by our College Data Analytics Team
[Literature](/majors/english-language-literature/literature/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 7 schools to find the best return on investment for literature students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the literature degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in literature, no school beat Miami University Oxford this year. Set in the town of Oxford, Miami University Oxford is a large public institution. In-state tuition and fees average $17,519, compared with $38,965 for out-of-state students. Literature graduates carry a median of $24,177 in student loans. Early-career literature graduates make about $49,700. That is a strong return on a $24,177 median debt. Miami University Oxford admits about 75% of applicants.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 7 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.