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CIP 23.1302 English Language and Literature

Creative Writing

IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education · 2025

中文

Total graduates

6,947

2025 · 405 schools

International share

3.7%

256 international students

Bachelor's degrees

3,523

1.5% international

Master's degrees

3,125

6.3% international

Overview

Creative Writing is an academic discipline that focuses on the art of crafting original literary works. This major typically includes various genres such as fiction, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Students in Creative Writing programs learn to develop their unique voice and style while honing their storytelling abilities. Courses often emphasize the importance of character development, plot structure, dialogue, and thematic exploration, providing students with a comprehensive understanding of narrative techniques.

In addition to the technical aspects of writing, Creative Writing programs frequently encourage students to engage in peer critiques and workshops. This collaborative environment allows aspiring writers to receive constructive feedback on their work, fostering a sense of community and support among peers. Many programs also invite established authors and industry professionals to conduct workshops or seminars, offering valuable insights into the publishing process and the literary market.

Creative Writing majors often have opportunities to publish their work in literary journals, participate in writing contests, and attend literary festivals, further enhancing their practical experience in the field. Graduates from this program can pursue various career paths, including becoming published authors, editors, content creators, educators, or professionals in related fields such as advertising and marketing.

Overall, Creative Writing is a rich and dynamic field that nurtures creativity and self-expression, making it an appealing choice for those passionate about literature and storytelling.

Graduates by year

Graduates by degree level (first and second majors)

AssociateBachelor'sMaster'sDoctoral

From 2010 to 2025, graduates grew 30% and the international share went from 1.0% to 3.7%.

International share (%)
Graduates by group, 2025
White
63.0%
Asian
4.1%
Hispanic
11.5%
Black
7.5%
Other
10.2%
Intl.
3.7%

Colleges that award this degree

In 2025, 405 schools awarded this degree as a first major. The table lists those in the 2027 U.S. News National or Liberal Arts rankings, plus the unranked schools with the most graduates.

RankSchoolStateGraduatesInternational
#1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts 1 0
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts 85 5
#9 University of Chicago Illinois 12 2
#9 Northwestern University Illinois 9 0
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland 93 5
#12 Columbia University in the City of New York New York 144 19
#14 Cornell University New York 7 3
#14 Carnegie Mellon University Pennsylvania 11 0
#16 Washington University in St Louis Missouri 39 4
#16 Brown University Rhode Island 35 1
#16 Vanderbilt University Tennessee 5 0
#20 University of Notre Dame Indiana 9 3
#23 Emory University Georgia 25 0
#25 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Michigan 36 3
#26 University of Virginia-Main Campus Virginia 10 0
#27 University of Southern California California 24 2
#31 New York University New York 90 19
#34 University of California-Davis California 9 0
#34 University of California-Irvine California 11 0
#34 University of Florida Florida 4 1
#34 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Illinois 5 0
#34 Boston University Massachusetts 17 3
#34 The University of Texas at Austin Texas 17 3
#34 University of Wisconsin-Madison Wisconsin 6 1
#49 University of Maryland-College Park Maryland 7 1
#49 University of Rochester New York 9 0
#49 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Washington 47 1
#52 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia 6 1
#55 University of Miami Florida 9 1
#55 Purdue University-Main Campus Indiana 27 0
#59 George Washington University D.C. 8 0
#59 Florida State University Florida 8 3
#59 Brandeis University Massachusetts 3 0
#59 University of Massachusetts-Amherst Massachusetts 16 0
#59 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minnesota 8 2
#59 Stony Brook University New York 39 3
#59 University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pennsylvania 49 1
#72 Syracuse University New York 22 0
#73 Indiana University-Bloomington Indiana 5 0
#73 Rutgers University-Newark New Jersey 12 1
#73 Binghamton University New York 39 0
#73 North Carolina State University at Raleigh North Carolina 10 2
#80 University of California-Riverside California 80 1
#80 Pepperdine University California 7 0
#80 Drexel University Pennsylvania 24 0
#85 Southern Methodist University Texas 4 0
#90 Yeshiva University New York 1 0
#95 American University D.C. 12 0
#95 Rutgers University--Camden New Jersey 7 0
#100 Chapman University California 47 5
#100 Florida International University Florida 6 0
#100 University of South Florida-Main Campus Florida 10 2
#100 University of Iowa Iowa 52 14
#109 University of Colorado Boulder Colorado 7 0
#109 Fairfield University Connecticut 20 0
#109 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus New Hampshire 14 0
#109 Temple University Pennsylvania 11 1
#109 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Tennessee 4 2
#116 University of San Francisco California 4 1
#116 Iowa State University Iowa 7 1
#116 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Oklahoma 3 0
#116 University of Oregon Oregon 8 2
#116 Brigham Young University-Provo Utah 8 0
#121 Arizona State University-Tempe Arizona 11 0
#121 University of Arizona Arizona 43 2
#121 University of Denver Colorado 21 0
#121 University of Central Florida Florida 12 1
#121 Loyola University Chicago Illinois 10 0
#121 University of South Carolina-Columbia South Carolina 6 1
#121 George Mason University Virginia 42 1
#133 Miami University-Oxford Ohio 33 4
#137 San Diego State University California 9 1
#137 San Jose State University California 16 1
#137 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Pennsylvania 13 0
#137 University of Houston Texas 22 1
#148 Mercer University Georgia 3 0
#148 University of Kansas Kansas 1 0
#148 University of Kentucky Kentucky 9 1
#156 The University of Alabama Alabama 17 2
#156 University of St Thomas (MN) Minnesota 6 1
#156 Seton Hall University New Jersey 3 1
#156 CUNY--City College New York 29 0
#156 Oregon State University Oregon 46 0
#156 Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia 7 0
#169 Colorado State University-Fort Collins Colorado 9 1
#169 DePaul University Illinois 19 0
#169 Butler University Indiana 10 0
#169 Simmons University Massachusetts 2 0
#169 Monmouth University New Jersey 7 0
#179 University of Mississippi Mississippi 10 2
#179 CUNY Hunter College New York 17 1
#179 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Ohio 30 0
#179 University of Utah Utah 5 0
#179 Seattle University Washington 13 0
#191 University of Arkansas Arkansas 9 1
#191 Florida Atlantic University Florida 4 0
#191 Georgia State University Georgia 5 0
#191 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Oklahoma 3 0
#202 Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana 5 0
#202 University of Massachusetts-Boston Massachusetts 9 1
#202 Ohio University-Main Campus Ohio 20 0
#202 University of St. Thomas (TX) Texas 17 1
#208 California State University--Fresno California 8 1
#208 University of La Verne California 2 0
#208 University of Idaho Idaho 15 0
#208 University of North Carolina at Greensboro North Carolina 10 0
#208 Ohio Northern University Ohio 3 0
#208 University of North Texas Texas 3 0
#219 University of Nevada-Reno Nevada 10 0
#219 University of North Carolina--Wilmington North Carolina 58 0
#227 San Francisco State University California 54 2
#227 The New School New York 65 5
#227 West Virginia University West Virginia 7 0
#236 Stetson University Florida 8 0
#236 University of Nevada--Las Vegas Nevada 22 2
#236 University of New Mexico-Main Campus New Mexico 9 0
#236 Kent State University at Kent Ohio 5 0
#236 Pacific University Oregon 39 1
#236 Portland State University Oregon 37 0
#236 Chatham University Pennsylvania 16 0
#250 University of Missouri--Kansas City Missouri 8 0
#250 New Mexico State University-Main Campus New Mexico 6 1
#250 University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley Texas 11 0
#250 University of Wyoming Wyoming 2 1
#262 Western New England University Massachusetts 7 0
#262 Central Michigan University Michigan 11 1
#262 DeSales University Pennsylvania 3 0
#262 University of Texas--El Paso Texas 45 6
#262 Seattle Pacific University Washington 11 0
#276 Northern Arizona University Arizona 12 0
#276 Harding University Arkansas 2 0
#276 California Baptist University California 3 0
#276 Regis University Colorado 12 0
#276 Western Michigan University Michigan 25 2
#276 University of Missouri--St. Louis Missouri 9 0
#276 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Ohio 21 1
#276 Widener University Pennsylvania 2 0
#288 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Illinois 9 1
#288 University of Indianapolis Indiana 1 0
#288 Wichita State University Kansas 16 0
#288 Arcadia University Pennsylvania 21 0
#288 University of Memphis Tennessee 9 1
#288 Texas State University Texas 14 0
#299 Southern Connecticut State University Connecticut 4 0
#299 Boise State University Idaho 34 0
#299 University of Nebraska--Omaha Nebraska 27 0
#308 Oakland University Michigan 21 0
#308 Wilkes University Pennsylvania 57 0
#328 Old Dominion University Virginia 9 3
#332 University of Baltimore Maryland 14 0
#332 University of Findlay Ohio 1 0
#332 Point Park University Pennsylvania 6 0
#342 Missouri State University Missouri 11 2
#342 University of Akron Ohio 5 0
#342 Cleveland State University Ohio 3 0
#365 University of Central Arkansas Arkansas 17 0
#365 The University of Montana Montana 35 0
#365 Liberty University Virginia 333 1
#365 Eastern Washington University Washington 18 0
#376 Concordia University-Saint Paul Minnesota 8 0
#376 Belhaven University Mississippi 8 0
#382 University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska 11 0
#382 National University California 1 0
#382 Saint Leo University Florida 8 0
#382 Southeastern University Florida 8 0
#382 Chicago State University Illinois 1 0
#382 Roosevelt University Illinois 2 0
#382 University of New Orleans Louisiana 17 1
#382 University of Southern Maine Maine 28 2
#382 Northeastern State University Oklahoma 5 0
#382 Houston Christian University Texas 1 0
LAC #10 Wellesley College Massachusetts 11 3
LAC #14 Hamilton College New York 24 3
LAC #21 University of Richmond Virginia 1 0
LAC #22 Colby College Maine 10 0
LAC #28 Macalester College Minnesota 23 0
LAC #29 Bucknell University Pennsylvania 11 0
LAC #31 Bryn Mawr College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #34 Colorado College Colorado 21 0
LAC #34 Franklin and Marshall College Pennsylvania 11 0
LAC #49 DePauw University Indiana 21 0
LAC #49 St. Olaf College Minnesota 5 0
LAC #49 The University of the South Tennessee 24 0
LAC #59 Oberlin College Ohio 14 0
LAC #62 Agnes Scott College Georgia 15 0
LAC #62 Muhlenberg College Pennsylvania 5 1
LAC #68 Lawrence University Wisconsin 4 0
LAC #78 Saint Mary's College Indiana 2 0
LAC #81 Wheaton College (MA) Massachusetts 8 0
LAC #83 Earlham College Indiana 1 0
LAC #85 Knox College Illinois 19 2
LAC #85 Allegheny College Pennsylvania 6 0
LAC #85 Susquehanna University Pennsylvania 33 0
LAC #91 Augustana College Illinois 5 0
LAC #91 Ursinus College Pennsylvania 1 0
LAC #97 Austin College Texas 4 0
LAC #100 University of Puget Sound Washington 9 0
LAC #100 Beloit College Wisconsin 11 0
LAC #106 Pacific Lutheran University Washington 18 0
LAC #109 Hanover College Indiana 1 0
LAC #111 Saint Vincent College Pennsylvania 2 0
LAC #116 Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio 4 0
LAC #116 Roanoke College Virginia 7 0
LAC #119 Coe College Iowa 7 0
LAC #119 Albion College Michigan 6 0
LAC #125 Sarah Lawrence College New York 28 5
LAC #128 Cornell College Iowa 11 0
LAC #128 SUNY at Purchase College New York 10 0
LAC #132 Eckerd College Florida 5 0
LAC #132 Bennington College Vermont 11 0
LAC #132 Saint Norbert College Wisconsin 9 0
LAC #132 New Saint Andrews College Idaho 9 0
LAC #138 Millsaps College Mississippi 1 0
LAC #138 Truman State University Missouri 10 0
LAC #150 Sweet Briar College Virginia 5 0
LAC #157 Randolph College Virginia 31 0
LAC #160 Salem College North Carolina 1 0
LAC #172 Guilford College North Carolina 4 0
LAC #172 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Wisconsin 20 0
LAC #181 Warren Wilson College North Carolina 28 2
LAC #184 Young Harris College Georgia 5 0
— Southern New Hampshire University New Hampshire 759 2
— Emerson College Massachusetts 229 8
— Lindenwood University Missouri 109 0
— Western Washington University Washington 91 0
— Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont 86 6
— Columbia College Chicago Illinois 60 0
— CUNY Brooklyn College New York 43 2
— Central Washington University Washington 43 1
— Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus New Jersey 42 0
— Antioch University-Los Angeles California 42 1
— Western Colorado University Colorado 38 1
— Seton Hill University Pennsylvania 33 1
— Hamline University Minnesota 32 0
— State University of New York at Oswego New York 30 0
— School of the Art Institute of Chicago Illinois 29 5
— Lesley University Massachusetts 27 0
— Queens University of Charlotte North Carolina 27 0
— Spalding University Kentucky 24 0
— Minnesota State University-Mankato Minnesota 23 3
— Saint Mary's College of California California 21 1
— Ithaca College New York 21 0
— Hollins University Virginia 21 0
— Universidad del Sagrado Corazon Puerto Rico 20 0
— Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development New Mexico 19 0
— Pratt Institute-Main New York 18 1
— Southern Oregon University Oregon 17 0
— Weber State University Utah 17 0
— Naropa University Colorado 16 2
— Augsburg University Minnesota 16 0
— Mount Saint Mary's University California 15 1

Purple: international students are 25% or more of the school's graduates.

Related jobs and pay

OccupationUS employmentMean hourly wageMean annual wage
Postsecondary Teachers, All Other 149,840 — $90,630
Editors 91,690 $43.30 $90,060
English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 57,720 — $89,580
Writers and Authors 47,940 $41.39 $86,090

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Graduate counts: IPEDS Completions, US Department of Education, 2010–2025. Rankings: 2027 U.S. News.