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2022 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Creative Writing in California

14 Ranked Colleges
343 Degrees Awarded
$26,100 Avg Grad Tuition & Fees*
Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master's in California

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Creative Writing is the 118th most popular major in the country with 6,586 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across California, there were 548 creative writing graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the master’s degree level specifically, there were 343 creative writing graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,281 and $50,119 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California” ranking looked at 14 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in creative writing. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great creative writing programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the creative writing program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Creative Writing Schools

The creative writing school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California”.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California.

Top 14 Best Value Master’s Degree Colleges for Creative Writing in California

#1

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 14 schools in the Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Mount Saint Mary’s University landed the #1 spot on the list. Mount Saint Mary’s University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 12 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree creative writing students list, MSMU has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at MSMU are $12,612, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at Mount Saint Mary’s University

#11 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. Fresno State is a public institution located in Fresno, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Fresno State also took the #11 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Fresno State are $17,581.

Full Fresno State Creative Writing Report

#9 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Long Beach. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. CSULB is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSULB also took the #9 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at California State University - Long Beach are $17,784, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Full California State University - Long Beach Creative Writing Report

#4

San Diego State University

San Diego, California
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend San Diego State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s creative writing degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.

SDSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at San Diego State University are $18,658.

Read more about Creative Writing at San Diego State University

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Riverside. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California. University of California - Riverside is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 47 masters’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california master’s degree creative writing students list, UCR has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at UCR are $28,686.

Full UCR Creative Writing Report

#6

San Francisco State University

San Francisco, California
#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, San Francisco State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. San Francisco State University is a large school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 18 masters’s creative writing degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SFSU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at SFSU are $17,944, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at SFSU

#7

San Jose State University

San Jose, California
#7 in overall quality

San Jose State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s creative writing degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

San Jose State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Average graduate tuition and fees at San Jose State are $18,790, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at San Jose State University

#4 in overall quality

University of California - Davis came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. University of California - Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 8 masters’s creative writing degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Davis also made our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #4. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of California - Davis are $28,700, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at UC Davis

#9

National University

La Jolla, California
#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, National University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. La Jolla, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s creative writing degrees to 37 students in 2019-2020.

National University also took the #12 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at National University are $15,480, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at National University

#10

University of San Francisco

San Francisco, California
#6 in overall quality

University of San Francisco came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Located in San Francisco, California, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 30 degrees to qualified masters’s creative writing students in 2019-2020.

USFCA also took the #6 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Average graduate tuition and fees at University of San Francisco are $26,710, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Full USFCA Creative Writing Report

#8 in overall quality

Saint Mary’s College of California landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking. Located in Moraga, California, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 22 diplomas to qualified masters’s creative writing students in 2019-2020.

SMC also made our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #8. Average graduate tuition and fees at SMC are $33,509, but some majors have different tuition rates.

Read full report on Creative Writing at Saint Mary’s College of California

#12

Chapman University

Orange, California
#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #12, Chapman University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California list. Chapman University is located in Orange, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 masters’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.

Chapman did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Chapman University are $35,105.

Read more about Creative Writing at Chapman University

#13

Mills College

Oakland, California
#13 in overall quality

Mills College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #13. Oakland, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s creative writing degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Mills, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. Although you might pay more or less depending on your area of study, average graduate tuition and fees at Mills are $36,263.

Full Mills Creative Writing Report

#14

California College of the Arts

San Francisco, California
#14 in overall quality

California College of the Arts did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Creative Writing Schools for a Master’s in California ranking, coming in at #14. California College of the Arts is located in San Francisco, California and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 masters’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.

California College of the Arts also made our “Best Creative Writing Master’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #14. Average graduate tuition and fees at California College of the Arts are $53,795, but you may pay more or less depending on your major.

Read full report on Creative Writing at California College of the Arts

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

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