Best Proofreader programs in Pennsylvania, 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.
94 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,511 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,510 in Pennsylvania across about 230 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
5 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (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 Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English Language and Literature, Generalmain feeder CIP 23.0101In Pennsylvania → | 1,089 | 72.1% | 84 | $29,622 | $24,546 |
| 2 | CIP 09.0401In Pennsylvania → | 329 | 21.8% | 13 | $34,515 | $24,250 |
| 3 | CIP 52.0501In Pennsylvania → | 74 | 4.9% | 14 | $41,000 | $26,000 |
| 4 | CIP 23.1301In Pennsylvania → | 12 | 0.8% | 6 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
| 5 | CIP 23.1399In Pennsylvania → | 7 | 0.5% | 2 | $28,725 | $25,250 |
Top 25 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 24 of the 94 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus University Park, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 316 | Journalism | $36,468 | 86% | — | 61% |
| 2 | Temple University Philadelphia, PA Public · 3 feeder programs | 138 | English Language and Literature, General | $28,914 | 75% | — | 80% |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 63 | English Language and Literature, General | $40,967 | 97% | $22,055 | 5% |
| 4 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania Indiana, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 55 | English Language and Literature, General | $22,588 | 56% | — | 91% |
| 5 | West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 71% | — | 78% |
| 6 | Millersville University of Pennsylvania Millersville, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 52 | English Language and Literature, General | $36,865 | 58% | — | 86% |
| 7 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 49 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 88% | $26,912 | 26% |
| 8 | Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Abington Abington, PA Public · 2 feeder programs | 37 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | — | 20% | — | 97% |
| 9 | Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | English Language and Literature, General | $34,205 | 66% | — | 71% |
| 10 | Villanova University Villanova, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 33 | English Language and Literature, General | $37,643 | 92% | $33,774 | 27% |
| 11 | Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 3 feeder programs | 29 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,887 | 77% | $32,060 | 84% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 4 feeder programs | 29 | English Language and Literature, General | $29,529 | 52% | — | 94% |
| 13 | Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania Bloomsburg, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 26 | English Language and Literature, General | $28,216 | 54% | — | 93% |
| 14 | Lafayette College Easton, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 26 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 88% | $20,396 | 31% |
| 15 | Haverford College Haverford, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 90% | $17,179 | 12% |
| 16 | Lycoming College Williamsport, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 25 | Business/Corporate Communications, General | — | 60% | $17,924 | 74% |
| 17 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 24 | English Language and Literature, General | $25,510 | 80% | $22,831 | 42% |
| 18 | Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 23 | English Language and Literature, General | $40,601 | 83% | $24,453 | 39% |
| 19 | Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 21 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 82% | $19,073 | 29% |
| 20 | Community College of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 21 | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | English Language and Literature, General | $34,043 | 86% | $30,675 | 29% |
| 22 | Moravian University Bethlehem, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | English Language and Literature, General | $27,135 | 72% | $28,454 | 54% |
| 23 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 16 | English Language and Literature, General | $31,266 | 79% | $34,418 | 89% |
| 24 | Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Harrisburg Middletown, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 26% | — | 98% |
| 25 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | English Language and Literature, General | — | 85% | — | 58% |
All 94 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus | University Park | Public | 316 | 2 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia | Public | 138 | 3 |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 63 | 1 |
| Indiana University of Pennsylvania | Indiana | Public | 55 | 1 |
| West Chester University of Pennsylvania | West Chester | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Millersville University of Pennsylvania | Millersville | Public | 52 | 2 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem | Private not-for-profit | 49 | 2 |
| Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Abington | Abington | Public | 37 | 2 |
| Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania | Slippery Rock | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Villanova University | Villanova | Private not-for-profit | 33 | 1 |
| Duquesne University | Pittsburgh | Private not-for-profit | 29 | 3 |
| Pennsylvania Western University | California | Public | 29 | 4 |
| Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania | Bloomsburg | Public | 26 | 1 |
| Lafayette College | Easton | Private not-for-profit | 26 | 1 |
| Haverford College | Haverford | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
What proofreaders and copy markers earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $51,120. Pennsylvania pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Pennsylvania employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania
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 Pennsylvania.
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 1,089 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 72.1% 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 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are English Language and Literature, Journalism, Business/Corporate Communications, Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. Together they graduate about 1,511 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do proofreaders and copy markers earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $47,510 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 7.1% 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 Pennsylvania?+
94 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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
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