General Literature

Types of Degrees General Literature Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many general literature graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	43
Graduate Certificate	10

What General Literature Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to general literature and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for General Literature Majors

General Literature majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for General Literature Majors

When studying general literature, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for General Literature Majors

A major in general literature will prepare for your careers in which the following abilities are important:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

What Can You Do With a General Literature Major?

Below is a list of occupations associated with general literature:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
English Language and Literature Professors	9.8%	$66,590
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers	7.6%	$62,170

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in General Literature?

The major attracts more women than men. About 60% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of general literature majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	2
Black or African American	3
Hispanic or Latino	1
White	35
International Students	0
Other Races/Ethnicities	2

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to General Literature

Some careers associated with general literature require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for general literature careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	10.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.0%
Some College Courses	2.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.6%
Master’s Degree	18.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	26.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online General Literature Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	15	1
Bachelor’s Degree	10	8
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	6	1
Post-Master’s	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to General Literature

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to general literature.

Major	Number of Grads
English Literature (British & Commonwealth)	249
Children’s & Adolescent Literature	60
American Literature (United States)	40
Other Literature	22

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020

More about our data sources and methodologies.