Best Proofreader programs in Illinois, ranked by enrollment
Read transcript or proof type setup to detect and mark for correction any grammatical, typographical, or compositional errors. Excludes workers whose primary duty is editing copy.
45 schools in Illinois run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,242 people a year. The job pays a median of $50,060 in Illinois across about 300 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Illinois that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in Illinois that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Illinois (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Illinois page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language and Literature, Generalmain feeder CIP 23.0101In Illinois → | 953 | 76.7% | 45 | $29,622 | $24,546 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0401In Illinois → | 222 | 17.9% | 15 | $34,515 | $24,250 |
| 3 | CIP 23.1301In Illinois → | 40 | 3.2% | 6 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
| 4 | CIP 52.0501In Illinois → | 27 | 2.2% | 4 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
Top 25 schools in Illinois
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 20 of the 45 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois State University Normal, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 136 | English Language and Literature, General | $39,563 | 65% | — | 88% |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign Champaign, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 136 | English Language and Literature, General | $37,031 | 85% | — | 42% |
| 3 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 97 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,066 | 62% | — | 77% |
| 4 | DePaul University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 94 | English Language and Literature, General | $28,660 | 68% | $28,141 | 76% |
| 5 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL Public · 3 feeder programs | 93 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,933 | 47% | — | 65% |
| 6 | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 77 | English Language and Literature, General | $28,640 | 73% | $33,454 | 82% |
| 7 | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 69 | English Language and Literature, General | $34,122 | 49% | — | 70% |
| 8 | Northwestern University Evanston, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 51 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,748 | 95% | $14,799 | 8% |
| 9 | Wheaton College Wheaton, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 44 | English Language and Literature, General | $32,723 | 85% | $23,461 | 87% |
| 10 | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,420 | 57% | — | 97% |
| 11 | Columbia College Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 35 | Journalism | $31,369 | 52% | $28,087 | 89% |
| 12 | Southern Illinois University - Carbondale Carbondale, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 35 | Journalism | $40,575 | 62% | — | 87% |
| 13 | University of Chicago Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 31 | English Language and Literature, General | $44,397 | 96% | $13,333 | 4% |
| 14 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, IL Public · 2 feeder programs | 28 | English Language and Literature, General | $39,358 | 53% | — | 86% |
| 15 | North Central College Naperville, IL Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 27 | Writing, General | — | 64% | $20,052 | 77% |
| 16 | Roosevelt University Chicago, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 24 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | $40,005 | 35% | $21,085 | 97% |
| 17 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | English Language and Literature, General | $36,594 | 22% | — | 75% |
| 18 | Western Illinois University Macomb, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | English Language and Literature, General | $30,652 | 45% | — | 71% |
| 19 | Elmhurst University Elmhurst, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 18 | English Language and Literature, General | $33,947 | 70% | $20,794 | 74% |
| 20 | Bradley University Peoria, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 17 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 76% | $21,768 | 77% |
| 21 | Dominican University River Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 12 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 55% | $16,176 | 90% |
| 22 | Governors State University University Park, IL Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | English Language and Literature, General | $29,580 | 22% | — | 48% |
| 23 | Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | English Language and Literature, General | $32,982 | 78% | $25,052 | 57% |
| 24 | Augustana College Rock Island, IL Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Journalism | — | 73% | $14,960 | 63% |
| 25 | Aurora University Aurora, IL Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 10 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 60% | $18,431 | 81% |
All 45 schools in Illinois
Every school in Illinois with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois State University | Normal | Public | 136 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Urbana - Champaign | Champaign | Public | 136 | 2 |
| University of Illinois Chicago | Chicago | Public | 97 | 1 |
| DePaul University | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 94 | 2 |
| Eastern Illinois University | Charleston | Public | 93 | 3 |
| Loyola University Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 77 | 2 |
| Northern Illinois University | Dekalb | Public | 69 | 2 |
| Northwestern University | Evanston | Private not-for-profit | 51 | 2 |
| Wheaton College | Wheaton | Private not-for-profit | 44 | 1 |
| Southern Illinois University Edwardsville | Edwardsville | Public | 43 | 1 |
| Columbia College Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 35 | 3 |
| Southern Illinois University - Carbondale | Carbondale | Public | 35 | 2 |
| University of Chicago | Chicago | Private not-for-profit | 31 | 1 |
| University of Illinois Springfield | Springfield | Public | 28 | 2 |
| North Central College | Naperville | Private not-for-profit | 27 | 3 |
What proofreaders and copy markers earn in Illinois
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $51,120. Illinois pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Illinois employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Illinois
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Proofreaders and Copy Markers page.
How to become a Proofreader
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Illinois
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 5 majors mapped to Proofreaders and Copy Markers5 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 09.0401Journalism
- 23.0101English Language and Literature, General
- 23.1301Writing, General
- 23.1399Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Other
- 52.0501Business/Corporate Communications, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing proofreaders and copy markers programs in Illinois.
What degree do you need to become a Proofreader?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is English Language and Literature, General, which awarded 953 degrees in Illinois in 2024-25, 76.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Proofreader?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are English Language and Literature, Journalism, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies, Business/Corporate Communications. Together they graduate about 1,242 people a year in Illinois.
How much do proofreaders and copy markers earn in Illinois?+
The median is $50,060 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.1% below the U.S. median of $51,120. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for proofreaders and copy markers growing?+
BLS projects a -0.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Illinois?+
45 institutions in Illinois reported graduates from at least one of the 4 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do proofreaders and copy markers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Typesetter, Copy Editor, Proofreader, News Copy Editor among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 43-9081.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card