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2025 Best Writing Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region

31 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
1,659 Writing Degrees Awarded
$34,966 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in writing studies, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #81 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

In 2025, College Factual analyzed 31 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Writing Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 1,659 degrees in writing studies to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Writing Studies School

Best Writing Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of writing studies school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Writing Studies School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Writing Studies Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in Writing
Bachelor's Degrees in Writing
Master's Degrees in Writing
Doctor's Degrees in Writing

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 Writing Studies Schools in the Great Lakes Region 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 Writing Studies in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of writing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Writing

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL

Northwestern University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in writing studies. Northwestern is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the small city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 13 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Northwestern University

2
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
36 Writing Degrees Awarded
2.8% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in writing studies has to check out Michigan State University. Located in the city of East Lansing, Michigan State is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #54 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were approximately 36 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the writing program earn an average of $33,401 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Michigan State University

Sponsored
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 University

Related Programs

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
105 Writing Degrees Awarded
4.8% Growth in Graduates

Miami University - Oxford is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in writing studies. Miami University - Oxford is a fairly large public university located in the town of Oxford. A Best Colleges rank of #134 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Miami University - Oxford is a great university overall.

There were about 105 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent year we have data available. Writing Studies degree recipients from Miami University - Oxford get an earnings boost of around $7,434 over the average income of writing studies majors.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Miami University - Oxford

4
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
151 Writing Degrees Awarded
$34,170 Median Starting Salary

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in writing studies. BGSU is a fairly large public university located in the fringe town of Bowling Green. This university ranks 18th out of 91 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 151 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at BGSU in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the writing program make about $34,170 for their early career.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
51 Writing Degrees Awarded
3.9% Growth in Graduates

U-M is a very large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 51 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Graduates who receive their degree from the writing program earn an average of $31,239 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in writing studies from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

6
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
50 Writing Degrees Awarded
26.0% Growth in Graduates

Purdue is a very large public university located in the small city of West Lafayette. A Best Colleges rank of #65 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Purdue is a great university overall.

There were about 50 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the writing program make about $25,084 for their early career.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Purdue University - Main Campus

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$24,225 Median Starting Salary
$34,411 Median Student Debt

Located in the city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.

There were about 28 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduating, writing degree recipients typically earn around $24,225 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in writing studies from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sponsored
Bachelors Degree Type
BA English in Professional Writing Program Name

Expand your professional skillset with this specialized online degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

More information about a degree in BA English in Professional Writing from Southern New Hampshire University

Related Programs

8
DePauw crest
DePauw University
Greencastle, IN
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
$31,640 Median Starting Salary

DePauw is a small private not-for-profit university located in the distant town of Greencastle. This university ranks 11th out of 41 schools for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 20 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at DePauw in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the writing program make around $31,640 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in writing studies from DePauw University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
32 Writing Degrees Awarded
$21,468 Median Starting Salary

Located in the small city of Kalamazoo, WMU is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #322 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means WMU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 32 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at WMU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the writing program report average early career wages of $21,468.

More information about a degree in writing studies from Western Michigan University

10
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
40 Writing Degrees Awarded
40.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, DePaul is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #135 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means DePaul is a great university overall.

There were roughly 40 writing studies students who graduated with this degree at DePaul in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the writing studies degree program at DePaul University make $14,368 more than the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in writing studies from DePaul University

Best Writing Studies Colleges by State

Explore the best writing studies colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 364
Ohio 314 557
Illinois 304 344
Indiana 294 180
Wisconsin 273 100

View All Rankings >

One of 9 majors within the English Language & Literature area of study, Writing Studies has other similar majors worth exploring.

Writing Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Creative Writing 836
Rhetoric & Composition 310
Professional, Technical, Business, & Scientific Writing 290
General Writing 214
Other Rhetoric & Composition/Writing Studies 9

View All Writing Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Writing

Related Major Annual Graduates
General English Literature 4,185
Literature 58
English Literature (Other) 57

View All Writing Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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