/yr	0.4x
110	Chapman University Orange, CA · Private nonprofit	15 12–15	$23,939/yr	1.4x
111	Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA · Private nonprofit	15 11–15	$28,418/yr	0.9x
112	Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	15 12–15	$25,060/yr	2.0x
113	Taylor University Upland, IN · Private nonprofit	15 12–15	$25,471/yr	1.8x
114	Aquinas College Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit	15 13–16	$17,827/yr	0.2x
115	Ithaca College Ithaca, NY · Private nonprofit	14 10–14	$26,443/yr	0.9x
116	Full Sail University Winter Park, FL · Private for-profit	13 11–14	$23,449/yr	2.0x
117	Champlain College Burlington, VT · Private nonprofit	12 10–13	$23,237/yr	1.3x
118	Hamline University Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	11 9–12	$20,059/yr	1.1x
119	Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA · Private nonprofit	11 9–12	$19,753/yr	0.9x
120	Beloit College Beloit, WI · Private nonprofit	11 9–12	$21,720/yr	0.6x
121	Knox College Galesburg, IL · Private nonprofit	10 8–11	$15,466/yr	0.4x

Methodology

Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies?

Based on our DegreeWorth Score, Arizona State University Campus Immersion ranks #1 for Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies with a score of 50/100 and graduate earnings of $44,411/yr.

How much do Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates earn?

Across 121 schools, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates earn an average of $29,654/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $50,446/yr.

Is Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies a good major for AI resistance?

Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies has an average AI task exposure of 61%, rated "Very High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Data: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (earnings, debt), Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024–2034 (employment projections), OpenAI GPTs-are-GPTs research (AI task exposure), Felten et al. AIOE. Last updated 2025.