45 Best colleges for Creative Writing in California, US

Updated: March 15, 2026

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 318K citations received by 14.8K academic papers made by 45 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

#2 in the United States

#3 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 4%
Average SAT: 1545
Average ACT: 35
Net Price: $25,078

2. University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

For Creative Writing

#6 in the United States

#8 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 11%
Receiving Aid: 63%
Average Aid: $29,608
Enrollment: 45,882

3. University of Southern California

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#13 in the United States

#16 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1500
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $43,412

4. University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#16 in the United States

#19 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 9%
Receiving Aid: 59%
Average Aid: $25,627
Enrollment: 47,335

5. University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

For Creative Writing

#29 in the United States

#34 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 33%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $24,695
Enrollment: 26,133

6. University of California - Irvine

Irvine

For Creative Writing

#35 in the United States

#41 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 29%
Receiving Aid: 61%
Average Aid: $23,110
Enrollment: 37,297

7. University of California-San Diego

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#43 in the United States

#51 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 27%
Receiving Aid: 66%
Average Aid: $25,757
Enrollment: 44,256

8. University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

For Creative Writing

#46 in the United States

#54 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 66%
Receiving Aid: 64%
Average Aid: $22,774
Enrollment: 19,938

9. University of California - Davis

Davis

For Creative Writing

#56 in the United States

#67 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 42%
Receiving Aid: 65%
Average Aid: $24,591
Enrollment: 40,065

10. University of California - San Francisco

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#64 in the United States

#76 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 13%
Enrollment: 3,007
Male:Female: 36:64
Founded: 1864

11. San Jose State University

San Jose

For Creative Writing

#86 in the United States

#102 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 85%
Receiving Aid: 69%
Average Aid: $12,353
Enrollment: 37,661

12. California State University - Fullerton

Fullerton

For Creative Writing

#96 in the United States

#113 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 83%
Average Aid: $11,234
Enrollment: 43,662

13. University of California - Riverside

Riverside

For Creative Writing

#105 in the United States

#127 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 76%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $24,355
Enrollment: 26,384

14. San Diego State University

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#109 in the United States

#131 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 36%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $12,053
Enrollment: 41,137

15. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach

For Creative Writing

#123 in the United States

#146 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 46%
Receiving Aid: 82%
Average Aid: $11,795
Enrollment: 42,003

16. San Francisco State University

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#145 in the United States

#172 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 96%
Receiving Aid: 81%
Average Aid: $12,996
Enrollment: 22,563

17. Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#153 in the United States

#181 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 45%
Average SAT: 1345
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $59,926

18. Fielding Graduate University

Santa Barbara

For Creative Writing

#170 in the United States

#199 in North America

Enrollment: 915
Male:Female: 18:82
Founded: 1974

19. Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

For Creative Writing

#202 in the United States

#233 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 48%
Average SAT: 1420
Average ACT: 32
Net Price: $53,883

20. Chapman University

Orange

For Creative Writing

#205 in the United States

#236 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 65%
Average SAT: 1350
Average ACT: 30
Net Price: $47,902

21. University of San Francisco

San Francisco

For Creative Writing

#211 in the United States

#242 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 62%
Average SAT: 1290
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $45,443

22. California State University - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#231 in the United States

#265 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 95%
Average Aid: $13,824
Enrollment: 23,163

23. California State University - Northridge

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#232 in the United States

#266 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $12,825
Enrollment: 38,313

24. Claremont Graduate University

Claremont

For Creative Writing

#237 in the United States

#271 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 35%
Enrollment: 1,771
Male:Female: 41:59
Founded: 1925

25. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

For Creative Writing

#244 in the United States

#278 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 3%
Net Price: $14,513
Receiving Aid: 70%
Average Aid: $72,373

26. California State University - San Bernardino

San Bernardino

For Creative Writing

#249 in the United States

#283 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $12,167
Enrollment: 18,492

27. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento

For Creative Writing

#277 in the United States

#315 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 94%
Receiving Aid: 86%
Average Aid: $12,767
Enrollment: 31,943

28. Fuller Theological Seminary

Pasadena

For Creative Writing

#290 in the United States

#328 in North America

Enrollment: 1,890
Male:Female: 53:47

29. Sonoma State University

Rohnert Park

For Creative Writing

#293 in the United States

#332 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $9,094
Enrollment: 5,891

30. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

For Creative Writing

#298 in the United States

#338 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 31%
Receiving Aid: 62%
Average Aid: $14,338
Enrollment: 23,069

31. Pomona College

Claremont

For Creative Writing

#315 in the United States

#356 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 7%
Average SAT: 1525
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $19,938

32. University of San Diego

San Diego

For Creative Writing

#327 in the United States

#369 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 52%
Net Price: $37,918
Receiving Aid: 87%
Average Aid: $40,965

33. California State University - Fresno

Fresno

For Creative Writing

#328 in the United States

#370 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 88%
Average Aid: $12,326
Enrollment: 24,427

34. Mills College

Oakland

For Creative Writing

#338 in the United States

#381 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 17%
Average SAT: 1470
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $27,473

35. Pepperdine University

Malibu

For Creative Writing

#345 in the United States

#389 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 63%
Average SAT: 1370
Average ACT: 31
Net Price: $66,585

36. Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

For Creative Writing

#366 in the United States

#413 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 10%
Average SAT: 1515
Average ACT: 34
Net Price: $33,895

37. Occidental College

Los Angeles

For Creative Writing

#389 in the United States

#436 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 44%
Average SAT: 1450
Average ACT: 33
Net Price: $48,400

38. California State University - San Marcos

San Marcos

For Creative Writing

#397 in the United States

#444 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 95%
Receiving Aid: 79%
Average Aid: $11,123
Enrollment: 16,237

39. University of California - Merced

Merced

For Creative Writing

#407 in the United States

#454 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 91%
Receiving Aid: 91%
Average Aid: $27,292
Enrollment: 9,110

40. California State Polytechnic University - Pomona

Pomona

For Creative Writing

#408 in the United States

#455 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 75%
Receiving Aid: 80%
Average Aid: $11,833
Enrollment: 27,636

41. Palo Alto University

Palo Alto

For Creative Writing

#419 in the United States

#467 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 12%
Enrollment: 1,065
Male:Female: 16:84
Founded: 1975

42. California State University - Chico

Chico

For Creative Writing

#422 in the United States

#470 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 93%
Receiving Aid: 75%
Average Aid: $11,509
Enrollment: 15,257

43. Humboldt State University

Arcata

For Creative Writing

#434 in the United States

#482 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 98%
Receiving Aid: 74%
Average Aid: $10,748
Enrollment: 6,237

44. Azusa Pacific University

Azusa

For Creative Writing

#451 in the United States

#500 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 88%
Average SAT: 1111
Average ACT: 28
Net Price: $26,143

45. Dominican University of California

San Rafael

For Creative Writing

#472 in the United States

#524 in North America

Acceptance Rate: 83%
Average SAT: 1255
Net Price: $37,456
Receiving Aid: 100%

Closest to California states to learn Creative Writing

State	Universities Unis	Best university country rank Best uni rank
Oregon	7	100
Utah	3	45
Arizona	3	18
Idaho	3	188
Washington	10	19
Colorado	9	54
Nebraska	3	73
South Dakota	2	387
Kansas	3	53
Texas	28	3
Oklahoma	3	76
North Dakota	2	262
Minnesota	10	36
Iowa	5	42
Missouri	6	51
Arkansas	5	136
Louisiana	5	99
Wisconsin	9	15
Illinois	18	9
Mississippi	3	167
Indiana	11	30
Michigan	12	5
Tennessee	7	48
Alabama	4	70
Kentucky	4	75
Ohio	18	7
Georgia	11	20
South Carolina	6	104
North Carolina	16	22
Virginia	14	21
Pennsylvania	26	8
Florida	13	32
District of Columbia	5	33
Maryland	12	23
New York	50	1
New Jersey	14	27
Connecticut	10	4
Massachusetts	28	14
New Hampshire	4	111
Rhode Island	4	95
Maine	6	172

Closest to California states to learn Creative Writing

Art & Design subfields in California