US College Programs

English (Bachelor's) Programs in Alabama, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 8 programs report first-year pay
  • 8 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in English Language and Literature, General

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Alabama English bachelor's program pays its graduates $32,769 in their first year, $2,574 more than the national median. Athens State reports the highest first-year pay ($40,917), and University of Alabama the lowest median debt ($22,250).

Median first-year pay$32,769National $30,195
Median pay after 5 years$43,504National $47,348
Median federal debt$24,973National $24,498
Debt-to-earnings76%National 77%

All 8 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

Debt and first-year pay at every Alabama English program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Alabama medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 8 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Athens State$40,917
  2. University of South Alabama$40,486
  3. Jacksonville State$37,774
  4. Auburn University$33,213
  5. UAB$32,324

Lowest median debt

  1. University of Alabama$22,250
  2. Jacksonville State$23,267
  3. University of South Alabama$23,505
  4. UAB$24,946
  5. Auburn University$25,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. University of South Alabama58%
  2. Jacksonville State62%
  3. Athens State66%
  4. Auburn University75%
  5. UAB77%

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$61,990

Median pay in Alabama. 15,880 people work in this job in Alabama. 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.

Bottom 10%: $48,190Top 10%: $76,300

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$51,120

Median pay nationwide. 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.

Common questions

Athens State in Athens reports the highest median first-year pay, $40,917. Its median federal debt is $26,833.

Related pages

English (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked471 programs by pay and debt

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
  • 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 Alabama rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the English bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024