41 Best colleges for Creative Writing in California, US

Updated: February 29, 2024

Ranking by academic field

Below is a list of best universities in California ranked based on their research performance in Creative Writing. A graph of 196K citations received by 12.4K academic papers made by 41 universities in California was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

Please note that our approach to subject rankings is based on scientific outputs and heavily biased on art-related topics towards institutions with computer science research profiles.

1. Stanford University

Stanford

For Creative Writing

#4 in the United States

#6 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1540
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $18,279

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Creative Writing

#5 in the United States

#7 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 60%
Average Aid: $21,669
Enrollment: 45,307

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#9 in the United States

#12 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $36,808

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#14 in the United States

#17 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $21,766
Enrollment: 46,430

5. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Creative Writing

#28 in the United States

#33 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 26%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $20,389
Enrollment: 26,420

6. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Creative Writing

#31 in the United States

#37 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 21%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $17,411
Enrollment: 35,937

7. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Creative Writing

#36 in the United States

#43 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 47%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $21,202
Enrollment: 19,478

8. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#46 in the United States

#53 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 24%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $20,782
Enrollment: 42,006

9. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Creative Writing

#58 in the United States

#68 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 37%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $20,548
Enrollment: 39,679

10. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#73 in the United States

#84 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,140
Male:Female: 35:65
Founded: 1864

11. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Creative Writing

#92 in the United States

#109 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 77%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $9,210
Enrollment: 35,751

12. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#94 in the United States

#111 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Receiving Aid: 98%
Average Aid: $9,934
Enrollment: 37,402

13. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Creative Writing

#108 in the United States

#127 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 67%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,194
Enrollment: 40,386

14. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Creative Writing

#109 in the United States

#129 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 69%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $22,042
Enrollment: 26,809

15. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Creative Writing

#110 in the United States

#130 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 40%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $9,478
Enrollment: 38,973

16. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#147 in the United States

#172 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 78%
Average Aid: $9,830
Enrollment: 25,282

17. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#194 in the United States

#224 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 41%
Average SAT: 1380
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $52,815

18. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Creative Writing

#196 in the United States

#226 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Average SAT: 1385
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $50,551

19. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#197 in the United States

#228 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 71%
Average SAT: 1310
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $42,953

20. Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara

For Creative Writing

#216 in the United States

#248 in North America

Enrollment: 1,000
Male:Female: 21:79
Founded: 1974

21. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#217 in the United States

#249 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 85%
Average Aid: $10,511
Enrollment: 37,579

22. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#222 in the United States

#256 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Receiving Aid: 92%
Average Aid: $10,907
Enrollment: 26,460

23. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Creative Writing

#223 in the United States

#257 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $9,590
Enrollment: 31,818

24. Chapman University

Orange

For Creative Writing

#225 in the United States

#259 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 73%
Average SAT: 1300
Average ACT: 29
Net Price: $45,033

25. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Creative Writing

#230 in the United States

#264 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,871
Enrollment: 19,803

26. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Creative Writing

#256 in the United States

#292 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,903
Male:Female: 40:60
Founded: 1925

27. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Creative Writing

#275 in the United States

#312 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $20,755
Receiving Aid: 71%
Average Aid: $59,192

28. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

For Creative Writing

#291 in the United States

#329 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 81%
Average Aid: $7,287
Enrollment: 6,637

29. Fuller Theological Seminary

Pasadena

For Creative Writing

#301 in the United States

#339 in North America

Enrollment: 2,089
Male:Female: 53:47

30. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#306 in the United States

#344 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 53%
Net Price: $36,008
Receiving Aid: 84%
Average Aid: $36,408

31. Mills College

Oakland

For Creative Writing

#319 in the United States

#359 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Net Price: $25,283
Receiving Aid: 100%
Average Aid: $22,278

32. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Creative Writing

#334 in the United States

#374 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 30%
Receiving Aid: 57%
Average Aid: $10,065
Enrollment: 22,000

33. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Creative Writing

#338 in the United States

#378 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 89%
Average Aid: $9,968
Enrollment: 23,999

34. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Creative Writing

#346 in the United States

#386 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 49%
Average SAT: 1383
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $47,804

35. Pomona College

Claremont

For Creative Writing

#355 in the United States

#395 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1520
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $19,962

36. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#378 in the United States

#422 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 39%
Average SAT: 1440
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $44,853

37. Dominican University of California

San Rafael

For Creative Writing

#386 in the United States

#430 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Average SAT: 1162
Average ACT: 24
Net Price: $49,907

38. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Creative Writing

#392 in the United States

#437 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 72%
Average Aid: $9,162
Enrollment: 14,183

39. California State University - San Marcos

San Marcos

For Creative Writing

#403 in the United States

#450 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $8,922
Enrollment: 15,109

40. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Creative Writing

#410 in the United States

#457 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 55%
Receiving Aid: 77%
Average Aid: $9,040
Enrollment: 27,503

41. Azusa Pacific University

Azusa

For Creative Writing

#425 in the United States

#473 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 87%
Average SAT: 1110
Average ACT: 25
Net Price: $26,666

Closest to California states to learn Creative Writing

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	7	96
Utah	3	47
Arizona	3	15
Idaho	3	178
Washington	7	19
Colorado	7	62
Nebraska	3	53
South Dakota	3	324
Kansas	3	51
Texas	26	3
Oklahoma	3	76
North Dakota	2	243
Minnesota	9	34
Iowa	4	49
Missouri	6	52
Arkansas	4	115
Louisiana	5	91
Wisconsin	7	12
Illinois	14	11
Mississippi	3	177
Indiana	10	37
Michigan	11	2
Tennessee	7	42
Alabama	4	82
Kentucky	4	72
Ohio	15	8
Georgia	10	21
South Carolina	4	107
North Carolina	15	22
Virginia	12	20
Pennsylvania	23	7
Florida	11	27
District of Columbia	5	44
Maryland	11	23
New York	47	1
New Jersey	12	25
Connecticut	10	6
Massachusetts	25	17
New Hampshire	4	118
Rhode Island	4	97
Maine	6	155

Closest to California states to learn Creative Writing

Art & Design subfields in California