US College Programs

Writing and Rhetoric (Bachelor's) Programs in Washington, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

  • 5 programs report first-year pay
  • 5 also report federal debt
  • Bachelor's in Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Washington writing and rhetoric bachelor's program pays its graduates $27,832 in their first year, $598 less than the national median. Seattle University reports the highest first-year pay ($32,663), and University of Washington the lowest median debt ($17,872).

Median first-year pay$27,832National $28,430
Median pay after 5 years$40,327National $47,988
Median federal debt$23,224National $25,000
Debt-to-earnings75%National 82%

All 5 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 Washington writing and rhetoric program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

  1. Seattle University$32,663
  2. University of Washington$29,758
  3. Central Washington University$27,832
  4. Western Washington University$27,116
  5. University of Puget Sound$22,251

Lowest median debt

  1. University of Washington$17,872
  2. Western Washington University$18,064
  3. Central Washington University$23,224
  4. Seattle University$24,500
  5. University of Puget Sound$27,000

Lowest debt for the pay

  1. University of Washington60%
  2. Western Washington University67%
  3. Seattle University75%
  4. Central Washington University83%
  5. University of Puget Sound121%

"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 writing and rhetoric, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Editors

$77,850

Median pay in Washington. 1,860 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 7,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $50,320Top 10%: $128,630

Writers and Authors

$85,700

Median pay in Washington. 770 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $50,600Top 10%: $129,480

Technical Writers

$104,070

Median pay in Washington. 1,620 people work in this job in Washington. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 3,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $60,420Top 10%: $169,810

Proofreaders and Copy Markers

$53,890

Median pay in Washington. 60 people work in this job in Washington. 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.

Bottom 10%: $39,990Top 10%: $105,840

Common questions

Seattle University in Seattle reports the highest median first-year pay, $32,663. Its median federal debt is $24,500.

Related pages

Writing and Rhetoric (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked110 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 Washington rankings when their main campus is in another state.
  • Medians are across the writing and rhetoric 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