Boston College vs. Brown: Which is better for undergraduate creative writing?

Brown is the more compelling choice for an undergraduate whose central academic goal is to develop seriously as a fiction writer or poet. Its Literary Arts Department is a distinct academic department, not simply a track within English, and students can concentrate in Literary Arts with substantial workshop-based study. Brown also brings a steady stream of working writers to campus through readings, talks, and small academic communities centered on writing.

The Open Curriculum is especially valuable for creative writers because it makes room to combine workshops with literature, visual art, theater, translation, languages, history, or other subjects that can deepen a body of work. Brown’s undergraduate literary culture, including student publications and performance opportunities, adds practical venues for sharing work and finding peers who take writing seriously.

Boston College offers a credible Creative Writing concentration within its English major, with courses in fiction, poetry, and other forms, as well as access to Boston’s broader literary scene. Its program may appeal to a student who wants creative writing grounded in a more traditional English curriculum and values BC’s Jesuit liberal-arts environment. But the writing infrastructure is less specialized than Brown’s: creative writing is housed within English rather than supported by a standalone Literary Arts department.

For someone who sees creative writing as one important interest among many, both schools can work. For someone who wants workshops, literary community, and freedom to organize much of the undergraduate curriculum around becoming a writer, Brown provides the deeper platform.