Central Michigan University English (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General
- Public university
- Mount Pleasant, MI
- About 29 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Central Michigan University English graduates earn less than graduates of most English programs nationally, $25,367 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $27,500 in federal loans, more than at 93% of English programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all English bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Central Michigan University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $2,485 less than the Michigan median. Several Michigan programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan English program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 71% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $292 a month, or 13.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $22,755.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
82% of graduates (37 of 45) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Michigan outside metro areas are about 11% below the national average, so a $25,367 salary here buys what about $28,511 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to English, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$66,030Median pay in Michigan. 25,540 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Proofreaders and Copy Markers
$35,530Median pay in Michigan. 140 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Central Michigan University
English ranks 47th of 53 bachelor's programs at Central Michigan University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($74,135), Electrical Engineering ($71,457), and Mechanical Engineering ($69,862).
Other English bachelor's programs near Mount Pleasant
Common questions
The median graduate earns $25,367 one year after graduating and $43,271 five years after. The median across English bachelor's programs in Michigan is $28,927.
The median federal loan balance is $27,500, which ranks 8th lowest of 11 English bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $292 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 108% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 77%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 82% (37 of 45) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Michigan comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the English program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024