Rankings

This is an attempt at creating an objective ranking of graduate creative writing programs.

For further and more detailed information on how the scores are generated see the methodology page.

The List

Program	Overall score	Fiction score	Poetry score	CNF score	Genres	Degrees	State
Johns Hopkins University	11475	10600	9350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MD
Indiana University	9225	10350	8100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IN
Ohio State University	8484	7900	7100	12100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
University of Virginia	8400	9100	7700	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	VA
Iowa Writers Workshop	8300	10580	4350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IA
University of Arizona	7183	8350	2600	10350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AZ
University of Texas, James Michener Center	7016	5850	1933	183	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	TX
University of Cincinnati	6988	9850	4350	6100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	OH
Florida State University	6850	2600	3350	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA, PhD	FL
University of Iowa	5600	100	100	5600	CNF	MFA, PhD	IA
University of Houston	5475	3100	1850	1412	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	TX
Purdue University	5350	3850	1475	225	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IN
University of Minnesota	5266	5600	3350	6850	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MN
Syracuse University	5183	6766	2100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
University of North Carolina Greensboro	5100	6100	4100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
Arizona State University	4600	3475	1225	475	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	AZ
Boston University	4544	5100	3350	0	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA	MA
University of Pittsburgh	4500	3100	2100	9100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	PA
Warren Wilson College	4366	3877	5100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
University of Southern California	4266	6100	2433	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	CA
University of Wisconsin Madison	4266	3600	766	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	WI
University of Michigan	4145	2781	1372	190	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MI
University of Idaho	4100	1766	4433	6100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	ID
Ohio University	3975	1433	5100	5766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	OH
University of California Irvine	3933	2683	1433	183	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
University of Florida	3645	6300	1433	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	FL
Vanderbilt University	3266	4433	2100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TN
Brown University	3100	1946	946	407	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Multimedia	MFA	RI
Cornell University	2933	1711	988	433	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	NY
University of Southern Mississippi	2918	3814	1350	0	Fiction, Poetry	MA, PhD	MS
Bowling Green State University	2900	4100	1700	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	OH
University of New Mexico	2850	850	850	1350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NM
University of Montana	2833	2242	2300	5100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MT
University of Maryland, College Park	2725	475	2100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MD
Florida International University	2655	3350	1766	2600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
University of Oregon	2600	1400	1300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	OR
University of Massachusetts Amherst	2500	2544	2200	4100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MA
University of Nebraska Lincoln	2475	1600	600	725		MA, PhD	NE
University of Mississippi	2475	100	4600	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MS
Brooklyn College	2447	3946	300	0	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA	NY
Notre Dame University	2350	2100	2350	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IN
Washington University St Louis	2300	1300	1100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MO
Northern Michigan University	2266	5100	3100	4600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MI
Southern Illinois University Carbondale	2225	1350	3100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IL
University of Colorado	2225	2500	100	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CO
Vermont College of Fine Arts	2166	616	333	1500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	VT
Virginia Commonwealth University	2100	766	4766	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
Bennington College	2080	1000	320	960	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VT
Hollins University	2016	1600	350	350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
New York University	2016	1016	916	316	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	NY
Iowa State University	2000	1200	600	1400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	IA
University of Utah	1975	558	1058	975	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	UT
University of Alabama	1850	800	650	750	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AL
University of Miami	1766	1600	266	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	FL
Virginia Tech	1766	100	1300	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	VA
Louisiana State University	1766	2600	850	2433	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
Colorado State University	1683	1100	183	600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	CO
University of Washington	1600	700	900	400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
McNeese State University	1600	1475	225	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	LA
University of South Carolina	1600	3100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	SC
University of Wyoming	1544	1544	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WY
Columbia University	1529	744	529	462	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
University of Nevada Las Vegas	1463	1766	1350	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	NV
Boise State University	1433	2766	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	ID
University of Alaska Fairbanks	1385	385	528	671	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	AK
University of Arkansas	1385	1242	242	171	Fiction, Poetry, Translation	MFA	AR
California State University Fresno	1372	100	100	3600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
Spalding University	1360	885	850	3100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting	MA, MFA	KY
Western Michigan University	1350	766	516	266	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	MI
George Mason University	1340	1016	725	2500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
University of Missouri Columbia	1330	510	612	356	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	MO
Emerson College	1300	544	100	855	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	MA
Texas State University	1300	1200	200	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TX
University of Illinois	1266	1266	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	IL
San Francisco State University	1262	748	370	289	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	CA
University of New Orleans	1260	1683	600	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
University of Texas Austin	1242	671	671	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	TX
Oregon State University	1242	600	100	742	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
University of New Hampshire	1233	1385	766	1300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NH
Eastern Washington University	1211	1475	957	1100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	WA
American University	1100	433	683	266	Fiction, Poetry, Screenwriting	MFA	DC
Texas Tech University	1100	513	341	651	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	TX
University of California Davis	1100	516	683	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA	CA
Western Kentucky University	1100	1100	100	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	KY
West Virginia University	1100	100	1100	2100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WV
Western Washington University	1100	350	1600	1766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
Hunter College	1044	988	100	155	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
Butler University	1016	100	1766	3100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IN
University of Missouri St Louis	1000	1900	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MO
New Mexico State University	1000	1000	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA, MFA	NM
Brigham Young University	1000	100	600	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	UT
University of California Riverside	988	433	488	266	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CA
Miami University	975	2433	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
Florida Atlantic University	957	1300	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
University of Toronto	933	100	100	272	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MA	ON
Rutgers University Camden	933	933	100	1766	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NJ
Sarah Lawrence College	900	546	376	176	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
Northwestern University	900	500	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	IL
University of South Florida	877	2433	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Graphic Novel	MFA	FL
University of Southern Maine	839	100	1100	3433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Popular Fiction	MFA	ME
Queens University of Charlotte	833	633	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	NC
University of North Carolina Wilmington	827	100	100	827	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NC
Minnesota State University Mankato	822	488	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	MN
Rutgers University Newark	787	725	162	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NJ
University of California San Diego	725	725	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
Ashland University	700	100	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
Georgia College and State University	700	1350	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	GA
Temple University	671	1100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	PA
University of Central Florida	671	457	314	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	FL
North Carolina State University	671	528	814	0	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NC
University of Denver	651	444	272	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	PhD	CO
Georgia State University	633	633	100	366	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	GA
Pacific Lutheran University	625	175	200	450	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
University of Kansas	600	600	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MFA, PhD	KS
Sam Houston State University	600	100	600	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	TX
University of Tennessee	566	366	300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA, PhD	TN
University of Georgia	548	548	100	203	Fiction, CNF	MFA, PhD	GA
Queens College	544	1100	100	0	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Translation	MFA	NY
Institute of American Indian Arts	533	333	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	NM
Pacific University	520	300	180	240	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
Antioch University	520	273	372	975	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	CA
Sierra Nevada College	500	100	100	500	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NV
Goucher College	500	100	100	500	CNF	MFA	MD
SUNY Binghamton	479	203	410	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MA, PhD	NY
University of North Texas	477	233	166	366	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	TX
Converse College	475	100	100	475	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SC
Columbia College	461	127	100	350	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
Seattle Pacific University	433	100	100	433	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	WA
Old Dominion University	433	700	1600	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	VA
Goddard College	433	133	166	266	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting, Graphic Novel	MFA	VT
Chicago State University	400	100	100	400	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
NYU Writers Workshop in Paris	400	400	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee	400	220	220	160	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	WI
California Institute of the Arts	400	150	250	200	Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Multimedia	MFA	CA
University of Illinois at Chicago	400	233	200	166	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, PhD	IL
University of British Columbia	390	172	100	318	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting, Translation, Lyric and libretto, Radio drama, Graphic Novel	MFA	BC
New College of California	375	100	375	100			CA
Penn State University	341	237	168	134	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	PA
Hamline University	340	100	220	220	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA	MFA	MN
Fairleigh Dickinson University	340	180	180	340	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Translation	MFA	NJ
Portland State University	340	340	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OR
Northern Arizona University	330	100	100	1100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	AZ
University of Louisiana Lafayette	306	100	100	306		MA, PhD	LA
Western Colorado University	306	100	306	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	CO
Wichita State University	300	300	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	KS
Northeast Ohio Consortium	300	100	100	300	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	OH
New England College	300	100	300	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NH
University of San Francisco	276	100	100	276	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
Fairfield University	273	100	100	600	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CT
Southern New Hampshire University	272	272	100	100
Concordia University Montreal	272	272	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MA	Québec
Missouri State University	272	272	100	272		MA	MO
Bard College	272	100	272	100	Fiction, Poetry, Multimedia	MFA	NY
Ball State University	272	100	100	272
Stonybrook University	260	260	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	NY
University of Saskatchewan	242	100	100	242	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SK
St Mary's College of California	242	242	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
Oklahoma State University	240	450	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA, PhD	OK
University of Guelph	237	237	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	Ontario
Chico State University	237	100	134	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama	MFA	CA
Long Island University	237	100	237	100
Mississippi State University	237	100	237	100	Fiction, Poetry	MA	MS
City College of New York	227	188	139	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	NY
Minnesota State University Moorhead	203	203	100	100			MN
Rhode Island College	203	203	100	203	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	RI
University of New Brunswick	203	203	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, Drama	MA, PhD	New Brunswick
San Diego State University	200	150	150	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	CA
School of the Art Institute of Chicago	180	140	100	140	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	IL
Texas A&M	168	168	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	TX
University of Akron	168	168	100	168
University of Central Oklahoma	166	100	100	166	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	OK
California College of the Arts	166	166	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	CA
University of Windsor	134	134	100	100		MA	Ontario
Western Connecticut State University	134	100	100	134			CT
Wilkes University	112	100	100	112	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA, MFA	PA
San Jose State University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	CA
University of Memphis	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	TN
College of Charleston	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	SC
University of Hawaii	100	100	100	100		MA, PhD	HI
University of California Berkeley	100	100	100	100		MA	CA
Eastern Michigan University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	MI
University of Kentucky	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MFA	KY
SUNY Albany	100	100	100	100		MA, PhD	NY
Harvard Extension	100	100	100	100
Rosemont College	100	100	100	100
Regis University	100	100	100	100
Lesley University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	MA
SUNY Brockport	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	NY
University of Missouri Kansas City	100	100	100	100		MFA	MO
Rivier University	100	100	100	100
Lindenwood University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Screenwriting	MFA	MO
University of New Orleans Low Residency	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MFA	LA
University of Connecticut	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting	MA, PhD	CT
Lasell University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, CYA, Graphic Novel	MFA	MA
Creighton University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF	MA	NE
Savannah College of Art and Design	100	100	100	100	CNF	MFA	GA
Naropa University	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Translation	MFA	CO
Drew University	100	100	100	100	Poetry	MFA	NJ
University of Texas El Paso	100	100	100	100			TX
University of Massachusetts Boston	100	100	100	100	Fiction, Poetry	MFA	MA

Lists of authors without graduate creative writing degrees or whose degree status is unknown are available. Send questions, comments and corrections to info@creativewritingmfa.info.

Disclaimer: No endorsement of these ratings should be implied by the writers and writing programs listed on this site, or by the editors and publishers of Best American Short Stories, Best American Essays, Best American Poetry, The O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Anthology.