<p>Hi, I'm new at CC and have finally left lurker status to post.</p>
<p>I've been trying to research some schools of different "tiers" that have good undergraduate creative writing programs, but I haven't been able to find rankings, lists, or anything that would help me get started. I was wondering if any of you could shed some light on the best undergrad. writing programs?</p>
<p>My interests are creative writing and political science, and I'd love to find a school that would fit me well in both areas, but the search process is daunting. My parents know little about American college admissions process, and as both have math/science backgrounds, they are somewhat at loss in regards to my desire to pursue writing at university. :) So far, out of all my research, Brown University seems to be a dream in all aspects...and I believe their Literary Arts concentration is basically the equivalent of a creative writing major? But I would appreciate <em>so</em> much any input regarding other universities, liberal arts schools, etc.</p>
<p>Yale has the best English department, and a very highly-respected writing program within it. Yale students dominate the prestigious Atlantic Monthly student writing competition almost every year. There is also a very highly-regarded Humanities major that combines courses from English, literature and several other writing-oriented majors. Other good choices for undergraduate writing can be found at Ivies, top universities and LACs with strong English departments, such as Oberlin, Wesleyan, Princeton, Wellesley, Chicago and the like. Just avoid the very big schools if you can.</p>
<p>Oberlin has one of the best undergraduate creative writing programs in the country. (Note: don't confuse rankings of graduate writing programs with the quality of undergraduate programs at those schools. In many cases they are quite separate.)</p>
<p>CMU's best social sciences are Creative Writing and Cognitive Psych so I would recommend it as a major. </p>
<p>It is also very easy to double major at Carnegie so it is quite possible to combine Creative Writing (which has lots of electives) with a secondary major such as Engineering, Business, CS, etc. which are all marketable and highly ranked.</p>
<p>I know CMU has a very strong MFA program, (headed by bg alum jim daniels, lol) but I know nothing of the undergrad program. I'd suppose it's good.</p>
<p>Son, who is a very talented creative writer, looked at Bard, CMU, Sarah Lawrence , and JHU. Sarah Lawrence has a bizarre limit of 3 5-credit courses a semster.
CMU looked good but he is also a fine playwright and was told theatre dept is separate and his plays wouldn't be produced. CMU otherwise does have an excellent, intense CR program. Bard is very artsy and has good creative writing (very popular major). However JHU's famous "writing seminars" major won out. The breadth of writing courses was unmatched among the schools he looked at.</p>
<p>"In 2007, the National Research Council will publish a new ranking of creative writing programs. FSU unabashedly plans to win that race. While other schools downplay competition among programs, FSU puffs out its chest, plumps up its feathers and struts," the article continues.</p>
<p>The article notes that FSU is the only school in Florida to offer a Ph.D. in creative writing and a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing - a new designation for FSU granted earlier this year. In addition, FSU is the only school in Florida with a Pulitzer Prize winner on its creative writing staff.</p>
<p>Further, FSU has been included more often in Harcourt's Best New American Voices than any other school in Florida and has raked in numerous accolades during the past few years, with students and professors represented in New Stories from the South: The Year's Best and Atlantic Monthly.</p>
<p>Students also have won awards such as the Brittingham Prize for poetry and the Hollis Summers Poetry Prize.</p>