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2024 Best Creative Writing Schools

215 Colleges in the United States
6,817 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
If you pursue a degree in creative writing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #120 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.

In 2024, College Factual analyzed 215 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Creative Writing Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 6,817 degrees in creative writing during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Creative Writing School

Best Creative Writing Schools Your choice of creative writing school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. For our Best Overall Creative Writing School rankings, we roll up the results of our degree-level rankings, weighted by the number of degrees awarded at that level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Creative Writing Rankings by Degree Level

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

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 the Best Creative Writing Schools. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Creative Writing in the United States

The schools below may not offer all types of creative writing degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

25 Top Schools in Creative Writing

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In MD
84 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Every student who is interested in creative writing needs to check out Johns Hopkins University. Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #23 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.

There were approximately 84 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University

2
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In PA
125 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to look into University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus. Pitt is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Pittsburgh. This university ranks 7th out of 109 colleges for overall quality in the state of Pennsylvania.

There were roughly 125 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Pitt in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus

3
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In PA
11.1% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in creative writing needs to check out Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Pittsburgh. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Carnegie Mellon is a great university overall.

There were roughly 18 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Carnegie Mellon in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University

4
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IL
36 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Any student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to take a look at University of Chicago. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were roughly 36 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Chicago

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In NY
134 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.

There were approximately 134 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Columbia University in the City of New York

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
5th Most Popular In IL
64.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were about 17 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Northwestern University

7
Brown crest
Brown University
Providence, RI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In RI
35 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Providence. A Best Colleges rank of #21 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Brown is a great university overall.

There were about 35 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Brown University

8
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In CA
45 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 45 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Southern California

9
Iowa crest
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In IA
54 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Located in the small city of Iowa City, Iowa is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 40 colleges for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were about 54 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Iowa in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Iowa

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In MN

UMN Twin Cities is a very large public university located in the city of Minneapolis. This university ranks 1st out of 52 schools for overall quality in the state of Minnesota.

There were roughly 9 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UMN Twin Cities in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

11
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In OH
55 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Located in the town of Oxford, Miami University - Oxford is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 3rd out of 96 schools for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were about 55 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Miami University - Oxford in the most recent data year.

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

12
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In MA
29.4% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.

There were roughly 17 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Harvard University

13
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In GA
43 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Emory is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Atlanta. A Best Colleges rank of #28 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Emory is a great university overall.

There were about 43 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Emory in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Emory University

14
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In IN

Located in the small city of West Lafayette, Purdue is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 42 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.

There were roughly 19 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Purdue in the most recent year we have data available.

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

15
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In WA
58 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

UW Seattle is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Seattle. This university ranks 1st out of 51 colleges for overall quality in the state of Washington.

There were roughly 58 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UW Seattle in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Washington - Seattle Campus

16
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
2nd Most Popular In MO
23.3% Growth in Graduates

WUSTL is a large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Saint Louis. A Best Colleges rank of #17 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means WUSTL is a great university overall.

There were approximately 30 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at WUSTL in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Washington University in St Louis

17
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IN

Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 7 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Notre Dame

18
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In TN

Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Vanderbilt is a great university overall.

There were roughly 6 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Vanderbilt University

19
Wellesley crest
Wellesley College
Wellesley, MA
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
9th Most Popular In MA
50.0% Growth in Graduates

Wellesley is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Wellesley. This college ranks 12th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were about 12 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Wellesley in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Wellesley College

20
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In TX
86 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

UT Austin is a fairly large public university located in the city of Austin. This university ranks 2nd out of 115 colleges for overall quality in the state of Texas.

There were approximately 86 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UT Austin in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from The University of Texas at Austin

21
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In IA
25.0% Growth in Graduates

Iowa State is a very large public university located in the small city of Ames. This university ranks 1st out of 40 schools for overall quality in the state of Iowa.

There were approximately 12 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Iowa State in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Iowa State University

22
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, MA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
6th Most Popular In MA
11.1% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. This university ranks 6th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.

There were roughly 18 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from Boston University

23
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3rd Most Popular In OH
53 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

Located in the large city of Cincinnati, UC is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 5th out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were roughly 53 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

24
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
1st Most Popular In AZ
84 Creative Writing Degrees Awarded

University of Arizona is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Tucson. This university ranks 3rd out of 26 schools for overall quality in the state of Arizona.

There were approximately 84 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at University of Arizona in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Arizona

25
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
4th Most Popular In OH

Located in the town of Bowling Green, BGSU is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 23rd out of 96 colleges for overall quality in the state of Ohio.

There were approximately 26 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at BGSU in the most recent year we have data available.

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

Rest of the Top Best Creative Writing Schools

26
NYU crest
New York University
New York, NY
27
28
29
30
Syracuse crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
31
32

 

Honorable Mentions

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Creative Writing Schools award.

Rank College Location
33 Providence College Providence, RI
34 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI
35 Lindenwood University Saint Charles, MO
36 George Washington University Washington, DC
37 University of Houston Houston, TX
38 Saint Joseph’s University Philadelphia, PA
39 Arizona State University - Tempe Tempe, AZ
40 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
41 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
42 Texas State University San Marcos, TX
43 University of Virginia - Main Campus Charlottesville, VA

Creative Writing by Region

View the Best Creative Writing Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Other U.S. Territories
Great Lakes

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Writing Studies area of study, Creative Writing has other similar majors worth exploring.

Majors Similar to Creative Writing

Related Major Annual Graduates
Professional, Technical, Business, & Scientific Writing 2,441
Rhetoric & Composition 1,871
General Writing 856
Other Rhetoric & Composition/Writing Studies 544

View All Creative Writing Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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