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Major · English Language & Literature

Niche literary tracks under a deliberately broad CIP umbrella

English Language and Literature, Other is the catchall code (CIP 23.9999) that 51 colleges use for programs not housed under General English, Creative Writing, or Rhetoric and Composition. About 803 degrees are awarded annually, with bachelor’s completers showing five-year median earnings around $44,763.

Schools offering
51
Annual completions
803
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$44k

About this major

English Language and Literature, Other carries the CIP code 23.9999 — the deliberate catchall NCES uses for programs that do not fit under English, General (23.0101), Creative Writing (23.1301), or Rhetoric and Composition (23.1304). The official CIP definition is just one sentence: “any instructional program in English language and literature not listed above.” Specific program content varies considerably by institution. Schools use this code for combined writing-and-literature degrees, comparative literature tracks structured outside the foreign-languages CIP family, literary nonfiction concentrations, professional or technical writing variants, and interdisciplinary literature programs organized around theme rather than period. The example named in the data packet, “Writing and Literature,” hints at the most common version: a degree that pairs literary study with sustained writing practice.

Day-to-day coursework reflects whatever local department structure the program follows. Students drawn here typically share a few traits: comfort with sustained reading, willingness to revise their own writing rigorously, and interest in literary or rhetorical questions that cut across the more traditional period and genre divisions of a General English degree. A background in AP Literature, debate, or a strong personal writing practice tends to predict an easier start.

The scale signal in the data is small but meaningful. About 803 completions per year across 51 colleges — compared with roughly 26,983 a year under English, General — means this code primarily exists because individual departments have organized their degrees in ways NCES treats as non-standard. The career mapping is correspondingly thin: the only direct entry is postsecondary English teaching at a $78,270 median wage, which requires a doctorate. Realistic destinations broaden once you account for the way English-letters graduates actually move into work — publishing, technical writing, content strategy, teaching with state certification, law school — but those paths run through additional credentials or experience, not through this bachelor’s alone.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary $78k 0.0% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$44k

Associate's vs Bachelor's — early-career earnings

Associate's

$36k

Bachelor's

$45k

Who this major is for

Strong candidates here are readers who care about how literature is made as well as what it says — students who want to argue closely about texts, write at length, and engage with literature outside the standard chronological survey structure. The major can fit you well if you are drawn to the writing-and-literature blend hinted at by the CIP’s lone example and want a department that has organized its degree around interdisciplinary or thematic priorities rather than period coverage. It also fits well if you are using a community-college associate’s under this code (Shasta, Laney, Mt SAC) as a deliberate platform to transfer into a four-year English program. A planned next step — graduate study, MFA, certification, or pivoting into publishing or technical writing — makes the modest five-year median earnings of $44,200 read very differently than they do without one.

Reconsider this route if you are looking for a major with a clear, single-occupation career track. The data packet lists only one mapped career, postsecondary English teaching, which requires a doctorate and shows 0% projected growth. The bachelor’s alone delivers a $44,763 median five years out — a number consistent with entry-level publishing wages and graduate-school enrollees who have not yet ramped into stable careers. Choose differently if your aim is K-12 teaching (English/Language Arts Teacher Education is the direct track), if writing in a workshop setting is the specific goal (Creative Writing, CIP 23.1301), or if rhetorical and professional writing skills are the draw (Rhetoric and Composition, CIP 23.1304). And confirm what “Other” actually means at each school you consider — program content under this CIP code is, by definition, not standardized.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for English Language and Literature/Letters, Other

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Shasta College Redding, CA 232 0 232
University of Iowa Iowa City, IA 0 115 115
Fort Hays State University Hays, KS 0 88 88
Bard College Annandale-On-Hudson, NY 0 75 75
Laney College Oakland, CA 58 0 58
University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA 0 42 42
Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA 30 0 30
Rowan University Glassboro, NJ 0 28 28
Suffolk University Boston, MA 0 21 21
Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO 0 16 16
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

English Language and Literature, General

26,983 completions/yr

Spanish Language and Literature

4,864 completions/yr

French Language and Literature

882 completions/yr

Japanese Language and Literature

589 completions/yr

German Language and Literature

399 completions/yr

Chinese Language and Literature

359 completions/yr

History and Language/Literature

317 completions/yr

Russian Language and Literature

175 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What does English Language and Literature, Other actually mean?
It is a CIP catchall code (23.9999) that NCES applies when a program does not fit cleanly under English, General (23.0101), Creative Writing (23.1301), or Rhetoric and Composition (23.1304). Schools place niche tracks here — comparative literature variants, literary nonfiction, professional or technical writing tracks that don’t belong under Writing, ethnic and gender-focused literature concentrations, and combined literature-and-writing degrees like Bard’s. Specific program content varies considerably by institution, which is why the example listed in the CIP packet is just “Writing and Literature.” Read the actual department page at any school you’re considering rather than assuming the major is the same elsewhere.
How does this compare to English Language and Literature, General?
English, General (CIP 23.0101) carries roughly 26,983 completions per year across more than 1,500 colleges — about 33 times the volume of the Other code, which sees 803 completions across 51 colleges. The General major is the standard literature-and-writing track most students recognize. The Other code is what you get when a department has structured its degree differently enough that NCES does not consider it General — often because the program is interdisciplinary, theme-driven, or weighted toward a specific writing or literature subfield. If you cannot find a meaningful difference between the two on a school’s website, the General code is usually the safer signal.
What jobs do English, Other graduates end up in?
The data packet only maps one direct career: postsecondary English teacher, with a median wage of $78,270 and projected job growth of 0% — a role that requires a doctoral degree and faces flat hiring. The bachelor’s degree on its own is most often a launching pad rather than a terminal credential. Realistic destinations include graduate school (MFA, PhD, JD), publishing and editorial work (typically entry pay around $40,000 to $50,000 in major markets), technical writing (BLS median around $78,000 nationally), corporate communications and content roles, and teaching with state certification added. Earnings five years out sit at about $44,200 across degree levels, which is consistent with that mix of low-pay entry roles and graduate-school enrollees still ramping into careers.
Do I need a bachelor’s, or is an associate’s enough?
The major is offered at both levels, with five-year median earnings of about $44,763 for bachelor’s completers and $36,307 for associate’s completers — a gap of roughly $8,500. More important than the wage gap: every realistic professional destination listed in the packet, from postsecondary teaching to technical writing to publishing, expects a bachelor’s as the minimum credential, and several expect graduate work beyond it. Associate’s programs at colleges like Shasta and Laney function primarily as transfer platforms toward four-year completion, not as terminal degrees. If you are starting at a community college, plan articulation toward a bachelor’s from the beginning.
Why are the top schools such a mix of community colleges and selective universities?
The top of the completions list is genuinely heterogeneous: Shasta College (232 associate’s completions) and Laney College (58) sit alongside the University of Iowa (115 bachelor’s, home of the well-known Writers’ Workshop tradition), Bard College (75 bachelor’s), and UC San Diego (42 bachelor’s). The CC volume reflects schools using 23.9999 for combined writing-and-literature associate’s tracks designed for transfer. The selective universities use it for distinctive interdisciplinary programs that do not fit the General code. The mix matters when you compare schools — the same CIP code at Shasta and at Bard signals very different student experiences and outcomes.
What is a realistic next step after this degree?
The five-year earnings figure ($44,200 across all completers) and the single graduate-credentialed career in the packet point to a clear pattern: most graduates either pursue further study or pivot into adjacent fields where English skills carry weight. Common next steps include MFA programs (for the writing-heavy variants of this major), graduate study in English or comparative literature (the academic ramp toward postsecondary teaching), law school, publishing or editorial roles in major markets, technical writing (one of the better-paying English-adjacent tracks), and teaching with added state certification. The bachelor’s is best understood as a starting platform — the wages above $50,000 in the data tend to come after a credential, certification, or several years of experience.