Creative Writing

Types of Degrees Creative Writing Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many creative writing graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	3,478
Bachelor’s Degree	3,311
Basic Certificate	280
Associate Degree	189
Graduate Certificate	161
Undergraduate Certificate	41
Doctor’s Degree	23

What Creative Writing Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to creative writing and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Creative Writing Majors

Creative Writing majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

Skills for Creative Writing Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to creative writing:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Creative Writing Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a creative writing student include the following:

• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

What Can You Do With a Creative Writing Major?

People with a creative writing degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
English Language and Literature Professors	9.8%	$66,590
Poets, Lyricists and Creative Writers	7.6%	$62,170
Professors	9.4%	$65,660

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing?

This major is dominated by women with about 72% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of creative writing majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	130
Black or African American	215
Hispanic or Latino	407
White	2,170
International Students	48
Other Races/Ethnicities	341

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Creative Writing, too. About 1.4% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Creative Writing

Some careers associated with creative writing require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for creative writing careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma	10.4%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	5.0%
Some College Courses	2.5%
Bachelor’s Degree	36.2%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	1.6%
Master’s Degree	18.7%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.9%
Doctoral Degree	26.1%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.1%

Online Creative Writing Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	9	2
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	44	7
Bachelor’s Degree	34	7
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	224	22
Post-Master’s	5	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Majors Related to Creative Writing

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to creative writing.

Major	Number of Grads
Professional, Technical, Business, & Scientific Writing	2,863
Rhetoric & Composition	1,511
General Writing	742
Other Rhetoric & Composition/Writing Studies	577

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By KOKUYO under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.