2025 Best Creative Writing Schools in California
12
Colleges in California
507
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Ranked #120 in popularity,
creative writing is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.
College Factual reviewed 12 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of creative writing. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 507 degrees in creative writing annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Creative Writing School
The creative writing program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Creative Writing rankings. We derive our Best Overall Creative Writing School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Creative Writing Degree Level
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 in California.
If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.
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.
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.
If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.
Best Schools for Creative Writing in California
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the creative writing degree levels they offer.
10 Top California Schools in Creative Writing
Every student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to check out University of California - Irvine. UC Irvine is a very large public university located in the city of Irvine. A Best Colleges rank of #73 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.
There were about 16 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from University of California - Irvine
Bachelor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
3rd
Most Popular In CA
37
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Every student pursuing a degree in creative writing has to take a look at University of Southern California. USC is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #13 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.
There were roughly 37 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in creative writing from University of Southern California
Bachelors
Degree Type
BA in Creative Writing & English
Program Name
Develop your creativity and gain practical skills with a creative writing degree program –featuring 100% online classes – through a bachelor's from Southern New Hampshire University.
More information about a degree in BA in Creative Writing & English from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Every student pursuing a degree in creative writing needs to look into University of California - Davis. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.
There were about 12 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from University of California - Davis
San Diego State University is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in creative writing. SDSU is a fairly large public university located in the large city of San Diego. This university ranks 25th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 17 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in creative writing from San Diego State University
SFSU is a fairly large public university located in the city of San Francisco. This university ranks 30th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were roughly 26 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at SFSU in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In CA
94
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Located in the large city of Riverside, UCR is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 28th out of 161 schools for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 94 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at UCR in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from University of California - Riverside
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
4th
Most Popular In CA
USFCA is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #152 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.
There were approximately 26 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from University of San Francisco
Masters
Degree Type
MFA in Creative Writing - Online
Program Name
Embrace your passion for storytelling and learn the professional writing skills you'll need to succeed with our online MFA in Creative Writing. Write your novel or short story collection while earning a certificate in the Online Teaching of Writing or Professional Writing, with no residency requirement.
More information about a degree in MFA in Creative Writing - Online from Southern New Hampshire UniversityRelated Programs
Fresno State is a fairly large public university located in the city of Fresno. This university ranks 81st out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 15 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Fresno State in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from California State University - Fresno
Master's Degree
Highest Degree Type
2nd
Most Popular In CA
46
Creative Writing Degrees Awarded
Chapman is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of Orange. A Best Colleges rank of #172 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Chapman is a great university overall.
There were approximately 46 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at Chapman in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in creative writing from Chapman University
SMC is a small private not-for-profit college located in the suburb of Moraga. A Best Colleges rank of #148 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means SMC is a great college overall.
There were approximately 23 creative writing students who graduated with this degree at SMC in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College of California
