by our College Data Analytics Team
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major” ranking - to help you make that decision.
Creative Writing is the 120th most popular major in the country with 6,817 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.
This year’s “Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major” ranking analyzed 445 colleges that offered a degree in creative writing. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular creative writing programs in the United States.
Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major” list to help you make the college decision.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
The colleges and universities below are the best for creative writing students.
Out of the 445 schools in the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern New Hampshire University landed the #1 spot on the list. Southern New Hampshire University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Manchester, New Hampshire. It awarded 660 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
Full Southern New Hampshire University Creative Writing Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Emerson College. The school came in at #2 for the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major. Emerson is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 208 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Columbia University in the City of New York. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. Columbia is located in New York, New York and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 134 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 445 schools in the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Washington University landed the #4 spot on the list. WWU is a fairly large public school situated in Bellingham, Washington. It awarded 120 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Out of the 445 schools in the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Riverside landed the #5 spot on the list. UCR is a public institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 102 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Creative Writing at University of California - Riverside
The New School did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #6. Located in New York, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 91 degrees to qualified ’s creative writing students in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Lindenwood University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #7. Lindenwood University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Saint Charles, Missouri. It awarded 89 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Creative Writing at Lindenwood University
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. Pitt is a public institution located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 125 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Vermont College of Fine Arts landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. Montpelier, Vermont is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 88 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Creative Writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts
University of Arizona ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. Tucson, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 84 students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
With a ranking of #11, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. Johns Hopkins is located in Baltimore, Maryland and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 84 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Columbia College Chicago ranked #12 on this year’s Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 69 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
Read more about Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago
Hamline University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #13. Hamline University is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 61 ’s creative writing degrees to qualified students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #14, University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well on the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. UNCW is a public institution located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 58 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Creative Writing at University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Chapman University landed the #14 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. Chapman is a medium-sized school located in Orange, California that handed out 58 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus ranked #14 on this year’s Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major list. Located in Seattle, Washington, this large public school handed out 58 diplomas to qualified ’s creative writing students in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.1% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read full report on Creative Writing at University of Washington - Seattle Campus
New York University did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #17. New York University is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 55 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Miami University - Oxford came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Oxford, Ohio, and it awarded 55 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Creative Writing at Miami University - Oxford
University of Iowa did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #19. Iowa City, Iowa is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 54 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.2% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 88%.
Brooklyn College did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #20. This fairly large school is located in Brooklyn, New York, and it awarded 53 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Central Washington University came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. This fairly large school is located in Ellensburg, Washington, and it awarded 50 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, this large public school handed out 46 diplomas to qualified ’s creative writing students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Florham Campus came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. FDU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Madison, New Jersey. It awarded 45 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
George Mason University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking. GMU is a large school located in Fairfax, Virginia that handed out 45 ’s creative writing degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
University of Southern California did quite well in the 2023 Most Well Attended Creative Writing Major ranking, coming in at #23. Los Angeles, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s creative writing degrees to 45 students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Read full report on Creative Writing at University of Southern California
Not only did these schools make the top 53 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
While not in the ’top 50’, these schools make the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | Bowling Green State University - Main Campus | Bowling Green, OH |
| 54 | Western Michigan University | Kalamazoo, MI |
| 56 | Pacific Lutheran University | Tacoma, WA |
| 56 | National University | La Jolla, CA |
| 56 | Antioch University - Los Angeles | Culver City, CA |
| 56 | University of Idaho | Moscow, ID |
| 56 | Goddard College | Plainfield, VT |
| 61 | Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH |
| 61 | Fairfield University | Fairfield, CT |
| 61 | Hamilton College | Clinton, NY |
| 64 | DePauw University | Greencastle, IN |
| 64 | Seton Hill University | Greensburg, PA |
| 64 | Sarah Lawrence College | Bronxville, NY |
| 64 | Texas State University | San Marcos, TX |
| 64 | Oakland University | Rochester Hills, MI |
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 64 | Northern Michigan University | Marquette, MI |
| 64 | Spalding University | Louisville, KY |
| 64 | Universidad del Sagrado Corazon | Santurce, PR |
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
