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
Graduate Certificate	161
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

This major prepares you for careers in which these 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

When studying creative writing, you’ll learn many skills that will help you be successful in a wide range of jobs - even those that do not require a degree in the field. The following is a list of some of the most common skills needed for careers associated with this major:

• 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

As you progress with your creative writing degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• 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 Master’s Degree in Creative Writing?

The major attracts more women than men. About 70% of the recent graduates in this field are 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	157
Black or African American	239
Hispanic or Latino	365
White	2,224
International Students	157
Other Races/Ethnicities	336

Geographic Diversity

Creative Writing appeals to people across the globe. About 4.5% 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. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

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.