If you’re thinking of pursuing a career that involves writing — whether in publishing, academia, corporate, or with a nonprofit — you may be thinking about majoring in creative writing in college. As you start looking around for options, you’ll quickly learn that most colleges and universities actually don’t offer creative writing as a major, or even as a minor or concentration. A formal writing program, like Creative Writing, is more uncommon than it is common, so it takes some hunting to find a school that’s a perfect social fit and has the program you want.
To help you out, we’ve pulled together 10 amazing California colleges that offer creative writing programs, sometimes as a major and more often as a minor or concentration. These programs have distinct differences, so be sure to carefully consider what would work best for you before you get to work on an application.
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California Colleges with a Creative Writing Major
University of Southern California — Los Angeles, California
USC’s version of a creative writing major is called the Narrative Studies Major, and it’s housed in the Department of English in the Dana and David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. In the program, students learn to develop and evaluate content for novels, films, theatre, and other narrative platforms — anywhere words are used for entertainment. USC has the perspective that the world or words is wider than books, films, and theatre, and they aim to prepare students for a wider range of writing opportunities. They learn to write, critique, shape, and realize great stories on the Los Angeles campus and abroad. USC says that its Narrative Studies major is a great option for students hoping to study overseas.
Pepperdine University — Malibu, California
At Pepperdine, the Creative Writing major and minor (yes, both!) are housed in Seaver College. There, students are transformed into writers prepared for careers in writing and editing for publishing companies, magazines, corporations, the creative arts, and more. Students can pursue workshops in fiction, screenwriting, poetry, and even spiritual writing — but interestingly not in nonfiction, so if you are looking to study nonfiction this isn’t the program for you. If fiction is more your avenue, while at Pepperdine you’ll be able to become involved with four university publications including a student-run magazine, campus newspaper, and an area magazine.
Scripps College — Claremont, California
One of only a small handful of women’s colleges in the United States, Scripps offers both a major and a minor in Writing and Rhetoric. Whereas Pepperdine has a fiction-focused program, the Scripps writing program is nonfiction-focused. Students learn to examine, write, interrogate, and edit nonfiction writing. They are also encouraged to layer the major or minor with another field at Scripps.
University of Redlands — Redlands, California
Where Pepperdine focuses on fiction and Scripps focuses on nonfiction, the University of Redlands takes a more holistic approach, focusing “on the creative process rather than on specialization in any one genre.” The Major in Creative Writing includes foundational courses in nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, and students are expected to “foster a rapport” with all genres. Students in the major select an academic advisor from the department’s resident writers who acts as a guide or mentor, and students are able to become involved with the Redlands Review, which showcases student work. After classes, you can take part in annual fiction and nonfiction prizes and a Visiting Writers series.
California Colleges with Creative Writing Minor, Emphasis, or Track
University of California-Berkeley — Berkeley, California
Berkeley is known as one of the most literary campuses in the world, pulling together thinkers of all types, stripes, and subjects. Their Creative Writing minor is no different. As an interdepartmental minor, students pursue it through a compilation of courses across a wide variety of departments at Berkeley, including African American Studies, Environmental Design, and Native-American Studies. Any major at Berkeley can earn a minor in creative writing, so it’s an amazing opportunity to develop as a written communicator alongside learning to think and innovate amongst some of the most creative people on the planet.
Stanford University — Stanford, California
The Creative Writing minor at Stanford is offered through the Creative Writing Program at the School of Humanities and Sciences with a focus on Prose, Poetry, or Fiction info Film (note: not nonfiction). Students who are deeply passionate about writing should also look into the Wallace Stegner Fellowship, which offers 10 individuals at a time two-year fellowships that are a full-time academic commitment for non-degree-seeking students over the age of 18. While completing the Fellowship, recipients take part in weekly writing workshops and receive a $50,000 living stipend.
University of California-Los Angeles — Los Angeles, California
Writing workshops for the Creative Writing Concentration in the UCLA Department of English are extremely competitive, and pursuing the concentration requires some jumping through hoops. First you have to apply for the workshops, then get into and complete them, and only then can you declare your Concentration. If you have trouble getting into workshops, UCLA encourages students to make the most of their time by taking courses in English Composition and Literature. You can also take creative writing workshops without pursuing the concentration along with attending reading series events and submitting to annual writing contests.
University of California-Irvine — Irvine, California
The UC-Irvine Department of English offers a Creative Writing minor open to all undergrads that focuses on the value of storytelling across all subjects and academic spheres. There is also a major in Literary Journalism that may catch your interest if you’re into nonfiction!
Pitzer College — Claremont, California
The Creative Writing track within the English Department at Pitzer encourages students to “take creative risks,” learning how to bring a reader through a door they open into another world. While pursuing this track, you’ll take workshops alongside literature courses on British Literature, American Literature, and World Literature.
University of California-Davis — Davis, California
At UC-Davis, the Creative Writing specialization is built in the very benevolent shadow of their impressive MFA in Creative Writing program. Like most creative writing programs, the workshops are by application only, and many students choose to double major, layering something on top of their English Major (with that Creative Writing specialization). Between classes, students can take part in an English Club, writing contests, and access to Provost’s Undergraduate Fellowships.
If you’re interested in a career in writing, don’t get too hung up on the major versus the minor track. Instead, look for schools, programs, and faculty that inspire you. You don’t need to major in creative writing in college to become a great writer or pursue a career with writing at its center.
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