Master of Arts in Professional and Creative Writing

Why Pursue a Master of Arts in Professional and Creative Writing at North Central College?

The online Master of Arts in professional and creative writing helps writers be successful, whether they are looking to write a novel or polish their professional writing skills. Our program cultivates the writing, reading, and critical thinking skills necessary for business professionals and creative writers. Our students are often both.

Our classes center on a community of writers who share common goals and practices, and they are led by faculty mentors, who publish widely and who care deeply about the success of each student. There’s a strong emphasis on personal development and skill enhancement. The degree honors the entirety of the writer who aspires to write for internal and external audiences within and beyond the workplace.

Students will be able to build a graduate thesis around their passions, interests, and professional goals and will receive exceptional faculty support tailored to their needs. Current students are working on science fiction, crime novels, children’s literature, screenplays, and creative nonfiction. The program gives students the structure and freedom to thrive as writers.

• Cohort Model
• Enrolling for Fall 2022 Cohort
• 100% Online

Benefits of a Cohort Model

• Structured program that supports busy graduate students through faculty mentorship and a community of writers
• A comprehensive program that can be completed in 2 years
• A thesis course that results in a polished creative or professional project

A Unique and Balanced Combination

The unique professional and creative writing curriculum balance both theory and practice in meaningful and engaging ways.

The program is ideal for those professional writers who understand the value of creative writing as a means to enhance their competencies. At the same time, the program is designed for creative writers who wish to enrich their professional and technical writing skills.

Our intentional, holistic program will help you develop the industry-standard skill sets that will help you become a dynamic, flexible, and well-rounded writer.

Since 1861, North Central has been a place where new ideas lead to unlimited possibilities. We’re an independent college dedicated to the power of the liberal arts and sciences to transform students into leaders both in their careers and communities. Our nearly 3,000 students study across more than 65 undergraduate and graduate programs, with their education, made richer by supportive faculty and staff, world-class facilities, and countless opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

A College on the move

Building on the foundation of more than 150 years of excellence, North Central continues to grow with numerous new facilities, programs, and initiatives in the works.

The College opened with 40 students in a single two-story building in Plainfield, Illinois. Since then we’ve changed names twice (to North-Western, then North Central), moved once (from Plainfield to Naperville), and grown steadily (to about 3,000 students).

Over the years, thousands of dedicated students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends have helped us thrive through the toughest challenges – wars, economic crises, social upheavals, and more – and build a future brilliant with hope and promise.

We’ve met the changing needs of students from Civil War veterans to millennial entrepreneurs. And we’ve always stayed true to our heritage of moral courage and forward-thinking.

Today we’re a top-ranked private comprehensive college of the liberal arts and sciences. U.S. News & World Report counts us among “America’s Best Colleges,” one of the top six schools in the Midwest for a “strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” Students choose from more than 55 undergraduate majors and five graduate program areas.

Although the College originally discouraged organized athletics as a distraction from weightier matters, our 26 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division III make our athletic department the largest in the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW). North Central is proud of its 32 team national championships and 123 individual national champions.

Though affiliated with the United Methodist Church, we welcome and encourage students and staff of all faiths. We are thoughtfully expanding our academic programs to respond to the needs of our ever-changing world, recently adding Middle Eastern and North African Studies, along with Arabic. And we’re transforming our facilities – most dramatically with a new interdisciplinary Science Center located at the corner of Brainard Street and Van Buren Avenue.

It’s been an amazing 150+ years. But it’s clear that the best is yet to come!