2025 Best Creative Writing Schools in Illinois
6
Colleges in Illinois
244
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Ranked #120 in popularity,
creative writing is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 6 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of creative writing. Combined, these schools handed out 244 degrees in creative writing to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Creative Writing School
Your choice of creative writing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Creative Writing School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
Creative Writing Rankings by Degree Level
When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Creative Writing Schools in Illinois list to help you make the college decision.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat.
Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Creative Writing in Illinois
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the creative writing degree levels they offer.
Top Illinois Schools in Creative Writing
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
5th
Most Popular In IL
Every student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to take a look at Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were approximately 11 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in creative writing from Northwestern University
It's difficult to beat DePaul University if you wish to pursue a degree in creative writing. DePaul is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.
There were about 27 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from DePaul University
Bachelors
Degree Type
BA in Creative Writing & English
Program Name
Develop your creativity and gain practical skills with a creative writing degree program –featuring 100% online classes – through a bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in BA in Creative Writing & English from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Any student who is interested in creative writing needs to take a look at Loyola University Chicago. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #100 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.More information about a degree in creative writing from Loyola University Chicago
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In IL
62
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Every student pursuing a degree in creative writing has to look into Columbia College Chicago. Columbia is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit college located in the large city of Chicago. This college ranks 9th out of 85 schools for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were roughly 62 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
8th
Most Popular In IL
Located in the small city of Rock Island, Augustana is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 21st out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.
There were approximately 7 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Augustana in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in creative writing from Augustana College
