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

For a student who wants creative writing to be a central, flexible part of their undergraduate education, Brown is the more compelling choice. Brown offers a dedicated Literary Arts concentration, with workshop-centered courses in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, screenwriting, and other forms, rather than treating creative writing mainly as an adjunct to an English major. Its Open Curriculum also makes it easier to build an unusually writing-intensive path while taking courses in art, languages, history, theater, or anything else that feeds your work.

Brown fits writers who want substantial independence: you can shape your course of study, seek out small workshops, and participate in a campus culture where literary experimentation and interdisciplinary work are highly visible. The Literary Arts department’s focus on practicing writers and revision-based workshops can be especially valuable for fiction and poetry students who want sustained feedback on a portfolio.

Georgetown makes sense for a writer who wants a more structured liberal-arts education and sees writing in conversation with politics, public life, ethics, international affairs, or journalism. Creative writing is available through the English department, and Washington, DC provides access to readings, publishing, cultural institutions, and internships. Georgetown’s Lannan Center and other campus literary programming can add meaningful exposure to established writers and public-facing literary conversations.

For your stated goal of developing primarily as a fiction and poetry writer, Brown offers the stronger undergraduate infrastructure because creative writing is an academic concentration in its own right and can anchor your curriculum. Georgetown can be an excellent setting for a writer whose work is likely to draw energy from DC and from a broader academic or professional direction, but its creative-writing pathway is less central to the undergraduate program.