Creative Writing · Missouri
Creative Writing colleges in Missouri
CampusPin lists 70 U.S. colleges in Missouri that offer Creative Writing programs. Compare tuition, acceptance rate, and enrollment in the table below, every figure links back to the institution's official IPEDS data.
Creative Writing is a craft-focused major where you produce original fiction, poetry, and other literary work in workshops, suited to writers who want to build a publishable body of work.
Schools in Missouri that offer Creative Writing
A T Still University of Health Sciences
Kirksville, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
52%
Enrollment
3,629
Avila University
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$38,672
Acceptance
60%
Enrollment
1,729
Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
54%
Enrollment
499
Bolivar Technical College
Bolivar, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$27,125
Acceptance
82%
Enrollment
144
Calvary University
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$13,692
Acceptance
71%
Enrollment
234
Central Christian College of the Bible
Moberly, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$11,200
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
173
Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies
Fayette, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$6,960
Acceptance
87%
Enrollment
2,161
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Fayette, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$27,140
Acceptance
88%
Enrollment
1,015
College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$21,290
Acceptance
15%
Enrollment
1,415
Columbia College
Columbia, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$24,326
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
239
Conception Seminary College
Conception, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$25,208
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
32
Concordia Seminary
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
53%
Enrollment
813
Cottey College
Nevada, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$26,209
Acceptance
66%
Enrollment
266
Cox College
Springfield, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$15,599
Acceptance
71%
Enrollment
792
Crowder College
Neosho, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$6,180
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
2,622
Culver-Stockton College
Canton, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$29,915
Acceptance
98%
Enrollment
1,023
Drury University
Springfield, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$35,235
Acceptance
59%
Enrollment
1,595
Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies
Springfield, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$8,044
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
694
East Central College
Union, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$3,888
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
1,719
Evangel University
Springfield, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$27,192
Acceptance
69%
Enrollment
1,935
Evangel University-College of Online Learning
Springfield, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$8,025
Acceptance
45%
Enrollment
213
Fontbonne University
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$28,976
Acceptance
95%
Enrollment
856
Hannibal-LaGrange University
Hannibal, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$26,880
Acceptance
59%
Enrollment
420
Harris-Stowe State University
Saint Louis, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$6,442
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
1,086
Jefferson College
Hillsboro, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$4,500
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
2,514
Kansas City Art Institute
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$43,550
Acceptance
60%
Enrollment
782
Kenrick Glennon Seminary
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
67%
Enrollment
6,039
Lincoln University
Jefferson City, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$12,512
Acceptance
78%
Enrollment
1,843
Lindenwood University
Saint Charles, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$21,100
Acceptance
66%
Enrollment
7,103
Maryville University of Saint Louis
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$27,166
Acceptance
94%
Enrollment
9,809
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City
Kansas City, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$3,630
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
10,412
Midwest Institute
Earth City, MO · Community College · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
78%
Enrollment
151
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$9,400
Acceptance
94%
Enrollment
1,800
Mineral Area College
Park Hills, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$5,180
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
1,530
Missouri Baptist University
Saint Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$33,122
Acceptance
64%
Enrollment
2,204
Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$8,400
Acceptance
97%
Enrollment
3,261
Missouri State University-Springfield
Springfield, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$9,024
Acceptance
91%
Enrollment
17,566
Missouri State University-West Plains
West Plains, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$5,544
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
860
Missouri Valley College
Marshall, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$23,000
Acceptance
53%
Enrollment
1,335
Missouri Western State University
Saint Joseph, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$9,800
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
2,585
Moberly Area Community College
Moberly, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$4,020
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
2,928
Nazarene Theological Seminary
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
68%
Enrollment
5,372
North Central Missouri College
Trenton, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$4,950
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
1,198
Northwest Missouri State University
Maryville, MO · University · Public
Tuition
$10,181
Acceptance
86%
Enrollment
8,615
Ozark Christian College
Joplin, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$15,550
Acceptance
98%
Enrollment
699
Ozarks Technical Community College
Springfield, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$4,184
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
8,194
Park University
Parkville, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$16,400
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
6,508
Ponce Health Sciences University-St Louis
St. Louis, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$17,677
Acceptance
47%
Enrollment
7,989
Rockhurst University
Kansas City, MO · University · Private
Tuition
$43,420
Acceptance
69%
Enrollment
2,768
Saint Louis Community College
Bridgeton, MO · Community College · Public
Tuition
$3,660
Acceptance
100%
Enrollment
11,174
Creative Writing programs in Missouri: by the numbers
A quick comparison of the 50 schools (of 70 total) listed above, drawn from each institution's published IPEDS data.
Schools listed
70
Public / private
16 / 34
Universities / 2-year
39 / 11
Cities represented
29
In-state tuition range
$3,630–$43,550
Median in-state tuition
$17,039
Lowest published in-state tuition
Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City
$3,630
Most selective
College of the Ozarks
15% acceptance
Largest by enrollment
Missouri State University-Springfield
17,566 students
Figures reflect the schools currently listed and each institution's most recent reported data. Verify current tuition and admissions details with the school before applying.
What you'll study in a Creative Writing program
- Multi-genre writing workshops in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction
- Craft of fiction (scene, point of view, structure, dialogue)
- Poetry craft (line, meter, image, and form)
- Creative nonfiction and the personal essay
- Revision and manuscript critique methods
- Editorial skills and manuscript preparation for submission
- Wide craft-focused reading across literary traditions
- Screenwriting or scriptwriting foundations
- Senior capstone portfolio or thesis manuscript
Where a Creative Writing degree can lead
- Author and Novelist
- Screenwriter
- Copywriter
- Editor
- Content Writer
- Grant Writer
Typical pay: Early-career wages vary by employer, region, and experience (BLS, 2024 writers and authors median $72,270).
Creative Writing centers on making original work rather than only studying it. You write your own short stories, poems, novels, essays, scripts, and other forms, then bring drafts to a workshop where classmates and an instructor read closely and give structured feedback you use to revise. Coursework moves between the craft of a given genre (how point of view, line, scene, and image actually work on the page) and wide reading that shows you how published writers solve the same problems. You also pick up editorial and revision skills and learn how finished manuscripts are submitted, pitched, and prepared for publication. This is what distinguishes it from a general English or Literature degree: an English program is built around literary analysis, theory, and scholarly argument, while Creative Writing is built around generating, critiquing, and polishing your own manuscripts.
Most programs award a bachelor's degree, often as a track or concentration inside an English or writing department, and the entry-level writing and editing roles tied to this field generally expect a bachelor's. The defining requirements are word-based rather than clinical: sustained writing workshops across genres, a craft and literature reading load, and a capstone senior portfolio or thesis manuscript that you draft and revise across one or two semesters, sometimes with a public reading. No license is required to write or edit, though some specialized writing roles may ask for separate certification that you should verify with the employer or program. Graduates work in book and magazine publishing, marketing and content teams, communications and grant-writing offices, screen and game studios, journalism, teaching, and freelance authorship, and many pair the degree with a graduate writing program when they aim toward authorship or college-level teaching.
In federal data for the closely related occupation of writers and authors, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 2024 median wage of $72,270 and projects employment to grow about 3.6% from 2024 to 2034; a bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education for that occupation. National figures are occupation-wide medians across all experience levels, not starting wages or graduate outcomes.
Creative Writing in other states
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