Other degree levels for this field: Bachelor's degrees
This page shows what graduates with a master's degree in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies earn four years after graduating, what they typically owe, the schools that report these figures (listed alphabetically), and the occupations linked to this field by the federal CIP-to-SOC crosswalk. It covers 69 reporting units (schools, or groups of campuses that report together) with these figures.
Schools reporting earnings for Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates
Listed alphabetically to start; MajorPays does not rank schools. Click a column heading to sort; shift-click more headings to sort by several columns as a group. Median earnings four years after graduation, master's degree, for programs with at least 30 graduates measured (32 reporting units; campuses that share one federal school ID report together and appear once). Schools with fewer graduates in the major, or whose figure the Department of Education withholds, are not listed.
See every school that awarded master's degrees in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies in 2023-24, including schools that do not report earnings, with the number of degrees awarded (IPEDS Completions).
Occupations O*NET associates with this field
Occupations that U.S. Department of Labor O*NET data links to Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies programs, with each occupation's national median pay, projected job growth and yearly openings. They are listed in the order O*NET links them to this field; click a column heading to sort. This is a classification crosswalk, not evidence that graduates enter these jobs, and many of these occupations require more education, a license or experience beyond this credential. The figures describe the occupation, not the graduates of this major.
| Career | Median pay, 2025 | Projected growth, 2025–2035 | Openings per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $78,760 | 0.0% | 4,500 |
| Editors | $77,920 | -1.1% | 7,900 |
| Writers and Authors | $76,910 | -0.3% | 11,900 |
| Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers | $76,910 | -0.3% | 11,900 |
| Postsecondary Teachers, All Other | $77,640 | +2.0% | 12,500 |
| Technical Writers | $90,390 | +0.8% | 3,200 |
| Proofreaders and Copy Markers | $51,120 | -0.9% | 1,100 |
Frequently asked questions
Does a master's degree in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies pay off?
Graduates with a master's degree in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies earn a median of $55,035 four years after graduating. Earnings four years out are early-career pay, and they vary widely by school, job and place. Compare the pay with the cost of your own school on its graduate earnings page.
How much do college graduates earn overall?
See earnings by education level and by state.
Do Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies graduates work in their field?
The National Survey of College Graduates (2023) asked employed graduates whose highest degree is a master's in art and humanities fields how closely their job relates to their degree. About 50% said closely related, 28% somewhat related and 22% not related (roughly 739 thousand graduates). This is a broad group of fields, not only Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, and a job outside the field is not a bad outcome by itself.
Source: U.S. National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Survey of College Graduates, 2023 (Table 1-3, master's level, all occupations). Survey estimates, rounded by NSF. MajorPays selected and reorganized these figures; NSF has not approved or endorsed them.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study data (June 2026 release), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution; careers from O*NET 31.0 by the U.S. Dept. of Labor, ETA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Career pay, growth and openings: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) and Employment Projections (2025-2035). MajorPays has selected and reorganized these figures; neither agency has approved or endorsed them. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. MajorPays has modified all or some of the O*NET information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Earnings are for graduates who received federal financial aid and were working and not enrolled four years after finishing (graduates of academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16, in 2021 dollars; the debt figures are for graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20); the data says nothing about how much a school added to its graduates' earnings.