british english creative writing

Studying Here

• Find your course
• Fees and funding
• International students
• Undergraduate prospectus
• Postgraduate prospectus
• Studying abroad
• Foundation Year
• Placement Year

Your future career

• Central London campus
• Distance learning courses
• Prospectuses and brochures
• For parents and supporters
• Schools and colleges
• Sign up for more information

Student Life

Accommodation.

• Being a student

Chat with our students

Support and wellbeing.

• Visit Royal Holloway
• The local area
• Virtual experience

Research & Teaching

Departments and schools.

• COP28 Forum

Working with us

• Technicians
• The library

Our history

• Art Collections

Royal Holloway today

• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Recruiting our students
• Past events
• Environmental Sustainability
• Facts and figures
• Collaborate with us
• Governance and strategy
• Online shops
• How to find us
• Financial information
• Local community
• Legal Advice Centre

In this section

Find the right course

Online undergraduate prospectus

• Student life

Explore our virtual experience

• Research and teaching

Research institutes and centres

Our education priorities

English and Creative Writing

Site search

Thank you for considering an application.

Here's what you need in order to apply:

• Royal Holloway's institution code: R72

Make a note of the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for:

• English and Creative Writing BA - QW38
• Click on the link below to apply via the UCAS website:

Key information

Duration: 3 years full time

UCAS code: QW38

Institution code: R72

Campus: Egham

English and Creative Writing (BA)

By combining the study of creative writing with English, you'll become an informed and critical reader as well as a confident and expressive writer - whether specialising as a poet, playwright, or author of fiction.

Studying at one of the UK's most dynamic English departments will challenge you to develop your own critical faculties. Learning to write creatively and critically analyse in tandem, you'll be exposed to a huge variety of literature while you develop your own writing practice. Studying English will allow you to place your writing within a wider cultural context of literature throughout history, considering key texts and acquiring a sound understanding of significant periods, genres, authors and ideas.

Modules are taught by nationally and internationally known scholars, authors, playwrights and poets who are specialists in their fields who write ground-breaking books, talk or write in the national media and appear at literary festivals around the world.  This means the course you take covers the most up-to-date ideas, whether in Creative Writing, Victorian Literature, Shakespearean studies or contemporary literature.

Find your voice as a writer and develop writing techniques, learn how to create, criticise and shape an artistic work: a valuable life skill with uses beyond writing poetry, plays or novels. From journalism and website creation to advertising and academic publishing – you'll be able to use the skills you pick up in character, voice, ambiguity, style and cultural context.

• Writing practice at the heart of your learning experience.
• Taught by high-profile, award-winning writers.
• Create and shape artistic work – ideal skills for a career in media or publishing.
• Choose one of three distinct pathways: fiction, poetry, or playwriting.
• Access to a thriving culture of creative writing.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Course structure

Core modules.

In this module you will develop an understanding of a range of literary and cultural writing forms through reading, discussion and practice. You will look at poetry, drama and prose fiction alongside stand-up comedy, adaptation, translation, songwriting, and other forms of creative expression and articulation. You will learn how to offer clear, constructive, sensitive critical appraisals, and how to accept and appropriately value criticism of your own work.

In this module you will develop an understanding of a range historical perspectives on the function, forms, and value of creative writing. You will look at the genesis of particular genres, such as the short story, the novel and the manifesto, and consider relationships between historical genres and the contemporary writer. You will interrogate your own assumptions about creative writing and critically examine the relationship between creative writing and society.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the origins, developments and innovations of the novel form. You will look at a range of contemporary, eighteenth and nineteenth-century novels and learn to use concepts in narrative theory and criticism. You will consider literary history and make formal and thematic connections between texts and their varying socio-cultural contexts. You will examine novels such as 'The Accidental' by Ali Smith, 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe and 'North and South' by Elizabeth Gaskell, analysing their cultural and intellectual contexts.

In this module you will develop an understanding of a variety of major poems in English. You will look at key poems from the Renaissance to the present day. You will engage with historical issues surrounding the poems and make critical judgements, considering stylistic elements such as rhyme, rhythm, metre, diction and imagery. You will examine poems from Shakespeare to Sylvia Plath and analyse topics such as sound, the stanza and the use of poetic language.

In this module you will develop an understanding of how to think, read and write as a critic. You will look at the concepts, ideas and histories that are central to the ‘disciplinary consciousness’ of English Literature, considering periodisation, form, genre, canon, intention, narrative, framing and identity.

You will choose two from the following:

• Playwriting

This module concentrates on a particular mode of writing, genre, theme, issue or idea. You will be encouraged to make creative work in relation to the focus, and develop your writing practice in relation to wider contexts relevant to the contemporary writer.

Creative Writing Special Focus courses are open to both creative writing and non-creative writing students.

You will choose one of the following modules. Each of these modules consists of a year-long independent project, working closely with a staff supervisor from the appropriate field.

• Playwriting 2

Optional Modules

There are a number of optional course modules available during your degree studies. The following is a selection of optional course modules that are likely to be available. Please note that although the College will keep changes to a minimum, new modules may be offered or existing modules may be withdrawn, for example, in response to a change in staff. Applicants will be informed if any significant changes need to be made.

• All modules are core

Develop your skills in the close reading and critical analysis of Middle English poetry, focusing on set passages from three important fourteenth century texts: Chaucer’s Troilus and Criseyde, Langland’s Piers Plowman, and the anonymous Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The module invites you to think about how poets understood the status of Middle English as a literary language, in comparison with Latin and French.

The Lord of the Rings regularly shows up in lists of 'The Best Books of All Time', and Tolkien continues to inspire interest and imitation for all kinds of reasons. You will examine Tolkien’s work from the perspective of his engagement with Old English poetry, a subject which constituted an important part of his scholarly activity. You will look at his three main Old English poems (in the original and in translation) and Tolkien’s two most popular works of fiction, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

In this module you will explore a major literary genre which attracted all the great poets of late medieval England: the dream vision. It considers the use of the genre in the works of Chaucer, Langland and the Gawain-poet, as well as examining the visions in mystical writing. These authors’ treatments of the genre repeatedly ask us to reflect on the relationship of literature to experience, poetic authority and identity, and the development of English as a literary language.

Romance was one of the most popular genres of secular literature in late medieval England. You will begin by looking at the Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes, before going on to consider works by Chaucer, the Gawain-poet and Sir Thomas Malory. You will examine romances set in the mythical British past, in the classical cities of Troy, Thebes and Athens, and in the more recognisable landscapes of medieval England and France. Attention will be paid throughout this module to the often inventive and unpredictable ways in which medieval romance works to articulate specific historical and cultural anxieties.

In this module you will develop an understanding of the Anglo-Saxon riddling tradition. You will look at a wide range of Exeter Book Riddles, learning to translate Old English Poetry into modern English. You will consider techniques of textual analysis and personal judgement to form clearly expressed critical examinations of texts. You will consider various perspectives on Anglo-Saxon culture and literature and analyse riddles on topics such as animals, religion, heroic life and runes.

This module explores in-depth three supreme examples of Shakespearean comedy, tragedy and historical drama: Richard III (1592-3), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595-6), and Macbeth (1606).

The texts covered in this module span virtually the whole period in which early modern English drama flourished: from Marlowe in c.1593 to 1634. The texts range from famous plays like Macbeth and The Tempest to little-known comedies like The Wise-woman of Hogsden. Two central texts will be The Witch of Edmonton and The Late Lancashire Witches, plays which deal with historically documented witchcraft accusations and scares. Non-dramatic texts about witchcraft are also included for study, including news pamphlets, works by learned contemporaries expressing their opinions about witchcraft, and popular ballads.

Charting a progression from Galenic humoral theory to Cartesian dualism, you will consider the representation and significance of corporeality in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century texts. Reading Renaissance plays and poetry alongside anatomical textbooks, manuals of health, erotica, and philosophical essays, the module seeks to contextualise the period's literary treatment of the body.

This module offers the opportunity to study one very important and characteristic aspect of Milton’s Paradise Lost: his depiction of Eden, the paradise that was lost at the fall. Throughout his account of Paradise, Milton works to make the loss of Paradise poignant by lavishing on it all his evocative powers as a poet. You will spend at least three sessions looking at Milton's epic, covering aspects such as Edenic sex and marriage, Eden’s fauna and flora, and work in Eden. Throughout the module images of Paradise will be given attention, starting with Hieronymus Bosch's 'The Garden of Earthly Delight'. Alongside artworks, you will look at some of the Bible scholarship which tried to locate the site of Paradise, and deduce its fate.

An introduction to English literature from the Norman Conquest to the birth of Chaucer. This period has been described both as a period of political crisis and also as a period of cultural renaissance. It saw the conquest and colonization of England, the rise of new forms of scholarship and spirituality, and, according to some accounts, the development of new ways of thinking about national and individual identity

Explore the Victorian concept of the 'sensational' across a range of novels dating from the height of the sensation period in the 1850s and 60s. Together, we will examine some of the magazines in which these novels were originally serialized. Issues such as the role of public spectacle, the first detectives, advertising, domestic crime and the demonic woman will be explored in relation to the cultural and social context of this novelistic genre.

This module, which is designed to enable non-creative writing students to try a creative writing module, will give you the opportunity to work through some issues associated with short-story and/or novel writing. Classes will alternate seminar discussions of aspects of the craft of writing with workshops in which you will interact critically and creatively with others' work.

Examine a range of novels by gay and lesbian writers in Britain and Ireland which have emerged in the wake of the AIDS catastrophe and queer theory. You will focus on interesting though rather peculiar trends in the post-queer novel: queer historical and biographical fictions, and explore the reasons behind the dominance of these approaches in recent gay and lesbian literature.

With the appointment of Carol Ann Duffy as the first woman Poet Laureate for the United Kingdom in 2009, poetry by women became publicly validated as never before. Setting fresh horizons for women’s poetry, Duffy joined Gillian Clarke who has served as National Poet of Wales since 2008; Liz Lochhead was appointed Scots Makar in 2011, and Paula Meehan was appointed in 2013 to the Ireland Chair of Poetry. By careful reading of two collections by each poet, you will assess how each poet has moved from a position of rebellion, liminality or minority into the very heart of the cultural institution.

Discover the 'dark' topics of late-Victorian and Edwardian literature. Perhaps the most important cultural influence on these texts is the negative possibility inherent in Darwinism: that of 'degeneration', of racial or cultural reversal, explored in texts like Wells's The Time Machine, and often related to the Decadent literature of Wilde and others.

An introduction to American literature via the tradition which David Reynolds labels 'dark reform'; a satirical and often populist mode which seek out the abuses which lie beneath the optimistic surface of American life, often through grotesque, scatological, sexualized and carnivalesque imagery. You will explore the contention that because of America's history, with its notions of national consensus and fear of class conflict, political critique in America has often had to find indirect expression.

This module will familiarise you with a range of influential critical and theoretical ideas in literary studies, influential and important for all the areas and periods you will study during your degree.

An introduction to the literature of the English Renaissance, beginning in the 1590s with erotic narrative poems by Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare, and concluding with John Milton's drama, Samson Agonistes, first published in 1671. Marlowe and Thomas Middleton represent the extraordinarily rich drama of the period, while John Donne and Andrew Marvell are the most famous of the so-called metaphysical poets. A feature of the module is the attention given to situating these works in their historical and cultural contexts.

Between the English Revolution and the French Revolution, British literature was pulled by opposing cultural forces and experienced an extraordinary degree of experimentation. The eighteenth century is sometimes called The Age of Reason, but it is also called The Age of Sensibility. It was dominated by male writers, but also facilitated the rise of the woman novelist and the emergence of coteries of intellectual women. It continued to be an essentially rural nation, but London grew to be the biggest city in the world and industrialisation was beginning to herd workers into towns. This module explores some of the tensions and oppositions which were played out in the literature of this period.

This module is framed by the personal: it begins with Queen Victoria’s private diaries of her happiest days in Scotland, and ends just beyond the Victorian period, with one troubled man’s intensely-felt account of his Victorian childhood. You will look at examples of the novelistic form, including sensation, Romantic, domestic realist and sentimental novels. Some of the works you will study are well-known and truly canonical, while others will be excitingly unfamiliar; all, however, will contribute to a sense of the variety and contradictions inherent in being Victorian.

This module will introduce you to a broad range of literatures from the period 1780 to 1830. The module aims to problematise and scrutinise the idea of Romanticism as a homogenous literary movement and to raise awareness of the range of competing literary identities present in the period.

Providing an introduction to the study of literary modernism, a period of intense experimentation in diverse sets of cultural forms.  This module deals with issues such as modernist aesthetics; genre; gender and sexuality; the fragment; time and narration; stream-of-consciousness; history, politics and colonialism; technology, and the status of language and the real.

The principal aim of this course is to immerse second-year literature students in the world of digital tools for exploring literature. Through extensive hands-on use of online parsing tools, algorithmic methods for assessing aspects such as word co-association, various types of visualization packages and a great deal more besides, students will realise the remarkable affordances of digital tools in reading and interpreting texts.

Explore British drama staged during the first half of the twentieth century against a backdrop of two world wars. The plays studied place the values of their age under scrutiny, to raise questions about social justice, spiritual choices, class and gender inequalities. Theatrical genres were under just as much pressure as the cultural values they sought to convey; the ten plays studies during the course reflect a range of evolving genres, from the well-made play, the play of ideas, social comedy, to poetic drama.

This module aims to develop your advanced writing skills for academic attainment and employability. You will be introduced to key forms of writing from a variety of professional contexts. An initial focus on the academic essay will enable you to develop writing from more familiar experience.

A project involving designing and promoting a virtual exhibition will introduce you to the writing skills needed in heritage professions and group work. Real life writing and editing tasks introduced by industry professionals from the world of publishing will provide you with practical experience to share with potential employers. You will also be introduced to the requirements of pitches, policy briefs, and the work of writing in the legal professions.

A comprehensive study of three of Shakespeare's most difficult and most disturbing plays, collectively known as the ‘problem plays’: Troilus and Cressida, All’s Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure. You will develop a detailed knowledge and understanding of the plays, both as individual works of dramatic art and as a group of texts sharing distinctive concerns and techniques.

In this module you will develop an understanding of representations of the body in Renaissance Literature. You will look at a broad range of canonical and non-canonical literature including medical, philosophical and theological texts. You will learn to use diverse critical and theoretical approaches and consider topics including bodily metamorphosis, foreign bodies and gendered bodies. You will examine poetry from writers such as John Donne and Philip Sidney and plays from writers such as William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and John Webster.

An advanced introduction to debates about the philosophy of literature. This module is structured around three key questions: the ethics of literature, what literature is presumed to reveal and the relationship between literature and its interpretation.

This module will introduces you to a number of theorists of tragedy, and a number of significant tragic texts (in dramatic and other idioms) from Classical Greece to the present day. All works not written in English are studied in translation. You will explore a variety of theories of tragedy with specific attention to a range of tragic works in various modes: plays, novels, poetry and film.

Focusing primarily on Joyce’s major work Ulysses while putting it into context with Joyce’s other work, you will have the opportunity of getting to know and getting to enjoy what has been described as ‘the greatest novel of the 20th century’. You will examine it in various contexts, including Joyce’s other writings and the various critical approaches that have found inspiration from Joyce, whether new critical, humanist, post-structuralist, politicizing, feminist, historicizing or textualist responses to his work.

This module explores aspects of nineteenth-century literature, science and culture in some depth and brings well-known works like Charlotte Brontë's Villette, Eliot's Middlemarch and Dickens's Our Mutual Friend into conversation with the evolutionary thought of Charles Darwin, the social investigations of Henry Mayhew and nineteenth-century writings on psychology. You will look at a number of genres, including novels, poetry, journalism, science writing, autobiography, history, art criticism and examine elements of contemporary visual culture.

The objective of this course is to prepare literature students for work in the creative industries by developing their use of digital technologies in responding to literature. In using digital technology to respond to literature both critically and aesthetically, literature students can become adept at various practices that are of immediate, valuable use in the creative industry workplace. This course will cultivate these practices, show how they grow organically out of a love for reading and writing, and demonstrate how they are skills that are in great demand in a wide range of creative workplaces.

In this module you will consider a range of contemporary and experimental poetic writing and consider writing practices in relation to contemporary theory and criticism. You will look at the methods, processes and techniques used by experimental and innovative writers becoming familiar with a range of methodologies for making your own poetic practice.

In this module you will address the relationship between literature and the visual arts from c.1760 to the 1890s. You will look at theoretical issues of how the visual and the verbal arts are defined and consider their compatibility through a number of case studies of visual-verbal interactions from the period studied. You will also address the rise of the visual as the dominant cultural form of the Victorian period, tracing the development of illustrated media and new visual technologies including photography and early cinema, and the concomitant rise of the new phenomenon of the art critic - the professional interpreter of images - in the 1890s.

This module focuses on a key moment in mid-20th century art and culture: the period when the New York Schools of poetry, painting and composition emerged in parallel. In the postwar period, the city took over from Paris as the centre of contemporary art. Abstract Expressionism quickly achieved global popularity, establishing the Museum of Modern Art as the world’s leading contemporary art museum. However, other cultural currents also made a great impact on their respective disciplines. The witty, fast-moving work of the New York School Poets (Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, Barbara Guest and James Schuyler) challenged the authority of High Modernism in the field of poetry. The radical music of John Cage and Morton Feldman posed a similar challenge to established European composers. The leading proponents of these tendencies did not work in isolation from other disciplines. The poets, for example, wrote about art and Cage and Feldman were both inspired, in different ways, by painters such as Rauschenberg and Guston. This module examines all three fields and the relations between them.

The 1930s was a decade of extremes: extreme financial instability (after the Wall Street Crash of 1929) and extreme politics, with the rise of Fascism and Nazism in Europe. British colonialism was showing fractures; there was a war in mainland Europe (in Spain), and the increasing threat of another World War, which eventually came to pass. Could it be that it closely - all too closely - resembles the decade that we’re living in now – with the rise of nationalisms, extreme ideologies, unstable international relations, following on from a colossal crash in the financial markets? What can we learn about our world by reading fiction from the 1930s?

Examine fictional representations of the girl across a range of texts, from Charlotte Brontë's eponymous Jane Eyre through to Antonia White's Catholic schoolgirl, Nanda and Ian McEwan's remorseful Briony Tallis. As well as enabling an exploration of female development and subjectivity, you will also engage with a range of questions relating to sexuality and desire, place and belonging, knowledge and resistance, art and creativity.

In this module you will study a broad range of writing for children from the nineteenth through to the twenty-first century.

The end of the various colonial empires in the middle of the twentieth century saw an explosion of literatures from the newly emergent postcolonial societies. Rather than provide a survey of the field of postcolonial studies, this module aims at engaging the recent debates in postcolonial writing, theory and criticism. You will critically examine a range of postcolonial novels from Britain’s erstwhile empire, paying attention to issues such as the boons and contradictions of writing in the language of the colonial powers, the postcolonial reclamation of the Western canon etc. and focussing on genres such as postcolonial realism, modernism, magic realism, and science fiction. You will pay close attention to novels and their historical legacies of colonialism and resistance.

In this module you will consider two immediate, present-day concerns. The first is currently very much in circulation in English political culture and the media: what is and should be the relationship between England and continental Europe? How involved is and should the first be with the second? How close are they, how distant should they be? The second sounds rather more academic or theoretical, but is also at issue in the wider culture and involves us all. Over the past two decades, many thinkers and writers have announced that we have arrived at 'the end of modernity', and many more have declared that we are'post-modern', that we inhabit a 'postmodern condition'. Yet round about us, all the time, we hear of one kind of enthusiastic 'modernization' or another. What sense can we make of this?

Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales are among the greatest literary achievements of the middle Ages. Chaucer describes a group of pilgrims, drawn from all parts of late medieval English society, who enter into a tale-telling competition on their way to Canterbury. Their stories include romances, fabliaux, saints’ lives and beast fables, and address themes of love and sorrow, trickery and deception, fate and free will, satire, tragedy and magic, as well as raising questions about the nature and purposes of storytelling itself. In this module you will read The Canterbury Tales in detail in the original Middle English. You will examine how the tales relate to their literary and cultural contexts, and read them in the light of different schools of modern criticism. You will also have the opportunity to read a range of earlier writers who influenced Chaucer, including Ovid, Boethius, Dante and Boccaccio, and later writers who responded to him, including Lydgate, Hoccleve and Dryden.

In this module you will study the complete career of Charles Dickens (1812-1870), looking at eight novels in their historical and cultural contexts. You will examine Dickens's life and times, and the cultural discourses that shaped his fiction; the serialisation and illustration of his work, and the themes, forms and structures of his writing. You will also consider the richness and specificity of Dickens' actual work.

In this module you will have the opportunity to read in detail and in chronological order the full range of works by Oscar Wilde, from his early poetry to his last letters. Wilde’s work has captured the widest possible public attention since his death in 1900, and his readers and audiences are spread across the globe. His work is intensely literary and profoundly political yet it is popular and fleet-of-foot. And just as his output is exceptionally varied, so too the questions which arise from its study will take students in many directions. Aesthetic poetry, the role of the critic, the construction and betrayal of national and sexual identities, symbolist drama, platonic dialogue, fairy tale, farce, satire, wit: these are some of the topics you will examine.

Often described as the most difficult and influential poems of the twentieth-century, T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" is undoubtedly one of the key Modernist texts. You will you look at Eliot's 1922 poem, along with a selection of his critical writings, engaging in an intensive reading experience in which you will examine ideas about composition, structure, voice, time, myth and intertextuality.

The dissertation is an opportunity for you to undertake a substantial piece of independent work in an area of your choice, and so to deepen your understanding of literature, culture and critical theory.

Teaching & assessment

You’ll be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars, and participate in study groups, essay consultations and guided independent study, plus you will produce a portfolio of creative work.

You will be assigned a Personal Tutor and have access to many online resources and the University’s comprehensive e-learning facility, Moodle.

In your first year, you will work in small groups of just four or five students focusing on study skills such as close reading, essay writing and presentation and self-editing. As you progress through your degree, these tutorials focus on your own personal development, for instance preparing your CV.

You will also take a study skills course, designed to equip you with and enhance the writing skills you will need to be successful in your degree. This course does not count towards your final degree award but you are required to pass it to progress to your second year.

All undergraduate degree courses at Royal Holloway are based on the course unit system. This system provides an effective and flexible approach to study while ensuring that our degrees have a coherent and developmental structure.

Entry requirements

A levels: aaa-aab.

Required subjects:

• A in an essay-based Arts and Humanities subject at A-Level
• At least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or 9-4 including English and Mathematics.

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ alongside A-levels, the EPQ will be taken into consideration and result in lower A-level grades being required. For students who are from backgrounds or personal circumstances that mean they are generally less likely to go to university, you may be eligible for an alternative lower offer. Follow the link to learn more about our  contextual offers.

We accept T-levels for admission to our undergraduate courses, with the following grades regarded as equivalent to our standard A-level requirements:

• AAA* – Distinction (A* on the core and distinction in the occupational specialism)
• AAA – Distinction
• BBB – Merit
• CCC – Pass (C or above on the core)
• DDD – Pass (D or E on the core)

Where a course specifies subject-specific requirements at A-level, T-level applicants are likely to be asked to offer this A-level alongside their T-level studies.

English language requirements

All teaching at Royal Holloway (apart from some language courses) is in English. You will therefore need to have good enough written and spoken English to cope with your studies right from the start of your course.

The scores we require

• IELTS: 7.0 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
• Pearson Test of English: 69 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
• Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE IV.
• Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.

Country-specific requirements

For more information about country-specific entry requirements for your country please visit here .

Undergraduate preparation programme

For international students who do not meet the direct entry requirements, for this undergraduate degree, the Royal Holloway International Study Centre offers an International Foundation Year programme designed to develop your academic and English language skills.

Upon successful completion, you can progress to this degree at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Taking a degree in English sets you up with great prospects for future employability. On the course itself we place a strong emphasis on your future employability, meaning the skills that you gain won’t just be applicable to the study of English.

Although many of our students go on to further study in literature and other fields, skills such as research, presentation, teamwork, negotiation and communication will prepare you for a wide range of career opportunities.  

Fees, funding & scholarships

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £9,250

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £23,800

Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course.

How do I pay for it? Find out more about  funding options , including  loans , scholarships and bursaries . UK students who have already taken out a tuition fee loan for undergraduate study should  check their eligibility  for additional funding directly with the relevant awards body.

**The tuition fee for UK undergraduates is controlled by Government regulations. The fee for the academic year 2024/25 is £9,250 and is provided here as a guide. The fee for UK undergraduates starting in 2025/26 has not yet been set, but will be advertised here once confirmed.

**This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2024/25, and is included as a guide only. The fee for EU and international students starting a degree in 2025/26 has not yet been set, but will be advertised here once confirmed.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase tuition fees annually for overseas fee-paying students. Please be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree. The upper limit of any such annual rise has not yet been set for courses starting in 2025/26 but will be advertised here once confirmed.  For further information see  fees and funding  and the  terms and conditions .

***These estimated costs relate to studying this specific degree at Royal Holloway during the 2024/25 academic year, and are included as a guide. General costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing etc., have not been included.

English Undergraduate Admissions

Admissions office: +44 (0)1784 414944

Source: Complete University Guide, 2024

Source: National Student Survey, 2023 (Creative Writing)

Explore Royal Holloway

Scholarships

Get help paying for your studies at Royal Holloway through a range of scholarships and bursaries.

Clubs and societies

There are lots of exciting ways to get involved at Royal Holloway. Discover new interests and enjoy existing ones.

Heading to university is exciting. Finding the right place to live will get you off to a good start.

Whether you need support with your health or practical advice on budgeting or finding part-time work, we can help.

Discover more about our academic departments and schools.

Research Excellence Framework

Find out why Royal Holloway is in the top 25% of UK universities for research rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Challenge-led research themes

Royal Holloway is a research intensive university and our academics collaborate across disciplines to achieve excellence.

Discover world-class research at Royal Holloway.

Discover more about who we are today, and our vision for the future.

Royal Holloway began as two pioneering colleges for the education of women in the 19th century, and their spirit lives on today.

We’ve played a role in thousands of careers, some of them particularly remarkable.

Find about our decision-making processes and the people who lead and manage Royal Holloway today.

Online courses in creative writing

Part-time study in creative writing

Develop your creativity with an Oxford University short course or award programme.

Need an extra push to finish your novel, poem or play? Completely new to the world of creative writing? Want to improve your analytical reading skills? No matter where you are in your writing journey, or where you are in the world, there is a part-time course to suit you.

Short online courses

Our short online courses in creative writing include live-time weekly classes, day and weekend schools and flexible online courses.

Credit earned from our short online courses is transferable towards our Certificate of Higher Education - a part-time undergraduate course in which you study a main subject discipline but also undertake study in other academic subjects.

Browse short online courses in creative writing

Diploma in Creative Writing

Our two-year, part-time Undergraduate Diploma in Creative Writing allows you to strengthen your ability in four major areas of literary activity — prose, poetry, drama and analytical reading — as well as the chance to specialise in the medium of your choice. You can now opt to take this course mostly online.

Find out more about the Diploma in Creative Writing

Upcoming courses

Advanced creative writing (online).

• Mon 09 Sep 2024 – 22 Nov 2024

Advanced Writing Lives (Online)

Fiction by victorian women: george eliot, elizabeth gaskell (online), writing lives (online), critical reading (online).

• Wed 11 Sep 2024 – 22 Nov 2024

Literature, creative writing and film studies

Online courses in literature, rita mccormick, tessa fenley, student spotlights.

• View all courses
• Taught postgraduate study
• Postgraduate taught degree courses
• Postgraduate taught tuition fees
• Pre-masters for international students
• Funding your postgraduate taught studies
• How to apply for a postgraduate taught degree
• Pre-sessional English courses
• PhDs and research degrees
• Create your own research project
• Find a PhD project
• Funding your research degree
• How to apply for a PhD or research degree
• How to make a PhD enquiry
• Support while studying your PhD or research degree
• Exchanges and studying abroad
• Undergraduate study
• Undergraduate degree courses
• Foundation year programmes
• Undergraduate tuition fees
• Customise your degree
• Funding undergraduate studies
• How to apply
• Tuition fees and funding
• Short courses
• Lunchtime evening and weekend courses
• Summer schools
• Get a prospectus
• Student life
• Accommodation
• Choose your halls of residence
• Apply for accommodation
• Guaranteed accommodation
• Your accommodation options
• Accommodation for those with additional requirements
• International and pre-sessional students
• Postgraduate accommodation
• Couples and students with children
• Renting privately
• Our accommodation areas
• Privacy notice
• Terms and conditions
• Fees and contracts
• Southampton
• Sports and gyms
• Sports facilities
• Sports clubs
• Watersports centres
• Our campuses
• Avenue Campus
• Boldrewood Innovation Campus
• City Centre Campus
• Highfield Campus
• University Hospital Southampton
• Waterfront Campus
• Winchester Campus
• Join our student community
• What's on
• Clubs and societies
• Sports teams
• SUSU places
• Representing you
• SUSU support and advice
• Support and money
• Living costs
• Academic and mental health support
• Support for disabled students
• Part-time work
• Health services
• Research projects
• Research areas
• Research facilities
• Collaborate with us
• Institutes, centres and groups
• Support for researchers
• Faculties, schools and departments
• Research jobs
• Find people and expertise
• Why work with us?
• Collaboration
• Consultancy
• Commercialisation
• Use our facilities
• Connect with our students
• How we operate
• Make a business enquiry
• International students
• International Office
• Partnerships and initiatives
• Visiting delegations
• Visiting fellowships

English with Creative Writing (BA)

English with Creative Writing (BA) starting September 2023 for 3 years

About this course

How do you become a better writer? On this course, you'll develop your creative and critical writing and discover the links between literature and visual culture, science, and politics. Your final project lets you complete an extended piece of imaginative writing. You'll be guided by our award-winning novelists, journalists and playwrights.

The creative writing degree allows you to choose from Creative Writing and English options each year, building your knowledge of a range of genres and traditions. We'll encourage you to make connections between your critical and creative practice throughout the course.

We will also support your professional practice with:

• an arts ambassador scheme
• regular readings and writers' events
• paid internships in arts organisations

You'll have the opportunity to study abroad , spending a semester, a summer or even a full year at one of our global partner universities.

As part of this course you can:

• join one of 40 student-led performing arts groups
• study film and visual culture
• take part in writing workshops at Nuffield Southampton Theatres
• use a unique collection of rare books at the Chawton House Library
• learn a modern language at any level
• join a student-run English society for social events
• explore experimental writing with our Entropics events
• get media experience with our student societies for film, TV and radio

We regularly review our courses to ensure and improve quality. This course may be revised as a result of this. Any revision will be balanced against the requirement that the student should receive the educational service expected. Find out why, when, and how we might make changes .

Our courses are regulated in England by the Office for Students (OfS).

Learn more about this subject area

Course location

This course is based at Avenue .

Awarding body

This qualification is awarded by the University of Southampton.

Download the Course Description Document

The Course Description Document details your course overview, your course structure and how your course is taught and assessed.

Entry requirements

For academic year 202425.

ABB including an essay writing subject

A-levels additional information

Offers typically exclude General Studies and Critical Thinking. Essay writing subjects include: History, English Language and Literature, English Language, English Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Classical Civilisation, Politics, Geography, Sociology, Latin or any other humanities-based essay writing subjects.

A-levels with Extended Project Qualification

If you are taking an EPQ in addition to 3 A levels, you will receive the following offer in addition to the standard A level offer: BBB including an essay writing subject and grade A in the EPQ.

A-levels contextual offer

We are committed to ensuring that all applicants with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise an applicant's potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme, as follows: BBB including an essay writing subject

International Baccalaureate Diploma

Pass, with 32 points overall with 16 points at Higher Level, including 5 at Higher Level in English Literature or another relevant essay writing subject.

International Baccalaureate Diploma additional information

Essay writing subjects include: History, English Language and Literature, English Language, English Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Classical Civilisation, Politics, Geography, Sociology, Latin or any other humanities-based essay writing subjects.

International Baccalaureate contextual offer

We are committed to ensuring that all learners with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise a learner’s potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.

International Baccalaureate Career Programme (IBCP) statement

Offers will be made on the individual Diploma Course subject(s) and the career-related study qualification. The CP core will not form part of the offer. Where there is a subject pre-requisite(s), applicants will be required to study the subject(s) at Higher Level in the Diploma course subject and/or take a specified unit in the career-related study qualification. Applicants may also be asked to achieve a specific grade in those elements. Please see the University of Southampton International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme (IBCP) Statement for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.

Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC National Extended Diploma plus B in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC National Diploma plus B in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction in the BTEC National Extended Certificate plus AB in an A level essay writing subject and one further A level

Additional information

Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC Extended Diploma plus B in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC Diploma plus B in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction in the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma plus AB in an A level essay writing subject and one further A level

Access to HE Diploma

60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, of which 30 must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit, to include 6 Distinctions in an essay writing subject.

Access to HE additional information

Irish leaving certificate, irish leaving certificate (first awarded 2017).

H1 H2 H2 H2 H3 H3 -including as essay writing subject

Irish Leaving Certificate (first awarded 2016)

A2 A2 A2 B1 B1 B1 including an essay writing subject*

Irish certificate additional information

Scottish qualification.

Offers will be based on exams being taken at the end of S6. Subjects taken and qualifications achieved in S5 will be reviewed. Careful consideration will be given to an individual’s academic achievement, taking in to account the context and circumstances of their pre-university education.

Please see the  University of Southampton’s Curriculum for Excellence Scotland Statement (PDF)  for further information. Applicants are advised to contact their Faculty Admissions Office for more information.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3 M2 M2 in three principal subjects including an essay writing subject*

Cambridge Pre-U additional information

Welsh baccalaureate.

ABB from 3 A levels including an essay writing subject or AB from two A levels including an essay writing subject and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate

Welsh Baccalaureate additional information

Welsh baccalaureate contextual offer.

Not accepted for this course.

Other requirements

• UK students
• Other ways to qualify

GCSE requirements

Applicants must hold GCSE English language (or GCSE English) (minimum grade 4/C) and mathematics (minimum grade 4/C)

Find the  equivalent international qualifications  for our entry requirements.

English language requirements

If English isn't your first language, you'll need to complete an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) to demonstrate your competence in English. You'll need all of the following scores as a minimum:

IELTS score requirements

We accept other English language tests. Find out which English language tests we accept.

You might meet our criteria in other ways if you do not have the qualifications we need. Find out more about:

• our Access to Southampton scheme for students living permanently in the UK (including residential summer school, application support and scholarship)
• skills you might have gained through work or other life experiences (otherwise known as recognition of prior learning )

Find out more about our Admissions Policy .

For Academic year 202526

AAB including an essay writing subject

If you are taking an EPQ in addition to 3 A levels, you will receive the following offer in addition to the standard A level offer: ABB including an essay writing subject and grade A in the EPQ.

We are committed to ensuring that all applicants with the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, are encouraged to apply to study with us. The additional information gained through contextual data allows us to recognise an applicant's potential to succeed in the context of their background and experience. Applicants who are highlighted in this way will be made an offer which is lower than the typical offer for that programme.

Pass, with 34 points overall with 17 points at Higher Level, including 5 at Higher Level in English Literature or another relevant essay writing subject.

Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC National Extended Diploma plus A in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC National Diploma plus A in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction in the BTEC National Extended Certificate plus A in an A level essay writing subject and A in one further A level

Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC Extended Diploma plus A in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction, Distinction in the BTEC Diploma plus A in an A level essay writing subject or Distinction in the BTEC Subsidiary Diploma plus A in an A level essay writing subject and A in one further A level

60 credits with a minimum of 45 credits at Level 3, of which 39 must be at Distinction and 6 credits at Merit, to include 6 Distinctions in an essay writing subject.

H1 H2 H2 H2 H2 H2 -including as essay writing subject

D3 D3 M2 in three principal subjects including an essay writing subject*

AAB from 3 A levels including an essay writing subject or AA from two A levels including an essay writing subject and B from the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate

Got a question?

Please contact our enquiries team if you're not sure that you have the right experience or qualifications to get onto this course.

Email:  [email protected] Tel:  +44(0)23 8059 5000

Course structure

This english with creative writing course takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying poetry, prose, and drama. Creative writing modules will develop your understanding of short stories, novels, poetry, scriptwriting and narrative non-fiction.

You can complement your degree with modules in other subject areas, including modern languages, music, and philosophy.

Your personal academic tutor can help you plan your course.

Year 1 overview

Your first year will introduce you to new forms of literature and new creative and critical methods.

You'll take 3 core modules that give you a foundation in critical thinking, essay writing and group research. They will help you develop your own perspectives on the subject. You'll also take an introductory module on creative writing, which will explore story structure.

You can choose more modules on topics including:

• world drama
• poetic language
• migration and literature

Year 2 overview

You'll explore creative genres and forms in more depth. Typically, you'll take core modules in 4 areas of creative writing:

• short stories
• scriptwriting
• experimental writing
• how writers influence each other

You'll learn more about literature from other periods, choosing from core modules in Renaissance culture, romanticism, and modernism. You can also choose additional options across English, film studies, philosophy and beyond, including:

• African worlds
• Victorian feelings
• sweatshops, sex workers and asylum seekers: world literature and visual culture after globalisation
• images of women
• film adaptation

Year 3 overview

In your final year, you'll develop your creative writing in prose, poetry, and narrative non-fiction. You'll write a dissertation on a research topic of your choice, or complete a creative project.

You'll choose core creative writing modules covering:

• writing the novel
• narrative non-fiction
• creative writing in schools
• poetry and the non-human

You'll also be able to choose modules from a wide range of literary topics, including:

• literatures of islands and oceans
• American drama
• utopias and dystopias
• the historical novel

Want more detail?  See all the modules in the course.

The modules outlined provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. As a research-led University, we undertake a continuous review of our course to ensure quality enhancement and to manage our resources. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand. Find out why, when and how we might make changes .

Year 1 modules

You must study the following modules in year 1:

A Stranger Comes to Town: Introduction to Creative Writing

“A stranger comes to town” is often called one of the only stories of great literature, and in this introductory module we explore ideas of strangers and strangeness in creative writing and creative writers. How do creative writers make language strange?...

Literary Transformations

Why have some stories gripped the imagination of writers, musicians, and artists across cultures and centuries? And what does the emergence and constant re-emergence of such stories tell us about ourselves and others, past and present? What do readers and...

Poetic Language

How do we read poems, and what language can we use to describe our readings? This module will provide a detailed introduction to the particular qualities your ear, eye and brain will need to read poetry more effectively. You will study key features of poe...

The Act of the Essay

This module focuses upon the essay as a critical practice and a literary form. The essay is fundamental to literary criticism, and basic to assessment across your degree. But the essay is also a literary and popular-cultural genre in its own right, a form...

‘A novel does not assert anything; a novel searches and poses questions’. The contemporary novelist Milan Kundera describes the novel as an exploratory and engaging form, a way of telling stories that involves readers both in its searches and in the quest...

You must also choose from the following modules in year 1:

Puzzles about Art and Literature

Both individuals and society attach great importance and value to certain works of art, including poems, novels, films, plays, symphonies, and paintings. Most of us spend a considerable amount of our limited time and resources acquiring, creating, experie...

The Invention of English Literature: Medieval to Early Modern

Where did the idea of ‘English Literature’ as we know it today come from? When and how did writers first start thinking of themselves as English authors? How did the mechanisms of book production and the material forms of books shape readers’ understandin...

Theory & Criticism

The module asks big questions. What do we do when we interpret literature and culture, and how can we analyse our practices of interpretation? Can anything be a text, and if so what do we understand by ‘literature’? How does literature shape our identity,...

World Dramas

In this module, you will learn how to approach dramatic texts in a way that takes into consideration their place in the world as a complex political, economic, and cultural network. We will focus on questions such as: • What is the difference between r...

Year 2 modules

You must study the following module in year 2:

Brief Encounters: Writing Short Stories

Many writers begin with the short story. Through writing short stories they are able to experiment, learn the fundamentals of narrative composition, and have the satisfaction of completing something to a high standard in a relatively short period of time....

You must also choose from the following modules in year 2:

Aesthetics and the Philosophy of Art

You might watch a stunning film, hear a delightful song, enjoy a beautiful sunset, read a dreadful poem, attend an elegant dance, or see a garish building. Experiences like this can stimulate thoughts and feelings of great depth, and provide pleasure or d...

African Freedoms and The Novel

In Africa, the ideal of freedom has the capacity to evoke multiple layers of struggle and aspiration: from state decolonisation and the end of official racial segregation, to gendered, national, economic and spiritual freedoms. Historically, the novel has...

Chaucer and his World

The writings of Geoffrey Chaucer have had a deep and lasting influence on writers in English from the fifteenth to the twenty-first centuries. But every generation since the poet’s death has valued and interrogated different aspects of Chaucer’s works, re...

Children's Literature

Children's literature is a rather slippery term encompassing a variety of genres, child/adult concerns, engagement with historical/contextual issues on, for example, gender; class; nonsense; the nature of time; slavery. Other issues addressed are subject...

Data Environmentalism

Data is material. It is produced by people, it is made possible by resource extraction, it needs power to survive, it inhabits and resculpts the landscape. The use of data, then, contributes to climate catastrophe, but that role can be hard to see, hidden...

Data, Culture, and Justice

Data organise our present and shape our future. Those data are never neutral because they are the product of human labour, of choices made by people about what data to record, how to record it, and who is best equipped to do that recording. Drawing on wor...

Decolonising Modernity

Literary history is often told in epochs. In particular, it can be useful to understand the world in relation to some or other idea of “modernity”: for example, English literary studies is often organised through conceptions of the early modern, the mode...

Experiment!

What does it mean to make literature new? What forms and reformations have offered starting points for rethinking literary convention? In this module, you will explore the revolutions, innovations, and boundary-crossings that have taken place in literatur...

Film, Realism and Reality: representing the world, from revolution to the everyday

This module will introduce you to some of the principal realist and documentary movements, asking how the simple aim to ‘show things as they really are’ has resulted in a range of creative and wildly different cinematic forms. It will consider the issue a...

From Black and White to Colour: A Screen History of Race, Gender and Sexuality in Post-War Britain

This module presents a history of post-war multicultural Britain through the lens of British film and television, considering how our attitudes to 'race', sexuality and British identity more generally have been defined, challenged and changed by film and...

Great Writers Steal: Creative Writing and Critical Thinking

Many writers have penned essays about fiction and memoir: E.M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Edith Wharton, Italo Calvino, Vladimir Nabokov, Milan Kundera, A.L. Kennedy, A.S. Byatt, to name just a famous few. Indeed, it seems essential at some p...

Images of Women

Cultural representations of women shed important light on notions of female subjectivity, sexuality and racial identity in the modern world. Medical discourses on gender, mental pathology and the rise of modern feminism are just some of the pivotal histor...

Queens, Devils and Players in Early Modern England

Early modern England is a period associated with Elizabeth I and the Tudor court, the plays of Shakespeare, blood and violence on the Jacobean stage, the discovery of new worlds, and the persecution of witches and heretics. The diversity and vitality of t...

Scriptwriting

Dialogue, pace, setting, and story. Understanding the nuts of bolts of scriptwriting is not only key to a successful piece of theatre, cinema, or radio, but to all forms of creative writing or literary analysis. This course will introduce you to the art o...

Speech Acts

How do writers activate and amplify the sonic properties of language? Why do artists use vocal performance of text in video art? How can text ‘perform’ on the page (or onscreen), and what does it mean for language to be performative? What does writing for...

Sweatshops, Sex workers, and Asylum Seekers: World Literature and Visual Culture after Globalisation

What can the voices and narratives of sex workers and asylum seekers depicted in world literature and visual culture tell us about the conditions and pressures of life in the contemporary world? How might considerations of narrative technique, genre, and ...

The Early Modern Body

In this module, students will explore a wealth of different texts and different discourses, from the literary to the scientific, on humanity and the human body in the early modern period. Starting with a glimpse of ancient and modern visions of the body, ...

Vienna and Berlin: Society, Politics and Culture from 1890 to the Present

This module will introduce you to the social, political and cultural history of Vienna and Berlin in the 20th century, German using a wide range of sources which will include literature, film and architecture. Topics covered may include the following:...

Year 3 modules

You must study the following module in year 3:

English Dissertation

Undertaking independent research into an aspect of literature or creative writing which particularly interests you is a cornerstone of your degree. A dissertation gives you the opportunity to study a subject in much greater depth than usual and, with gui...

You must also choose from the following modules in year 3:

Burning Worlds, Drowning Worlds: Oil Cultures, Climate Crisis, and Traumatic Desires in World Literatures

We keep being barraged with a deluge of unnerving news - about environmental crisis, multi-level pollution, exceeding desertification and inundation of centuries-long places of human habitation, floods, forest fires, relentless rise in sea-level due to t...

American Cinema Since 1965

The module offers a history of American cinema since 1965, covering the decline of the Hollywood studio system and the moment, from 1968 to 1975, when a new wave of directors produced a number of key films sometimes known as constituting the Hollywood art...

American Gothic

As the Puritan colonialist John Winthrop said at Holyrood Church in Southampton before embarking for Boston, American was to be ‘as a city upon a hill’, a beacon of progress and enlightenment for the world. But from the beginning, America has been shadowe...

Animal Forms: poetry and the non-human

What can animals teach us about the human and non-human? What do the creative forms we use to describe them show us about human form and the other? In this module, you will read a range of poetic and critical material which explores the porous boundaries ...

Authoring Austen: Writing, Reception and Adaptation

Jane Austen’s global appeal in the twenty-first century has been shaped by the ways that she has been read in the 200 years since her death. In this module, you will read Austen's novels, letters, and unpublished juvenile fiction, and explore some of the ...

Creative Writing in Schools

Are you interested in helping young people study English? This module will introduce you to teaching creative writing in secondary schools by providing training in effective classroom management and guidance on designing lesson plans for studying fiction ...

Environmental Cinema and Media

There is now an overwhelming scientific and political consensus that climate change is occurring as a result of human activity and that there is an urgent need for action to address the causes and effects of this. This module will consider the place of f...

Fantasy Film and Fiction

Fantasy film and fiction spans a wide range of texts, from Gothic 'classics' and feminist fairy tales, to Utopian literature and musicals. Analysing fantasy texts alongside psychoanalytic and cultural theories will enable you to engage with questions conc...

Framing the Past:Stardom, History and Heritage in the Cinema

This module explores cinema’s relationship to the past, whether distant, as in that of ancient Greece, Rome or Egypt, or from a more recent history.

German-Jewish Writing Across the Twentieth Century

The turbulent history of Austrian and German Jews during the twentieth century was accompanied by the production of a diverse and influential body of German-language literature by Jewish authors. Prior to World War Two, Jews played a crucial role in the c...

Holocaust Literature

How has the Holocaust been represented? We will examine a range of responses to the Holocaust from the 1940s to the present day, including memoirs of camp survivors and experimental texts. Focusing on the limits of representation we will approach question...

Kings, Poets and Terror: Literature of the 1790s

The 1790s was a decade of revolutions abroad and of chaos and state paranoia at home. Britain began its longest continuous war in 1792. In a letter years afterwards to Byron, Percy Shelley declared that the French Revolution was ‘the master theme of the e...

Language and the City

One of the socially and culturally most significant consequences of transnational mobility is that urban populations in particular are increasingly multilingual: in global cities such as London, New York and Berlin there are speakers of hundreds of differ...

Love and Death in Africa's Cities

The stereotype of Africa as a predominantly ‘natural’ space ignores the existence of large and cosmopolitan urban environments on the continent. Yet today, the sprawling conurbations of Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg (as well as Africa’s other towns and ...

Minorities and Migrants: Exploring Multicultural Germany

Germany has had a long tradition of immigration and is one of the most multi-cultural countries in Europe today. We will examine the impact of diverse immigration movements on recent German history and notions of German identity. This includes examining b...

Radical England: Literature and Crisis in the Seventeenth Century

The seventeenth century was a time of extreme change and political instability in England. In 1649, after years of civil war, Charles I, the King of England, was beheaded on Whitehall in front of a crowd of thousands. England, overnight, became a republic...

Shakespeare Then and Now

Has Shakespeare aged well? From the boys in wigs on the Elizabethan stage to the digital wizardry of the twenty-first century, the technology as well as the ideology that informs Shakespearean performance keeps evolving—sometimes in unexpected ways. This ...

Telling True Stories: Narrative Non-Fiction

Narrative non-fiction is one of the most exciting areas of contemporary writing. After many years of being seen as having lower artistic status than fiction, a hugely diverse range of memoir, autofiction, essay collections, and historical writing has draw...

The Origins of Climate Crisis: Ecology in Victorian Literature

Are we living in an age of climate change or climate crisis? In her 2019 speech to the World Economic Forum, Greta Thunberg famously declared “Our house is on fire”: a statement underscored by the Australian bushfire crisis of 2020 and the mass devastatio...

Utopias and Dystopias in Literature and Culture

From Plato’s Republic and Thomas More’s Utopia to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale and Philip Roth’s The Plot Against America, utopias have always been haunted by the spectre of the dystopian. If utopias imagine alternative ways of organizing society, dy...

Writing Queerness

Once upon a time, no one called themselves queer; now it names everything from a kind of person to a type of weather. Queerness seems necessary, ubiquitous, paradoxical – but why? Ranging from the eighteenth century to the present day, this module will ex...

Writing the Novel

The essential elements of writing a novel include crafting beginnings and endings, constructing characters, manipulating structure and plot, and developing an intimate relationship with language. Writing exercises and discussions of work in progress will ...

Learning and assessment

The learning activities for this course include the following:

• classes and tutorials
• individual and group projects
• independent learning (studying on your own)

Academic support

You’ll be supported by a personal academic tutor and have access to a senior tutor.

Course leader

Carole Burns is the course leader.

This english and creative writing degree at Southampton gives you a strong foundation in:

• presentation skills
• project management
• critical thinking

You'll learn how to tell a story - a crucial skill whether you want to write a press release or funding application, or edit a book or podcast.

 Our English graduates have progressed to careers including:

• administration
• advertising
• creative writing
• government, including the civil service
• public relations
• translation

Your personal academic tutor can write a reference based on knowledge of you as a student over the 3 years.

Careers services at Southampton

We are a top 20 UK university for employability (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022). Our Careers, Employability and Student Enterprise team will support you. This support includes:

• work experience schemes
• CV and interview skills and workshops
• networking events
• careers fairs attended by top employers
• a wealth of volunteering opportunities
• study abroad and summer school opportunities

We have a vibrant entrepreneurship culture and our dedicated start-up supporter, Futureworlds , is open to every student.

Work in industry

You can take work placements through our Excel internship scheme or Year in Employment scheme . Placements include art galleries, publishing houses, schools and performing arts organisations. We can help you to get placements and employment with local, national and international employers.

Fees, costs and funding

Tuition fees.

Fees for a year's study:

• UK students pay £9,250.
• EU and international students pay £22,300.

Your fees will remain the same each year from when you start studying this course. This includes if you suspend and return.

What your fees pay for

Your tuition fees pay for the full cost of tuition and standard exams.

Find out how to:

• pay your tuition fees
• calculate your student finances

Accommodation and living costs, such as travel and food, are not included in your tuition fees. There may also be extra costs for retake and professional exams.

• accommodation costs
• living costs
• budgeting advice
• fees, charges, and expenses regulations  

Bursaries, scholarships and other funding

If you're a UK or EU student and your household income is under £25,000 a year, you may be able to get a University of Southampton bursary to help with your living costs. Find out about bursaries and other funding we offer at Southampton.

If you're a care leaver or estranged from your parents, you may be able to get a specific bursary .

Get in touch for advice about student money matters .

Scholarships and grants

You may be able to get a  scholarship  or grant to help fund your studies.

We award scholarships and grants for travel, academic excellence, or to students from under-represented backgrounds.

Support during your course

The Student Services Centre offers support and advice on money to students. You may be able to access our Student Support fund and other sources of financial support during your course.

Funding for EU and international students

Find out about funding you could get as an international student.

When you apply use:

• UCAS course code: CW01
• UCAS institution code: S27

Apply for this course

What happens after you apply?

We will assess your application on the strength of your:

• predicted grades
• academic achievements
• personal statement
• academic reference

We'll aim to process your application within 2 to 6 weeks, but this will depend on when it is submitted. Applications submitted in January, particularly near to the UCAS equal consideration deadline, might take substantially longer to be processed due to the high volume received at that time.

Equality and diversity

We treat and select everyone in line with our  Equality and Diversity Statement .

Related courses

English and History

English and History with Year Abroad

English and Modern Languages

English Language and Literature

Film and English

Film and english with year abroad.

Liberal Arts

Philosophy and English

Philosophy and english with year abroad.

• Course modules
• Acoustical engineering
• Biomedical and medical engineering
• Civil engineering
• Every day I’m completely immersed in an environment that’s creative in all aspects
• Everything I learn feels so relevant, even If it’s a subject rooted in the past
• Maritime engineering
• Photonics and optoelectronics
• Social statistics and demography
• A missing link between continental shelves and the deep sea: Have we underestimated the importance of land-detached canyons?
• A seismic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
• A study of rolling contact fatigue in electric vehicles (EVs)
• Acoustic monitoring of forest exploitation to establish community perspectives of sustainable hunting
• Acoustic sensing and characterisation of soil organic matter
• Advancing intersectional geographies of diaspora-led development in times of multiple crises
• Aero engine fan wake turbulence – Simulation and wind tunnel experiments
• Against Climate Change (DACC): improving the estimates of forest fire smoke emissions
• All-in-one Mars in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) system and life-supporting using non-thermal plasma
• An electromagnetic study of the continent-ocean transition southwest of the UK
• An investigation of the relationship between health, home and law in the context of poor and precarious housing, and complex and advanced illness
• Antibiotic resistance genes in chalk streams
• Being autistic in care: Understanding differences in care experiences including breakdowns in placements for autistic and non-autistic children
• Biogeochemical cycling in the critical coastal zone: Developing novel methods to make reliable measurements of geochemical fluxes in permeable sediments
• Bloom and bust: seasonal cycles of phytoplankton and carbon flux
• British Black Lives Matter: The emergence of a modern civil rights movement
• Building physics for low carbon comfort using artificial intelligence
• Building-resolved large-eddy simulations of wind and dispersion over a city scale urban area
• Business studies and management: accounting
• Business studies and management: banking and finance
• Business studies and management: decision analytics and risk
• Business studies and management: digital and data driven marketing
• Business studies and management: human resources (HR) management and organisational behaviour
• Business studies and management: strategy, innovation and entrepreneurship
• Carbon storage in reactive rock systems: determining the coupling of geo-chemo-mechanical processes in reactive transport
• Cascading hazards from the largest volcanic eruption in over a century: What happened when Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted in January 2022?
• Characterisation of cast austenitic stainless steels using ultrasonic backscatter and artificial intelligence
• Climate Change effects on the developmental physiology of the small-spotted catshark
• Climate at the time of the Human settlement of the Eastern Pacific
• Collaborative privacy in data marketplaces
• Compatibility of climate and biodiversity targets under future land use change
• Cost of living in modern and fossil animals
• Creative clusters in rural, coastal and post-industrial towns
• Deep oceanic convection: the outsized role of small-scale processes
• Defect categories and their realisation in supersymmetric gauge theory
• Defining the Marine Fisheries-Energy-Environment Nexus: Learning from shocks to enhance natural resource resilience
• Design and fabrication of next generation optical fibres
• Developing a practical application of unmanned aerial vehicle technologies for conservation research and monitoring of endangered wildlife
• Development and evolution of animal biomineral skeletons
• Development of all-in-one in-situ resource utilisation system for crewed Mars exploration missions
• Ecological role of offshore artificial structures
• Effect of embankment and subgrade weathering on railway track performance
• Efficient ‘whole-life’ anchoring systems for offshore floating renewables
• Electrochemical sensing of the sea surface microlayer
• Engagement with nature among children from minority ethnic backgrounds
• Enhancing UAV manoeuvres and control using distributed sensor arrays
• Ensuring the Safety and Security of Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems
• Environmental and genetic determinants of Brassica crop damage by the agricultural pest Diamondback moth
• Estimating marine mammal abundance and distribution from passive acoustic and biotelemetry data
• Evolution of symbiosis in a warmer world
• Examining evolutionary loss of calcification in coccolithophores
• Explainable AI (XAI) for health
• Explaining process, pattern and dynamics of marine predator hotspots in the Southern Ocean
• Exploring dynamics of natural capital in coastal barrier systems
• Exploring the mechanisms of microplastics incorporation and their influence on the functioning of coral holobionts
• Exploring the potential electrical activity of gut for healthcare and wellbeing
• Exploring the trans-local nature of cultural scene
• Facilitating forest restoration sustainability of tropical swidden agriculture
• Faulting, fluids and geohazards within subduction zone forearcs
• Faulting, magmatism and fluid flow during volcanic rifting in East Africa
• Fingerprinting environmental releases from nuclear facilities
• Flexible hybrid thermoelectric materials for wearable energy harvesting
• Floating hydrokinetic power converter
• Glacial sedimentology associated subglacial hydrology
• Green and sustainable Internet of Things
• How do antimicrobial peptides alter T cell cytokine production?
• How do calcifying marine organisms grow? Determining the role of non-classical precipitation processes in biogenic marine calcite formation
• How do neutrophils alter T cell metabolism?
• How well can we predict future changes in biodiversity using machine learning?
• Hydrant dynamics for acoustic leak detection in water pipes
• If ‘Black Lives Matter’, do ‘Asian Lives Matter’ too? Impact trajectories of organisation activism on wellbeing of ethnic minority communities
• Illuminating luciferin bioluminescence in dinoflagellates
• Imaging quantum materials with an XFEL
• Impact of neuromodulating drugs on gut microbiome homeostasis
• Impact of pharmaceuticals in the marine environment in a changing world
• Impacts of environmental change on coastal habitat restoration
• Improving subsea navigation using environment observations for long term autonomy
• Information theoretic methods for sensor management
• Installation effect on the noise of small high speed fans
• Integrated earth observation mapping change land sea
• Interconnections of past greenhouse climates
• Investigating IgG cell depletion mechanisms
• Is ocean mixing upside down? How mixing processes drive upwelling in a deep-ocean basin
• Landing gear aerodynamics and aeroacoustics
• Lightweight gas storage: real-world strategies for the hydrogen economy
• Long-term change in the benthos – creating robust data from varying camera systems
• Machine learning for multi-robot perception
• Marine ecosystem responses to past climate change and its oceanographic impacts
• Mechanical effects in the surf zone - in situ electrochemical sensing
• Microfluidic cell isolation systems for sepsis
• Migrant entrepreneurship, gender and generation: context and family dynamics in small town Britain
• Miniaturisation in fishes: evolutionary and ecological perspectives
• Modelling high-power fibre laser and amplifier stability
• Modelling soil dewatering and recharge for cost-effective and climate resilient infrastructure
• Modelling the evolution of adaptive responses to climate change across spatial landscapes
• Nanomaterials sensors for biomedicine and/or the environment
• New high-resolution observations of ocean surface current and winds from innovative airborne and satellite measurements
• New perspectives on ocean photosynthesis
• Novel methods of detecting carbon cycling pathways in lakes and their impact on ecosystem change
• Novel technologies for cyber-physical security
• Novel transparent conducting films with unusual optoelectronic properties
• Novel wavelength fibre lasers for industrial applications
• Ocean circulation and the Southern Ocean carbon sink
• Ocean influence on recent climate extremes
• Ocean methane sensing using novel surface plasmon resonance technology
• Ocean physics and ecology: can robots disentangle the mix?
• Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Assessing the utility of coastal enhanced weathering
• Offshore renewable energy (ORE) foundations on rock seabeds: advancing design through analogue testing and modelling
• Optical fibre sensing for acoustic leak detection in buried pipelines
• Optimal energy transfer in nonlinear systems
• Optimizing machine learning for embedded systems
• Oxidation of fossil organic matter as a source of atmospheric CO2
• Partnership dissolution and re-formation in later life among individuals from minority ethnic communities in the UK
• Personalized multimodal human-robot interactions
• Preventing disease by enhancing the cleaning power of domestic water taps using sound
• Quantifying riparian vegetation dynamics and flow interactions for Nature Based Solutions using novel environmental sensing techniques
• Quantifying the response and sensitivity of tropical forest carbon sinks to various drivers
• Quantifying variability in phytoplankton electron requirements for carbon fixation
• Resilient and sustainable steel-framed building structures
• Resolving Antarctic meltwater events in Southern Ocean marine sediments and exploring their significance using climate models
• Robust acoustic leak detection in water pipes using contact sound guides
• Silicon synapses for artificial intelligence hardware
• Smart photon delivery via reconfigurable optical fibres
• The Gulf Stream control of the North Atlantic carbon sink
• The Mayflower Studentship: a prestigious fully funded PhD studentship in bioscience
• The calming effect of group living in social fishes
• The duration of ridge flank hydrothermal exchange and its role in global biogeochemical cycles
• The evolution of symmetry in echinoderms
• The impact of early life stress on neuronal enhancer function
• The oceanic fingerprints on changing monsoons over South and Southeast Asia
• The role of iron in nitrogen fixation and photosynthesis in changing polar oceans
• The role of singlet oxygen signaling in plant responses to heat and drought stress
• Time variability on turbulent mixing of heat around melting ice in the West Antarctic
• Triggers and Feedbacks of Climate Tipping Points
• Uncovering the drivers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progression using patient derived organoids
• Understanding recent land-use change in Snowdonia to plan a sustainable future for uplands: integrating palaeoecology and conservation practice
• Understanding the role of cell motility in resource acquisition by marine phytoplankton
• Understanding the structure and engagement of personal networks that support older people with complex care needs in marginalised communities and their ability to adapt to increasingly ‘digitalised’ health and social care
• Unpicking the Anthropocene in the Hawaiian Archipelago
• Unraveling oceanic multi-element cycles using single cell ionomics
• Unravelling southwest Indian Ocean biological productivity and physics: a machine learning approach
• Using acoustics to monitor how small cracks develop into bursts in pipelines
• Using machine learning to improve predictions of ocean carbon storage by marine life
• Vulnerability of low-lying coastal transportation networks to natural hazards
• Wideband fibre optical parametric amplifiers for Space Division Multiplexing technology
• Will it stick? Exploring the role of turbulence and biological glues on ocean carbon storage
• X-ray imaging and property characterisation of porous materials
• Postgraduate Taught Diversity Scholarship (Environmental and Life Sciences)
• Southampton Business School Postgraduate UK Scholarship
• Southampton Genomics Talent Scholarship
• Southampton History Patricia Mather and Helen Patterson Scholarship
• Southampton MA Holocaust scholarships
• Southampton Philosophy David Humphris-Norman Scholarship
• The National Institute for Health and care Research South Central INSIGHT Programme
• Winchester School of Art Progression Scholarship
• Southampton Physics and Astronomy Achievement Scholarship
• GREAT Scholarships 2024 – Greece
• Undergraduate scholarships for UK students
• Winchester School of Art Postgraduate Global Talent Scholarship
• Southampton University Corporate Civil Engineering Scholarship Scheme
• Merit scholarships for international postgraduates
• Merit scholarships for international undergraduates
• Scholarships, awards and funding opportunities
• Becas Chile Scholarship
• Chevening Scholarships
• China Scholarship Council Scholarships
• COLFUTURO Scholarships
• Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarships
• Commonwealth Master's Scholarships
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships
• Commonwealth PhD Scholarships for high income countries
• Commonwealth Shared Scholarships
• Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarships
• FIDERH Scholarships
• Fulbright Awards
• FUNED Scholarships
• Great Scholarships 2024 – India
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Bangladesh
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Mexico
• Great Scholarships 2024 – Nigeria
• Marshall Scholarship
• Saïd Foundation Scholarships
• British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM
• Xiamen University PhD Scholarships
• GREAT scholarships for justice and law 2024 – Indonesia
• Scholarship terms and conditions
• Southampton Education Civic Scholarship
• Southampton Ageing and Gerontology Talent Scholarship
• Southampton Canadian Prestige Scholarship for Law
• Southampton Presidential International Scholarship
• Continuing professional development
• Archers Road
• City Gateway
• Erasmus Park
• Highfield Hall
• Lucia Foster Welch
• Orion Point
• Wessex Lane
• Cancer Sciences Protein Facility
• Geotechnical Centrifuge
• Maritime Robotics and Instrumentation Laboratory (MRIL)
• Active Living
• Advanced Fibre Applications
• Advanced Laser Laboratory
• Advanced Project Management Research Centre
• Antibody and Vaccine Group
• Astronomy Group
• Autism Community Research Network @ Southampton (ACoRNS)
• Bioarchaeology and Osteoarchaeology at Southampton (BOS)
• Bladder and Bowel Management
• Cell and Developmental Biology
• Centre for Defence and Security Research
• Centre for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
• Centre for Digital Finance
• Centre for Eastern European and Eurasian Studies (CEEES)
• Centre for Empirical Research in Finance and Banking (CERFIB)
• Centre for Geometry, Topology, and Applications
• Centre for Global Englishes
• Centre for Global Health and Policy (GHaP)
• Centre for Health Technologies
• Centre for Healthcare Analytics
• Centre for Human Development, Stem Cells and Regeneration
• Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies
• Centre for Inclusive and Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CISEI)
• Centre for International Film Research (CIFR)
• Centre for International Law and Globalisation
• Centre for Internet of Things and Pervasive Systems
• Centre for Justice Studies
• Centre for Linguistics, Language Education and Acquisition Research
• Centre for Machine Intelligence
• Centre for Maritime Archaeology
• Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Culture (CMRC)
• Centre for Modern and Contemporary Writing (CMCW)
• Centre for Music Education and Social Justice
• Centre for Political Ethnography (CPE)
• Centre for Research in Accounting, Accountability and Governance
• Centre for Research on Work and Organisations
• Centre for Resilient Socio-Technical Systems
• Centre for Transnational Studies
• Child and Adolescent Research Group
• Clinical Ethics, Law and Society (CELS)
• Computational Nonlinear Optics
• Cyber Security Academy
• Data Science Group
• Digital Oceans
• EPSRC and MOD Centre for Doctoral Training in Complex Integrated Systems for Defence and Security
• Economic Theory and Experimental Economics
• Economy, Society and Governance
• Electrical Power Engineering
• Environmental Hydraulics
• Gas Photonics in Hollow Core Fibres 
• Geochemistry
• Global Health (Demography)
• Global Health Community of Practice
• Gravity group
• Healthy Oceans
• High Power Fibre Lasers
• Hollow Core Fibre
• Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine
• Infrastructure Group
• Institute of Maritime Law (IML)
• Integrated Photonic Devices
• Integrative Molecular Phenotyping Centre
• Interdisciplinary Musculoskeletal Health
• International Centre for Ecohydraulics Research (ICER)
• Language Assessment and Testing Unit (LATU)
• Laser-Direct-Write (LDW) Technologies for Biomedical Applications
• Law and Technology Centre
• Long Term Conditions
• Magnetic Resonance
• Mathematical Modelling
• Medicines Management
• Molecular and Precision Biosciences
• Multiwavelength Accretion and Astronomical Transients
• National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC)
• National Centre for Research Methods
• National Infrastructure Laboratory
• Nature-Based Ocean Solutions
• Nonlinear Semiconductor Photonics
• Ocean Perception Group
• Operational Research
• Optical Engineering and Quantum Photonics Group
• Paediatrics and Child Health - Clinical and Experimental Sciences
• People, Property, Community
• Photonic Systems, Circuits and Sensors Group
• Physical Optics
• Primary Care Research Centre
• Product Returns Research Group (PRRG)
• Quantum, Light and Matter Group
• Silica Fibre Fabrication
• Silicon Photonics
• Skin Sensing Research Group
• Southampton Centre for Nineteenth-Century Research
• Southampton Ethics Centre
• Southampton Health Technology Assessments Centre (SHTAC)
• Southampton High Energy Physics group
• Southampton Imaging
• Southampton Theory Astrophysics and Gravity (STAG) Research Centre
• Stefan Cross Centre for Women, Equality and Law
• String theory and holography
• The India Centre for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development
• The Parkes Institute
• Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory
• Ultrafast X-ray Group
• Vision Science
• WSA Exchange
• Work Futures Research Centre (WFRC)
• Departments

Recommended pages

• Undergraduate open days
• Postgraduate open days
• Accommodation
• Information for teachers
• Maps and directions
• Sport and fitness

Join our Undergraduate Open Days

BA English Literature and Creative Writing

Annual tuition fees for 2024/25: £9,250 (UK) £22,860 (International) More detail .

• Am I likely to receive an offer for 2024?
• Course details
• Entry Requirements
• Teaching and assessment
• Employability

Craft a future in storytelling and literary analysis through an undergraduate BA English Literature and Creative Writing degree at the University of Birmingham. Learn to relish writing in all literary genres from a wide range of critical perspectives while honing your creative skillset in imagining and communicating narratives across genres.

Our internationally renowned academic staff offer a huge selection of literary specialisms across the full historical range to the present day, including: 

• Old English  
• Shakespeare 
• Gothic Literature  
• Fantasy and fandom 
• Dystopian fiction 
• Poets and Poetry 
• Women’s writing  
• Children’s literature  

Make use of our wide-ranging work-based placements and employability focused modules and graduate with a detailed awareness of and sought-after experience with the creative industries, including:   

• Editing 
• Events management   
• Film and TV  
• Journalism   
• Marketing   
• Media   
• Publishing  
• Theatre  
• Writing 

International undergraduate scholarships available in the College of Arts and Law

We are proud to offer 10 scholarships to international students in the form of £3,000 tuition fee awards for year one entry only.

Learn more about our scholarships and apply

The programme has built my confidence in genres and formats I never would have attempted otherwise. My knowledge and abilities are much more rounded now. The excellent contacts you make being taught by published writers has left me feeling positive about my opportunities after graduation. Emily

Why study this course?

Our undergraduate BA English Literature with Creative Writing degree is for you if you want to: 

• Learn from bestselling authors and industry experts – including 2021 Forward Poetry Prize winner Professor Luke Kennard and one of Granta magazine’s 2023 best young novelists Dr Anna Metcalfe. 
• Personalise your degree - read and write about the writing and authors that mean most to you: our course gives you the option to study everything from Old English to last year's novels; you can also incorporate optional modules across a vast range of literary genres. 
• Go beyond the printed book - take advantage of the wide-ranging expertise within our academic community and explore the study of art, comics, film, marketing, music, social media, textual production, theatre, TV and video games.
• Participate in RSC-led workshops – make use of our internationally renowned Shakespeare Institute, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, collaborate with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and take part in fun and interactive study trips, such as the Stratford Residential and this writing workshop with Playwright Juliet Gilkes Romero .   
• Live and study in a city that values the written word as much as you do – explore our exceptional resources, including our Cadbury Research Library, consisting of over 200,000 rare books dating from 1471, as well as the Library of Birmingham, Europe’s largest regional library. Get involved with the numerous on campus writers' groups, including our very own newspaper , radio and TV stations and delve into the various citywide literature festivals.

Please note: You will take 120 credits of modules in each year of study. The modules listed on the website for this programme are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods. Unless indicated otherwise, the modules listed for this programme are for students starting in 2025. On rare occasions, we may need to make unexpected changes to compulsory modules; in this event we will contact offer holders as soon as possible to inform or consult them as appropriate.

Compulsory modules

• Literary Worlds 900-1770
• Literary Worlds 1770-Today
• Critical Environments
• Cultural Environments
• Contemporary Creative Writing
• Creative Writing Foundation

Detailed descriptions of first year compulsory modules

Second year 

Optional modules 

• 120 credits of optional modules

List of second year optional modules

Year Abroad

You can apply to study abroad for a year in an approved university around the world. If you achieve a grade of 2.1 or above in your first year, you will be eligible to apply for a Year Abroad in your second year. If your application is successful, you will go abroad in your third year and return to us for your final year.

More about a Year Abroad

• Creative Writing Project or Dissertation in English Literature  
• 80 credits of optional modules

Detailed descriptions of final year compulsory modules and list of optional modules

For UK students beginning their studies in September 2024, the University of Birmingham will charge the maximum approved tuition fee per year. The fees for your first year of study will therefore be £9,250. Visit our tuition fees page for more information .

Fees for 2024/25 are as follows:

• UK: £9,250
• International: £22,860

Eligibility for fees can be verified with Admissions. Learn more about fees for international students .

For further information on tuition fees, living costs and available financial support, please see our pages on undergraduate fees and funding .

Tuition fees when studying abroad

For those spending a whole academic year abroad (where available):

• Students who are classed as UK for fees purposes are required to pay 15% of their normal annual tuition fee
• Students who are classed as International for fee purposes are required to pay 50% of their normal annual tuition fee

For those studying abroad for just one semester (where available), normal annual tuition fees apply.

Note - Study abroad opportunities vary between courses; please see the course description for details of study abroad options offered.

How To Apply

• Apply through UCAS at www.ucas.com .
• Learn more about applying .

Try before you apply!

We’ve partnered with Springpod to create a Subject Spotlight on English Literature and Creative Writing, presented by our very own Professor John Holmes. This Spotlight provides a way for you to find out what it would be like to study a English Literature and Creative Writing degree.

Access all of the content for free - create an account with Springpod and start exploring your future degree today !

Standard offer

International requirements.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Holders of the Baccalauréat de l'Enseignement Secondaire (School Certificate) are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate programmes without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

Please note:

• For Medicine country specific requirements, please visit our Applying to Medicine website .
• For Dentistry, please see the general entry requirements listed on the Dental Surgery course page

English Language

Students from Algeria need to meet the standard English language requirements for international students. 

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Bachillerato together with a recognised foundation programme, such as the Birmingham Foundation Academy, will be considered for entry to our Bachelor degree programmes.

Students who have completed the Senior Secondary School Diploma will be considered for entry to year 1 of an undergraduate programme based on the ATAR or OP score achieved as follows: A*AA = ATAR 94 or OP 1-3 AAA = ATAR 92 or OP 4 AAB = ATAR 90 or OP 4 ABB = ATAR 87 or OP 5 BBB = ATAR 85 or OP 6 Where a specific subject is required at A level this subject is required at grade 12 with an equivalent grade.

• For Dentistry, please see the general entry requirements listed on the Dental Surgery course page.

Holders of the Matura/Reifeprüfung with a minimum overall score of 'pass with distinction' (mit gutem Erfolg bestanden) and subject grades between 2-1/5 (gut-sehr gut - good-very good) will be considered for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes.  Please refer to the information below as guidance for grade comparisons to A-level entry requirements:  Holders of the Matura/Reifeprüfung will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 1 overall plus 1, 1, 2 in elective subjects (inc any required subject/s)  AAA - 1 overall plus 1, 2, 2 in elective subjects (inc any required subject/s)  AAB - 1 overall plus 222 in elective subjects (inc any required subject/s)  ABB - BBB - 2 overall plus 222 in elective subjects (inc any required subject/s)  Subject specific grade equivalencies:  A* - 1  A - 1.5  B - 2 

• For Medicine country specific requirements please visit our Applying to Medicine website .

We may accept your English language grade from the Austrian Matura/Reifeprüfung if you achieved 2/5 (gut) in English (both written and oral examinations). Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Al-Thanawiyan are not normally eligible for direct entry onto an undergraduate course without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our own foundation pathways.

Higher Secondary Certificate students will be required to take an approved Foundation Programme before they can be considered for entry to the first year of our Bachelor degree programmes (see Birmingham Foundation Pathways).

Holders of a Bachelor of Science, Arts or Commerce degree (with honours) of two, three, or four years in duration from a recognised institution in Bangladesh with a CGPA of 3.0/4 or 65% or higher may be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme.

For Medicine country specific requirements, please visit our Applying to Medicine website.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English language at grade C/6 or above in the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education Examination is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, Botswanan nationals with a degree from Botswana or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

GCE A Level examinations (BBB to A*AA), the International Baccalaureate (IB) (32 points overall. HL 5,5,5 to 7,7,6), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways. Students who have successfully completed the first year of a Licenciatura or Bacharelado degree with an overall score of 7.5/10 or higher can be considered.

• Our BNurs and MNurs Nursing courses are only available to home/EU students.

The University will consider students who have taken A Level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes. Students from Brunei will usually undertake Brunei/Cambridge GCE A level examinations or Brunei Darussalam Technical and Vocational Educational Council (BDTVEC). Both qualifications allow students to apply for undergraduate degree courses.

Holders of the "Diploma za Sredno Obrazovanie, Diploma za Zavarsheno Sredno Obrazovanie, or Diploma za Sredno Spetzialno Obrazovanie" (Diploma of Completed Secondary Education) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:

• A*AA = 5.8 overall with 5.8 in 2 Matura exams (to include any required subjects)
• AAA = 5.8 overall with 5.6 in 2 Matura exams (to include any required subjects)
• AAB = 5.6 overall with 5.6 in 2 Matura exams (to include any required subjects)
• ABB = 5.4 overall with 5.5 in 2 Matura exams (to include any required subjects)
• BBB = 5.2 overall with 5.5 in 2 Matura exams (to include any required subjects)

Students who hold Cameroon GCE A Levels with good grades or French Baccalaureat with minimum grades of 12/20-15/20 will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programme.

Cameroon has two systems of education, one based on the British model, the other on the French - as long as a student has studied under the British system, they will be exempt from the standard international English requirements with the following grades:

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English Language at grade C or above in the General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, Cameroonian nationals with a degree that was completed in English from Cameroon or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

The University will consider students who have achieved good grades in their High School Graduation Diploma with at least 5 university-preparatory level (Grade 12) courses. For many of our programmes of study, students will need at least a B average, and possibly higher. 

Qualification Guidance

Unless otherwise stated qualification guidance is as follows:

Ontario System

A level requirements of AAA  = 85% overall in 6 x grade 12 U or U/C courses. Where an A level subject is required, the course must be at U or U/C level. 

A level requirements of AAB  = 80% overall in 6 x grade 12 U or U/C courses. Where an A level subject is required, the course must be at U or U/C level. 

A level requirements of ABB  = 75% overall in 6 x grade 12 U or U/C courses. Where an A level subject is required, the course must be at U or U/C level. 

For Maths and English GCSE equivalency the student must offer Maths and English at grade 11 minimum. (For UG programmes that require GCSE grade A equivalence, suggest 80% minimum). 

Other Canadian Provinces

British Columbia  - Grade 12 Senior Secondary Diploma with an average of at least 75% (ABB), 80% (AAB) and 85% (AAA) in 5 grade 12 subjects or Senior Secondary Graduation Diploma if awarded with at least five Bs (BBBBB) or above in acceptable grade 12 courses.

Manitoba - High School Graduation Diploma with an overall average of 75% (ABB), 80% (AAB) and 85% (AAA), including 5 credits awarded at the 300 level in at least 4 subject areas, and at least 65% in each subject.

Alberta, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northern W. T., Nova Scotia, P. Edward Island, Saskatchewan - General High School Diploma with an overall average of 75% (ABB), 80% (AAB) and 85% (AAA) in 5 subjects at Grade 12.

Nunavut - General High School Diploma with an overall average of 75% (ABB), 80% (AAB) and 85% (AAA) across five subjects at grade 12.

Québec - Diplôme d'Etudes Collègiales (DEC) with an overall average of 75% (ABB), 80% (AAB) and 85% (AAA).

Yukon - Senior Secondary Graduation Diploma with an overall average of at least 85% in 5 grade 12 subjects (including provincial examinations where applicable).

Entry to LLB for Graduates

We require a B+ average or a GPA of 3.0/4 in any non-law degree subject.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes. 

We will consider students who have completed GAOKAO for entry to our Undergraduate Programmes. Please refer to our  GAOKAO entry requirements  for further information.

Holders of the Chinese High School Certificate/Senior Middle School Graduation and a suitable foundation programme, and holders of two/three year Diplomas, with a good performance (80% average or above) from a recognised institution, will be considered for entry to undergraduate programmes.

If you have taken A level or IB diploma, please refer to the course you are interested in on our course finder and you will find entry requirements.

If you have taken exams which are from another country's national education system (e.g. the Arbitur from Germany or SAT and AP exams from the USA) you should consult that specific country page on our website for entry requirements.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Bachillerato together with a recognised foundation programme, such as the Birmingham Foundation Academy, will be considered for entry to our Bachelor degree programmes.

Candidates from Costa Rica generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) Bachiller en la Enseñanza Media plus a recognised foundation programme or c) successfully completed the first year of the Bachiller or Licenciado with 8/10 or higher.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the Birmingham Foundation Academy, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Maturatna Svjedodzba (Matriculation Certificate) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA-AAA= 5/5  AAB = 4.5/5  ABB-BBB = 4/5  Subject specific requirements:  A* - 5  A - 4.5  B - 4

Candidates offering the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) qualification can be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme. CAPE is graded on a I to VI scale (I being the highest) and we would typically look for a minimum of II in each subject taken to include I in any required subject and for AAA-AAB offers to include a at least half the subjects at grade I.  Candidates offering an Associate degree from a recognised institution may also be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme. We would typically require a minimum GPA of 3.0 to include high grades in relevant and required subjects.

Holders of the Apolytirion of Lykeion with a minimum overall score of 18+/20 plus 2 GCE A levels will be considered for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes. The Apolytirio + 1 A level may be considered at the discretion of departments, if high grades and required subjects are offered.

Equivalent grades:

A*AA = 19/20 + A*A AAA = 19/20 + AA AAB = 18/20 + AA ABB = 18/20 +AB BBB = 18/20 + BB

Specific subject requirements:

A* - 19 A - 19 B – 18

Holders of the Vysvedceni o Maturitni Zkousce-Zkouška / Maturita will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA-AAA: 1 overall  AAB: 1.5 overall  ABB-BBB: 2 overall  Specific subject requirements:  A* - 1  A = 1.5  B = 2

Holders of the Bevis for Studentereksamen (STX), Hojere Forberedelseseksamen (HF), Hojere Handelseksamen (HHX) or Hojere Teknisk Eksamen (HTX) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies in Level A Subjects (including any required subjects):

A*AA - 12,10,10 AAA - 10,10,10 AAB - 10,10,7 ABB - 10,7,7 BBB - 7,7,7

A* = 12 A = 10 B = 7

We may accept your English language grade from the Danish Studentereksamen if you achieved 10 in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

Candidates from Ecuador generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) Senior Secondary School (Titulo de Bachiller en Ciencias) plus a recognised foundation programme or c) successfully completed the first year of the Licenciado (with 70% or equivalent GPA)

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entry onto our undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Thanawiyan are not normally eligible for direct entry onto an undergraduate course without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our own foundation pathways.

• For Medicine country-specific requirements, please visit our Applying to Medicine website .

Holders of the Riigieksamid (State Examinations) plus the Gümnaasiumi lõputunnistus (GI) (Secondary School Certificate) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:

• A*AA - 4.5 average for GI and 83% average for 3 best state exams (excluding English taken as a SELT)
• AAA - 4.4 average for GI and 80% average for 3 best state exams (excluding English taken as a SELT)
• AAB - 4.3 average for GI and 79% average for 3 best state exams (excluding English taken as a SELT)
• ABB - 4.2 average for GI and 78% average for 3 best state exams (excluding English taken as a SELT)
• BBB - 4.1 average for GI and 77% average for 3 best state exams (excluding English taken as a SELT)

Specific subject requirements - required subjects must be studied at the highest level possible at school (year 12) with following grade equivalencies: A* = 90% A = 85% B = 80%.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Students who have completed one or two years of a Bachelors degree from an Ethiopian university with excellent grades (A or 4 points) can be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Overall successful completion of Ylioppilastutkinto / studentexamen (Matriculation Examination) with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 766  AAA - 666  AAB - 665  ABB - 655  BBB - 555  Subject specific requirements:  L (Laudator) = 7 = A*  E (Eximia cum laude approbatur) = 6 = A  M (Magna cum laude approbatur) = 5 = B

We may accept your English language grade from the Finnish Ylioppilastutkinto/Studentexamen if you achieved 5 (magna cum laude approbatur) in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

Holders of the Baccalauréat Général / Baccalauréat Technologique (BTn) / Baccalauréat de l'Enseignement du Second Degr and Diplôme de l'Enseignement du Second Degr / Option International du Baccalauréat (OIB) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA: 15/20  AAA-AAB: 14/20  ABB - BBB: 13/20  Option International du Baccalauréat (OIB)  A*AA: 14/20  AAA-AAB: 13/20  ABB - BBB: 12/20  Specifc subject requirements:  A* = 15/20  A = 14/20  B = 12/20  We will consider holders of the European Baccalaureate (EB) with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 88  AAA - 85  AAB - 80  ABB - 77  BBB - 75  Subject specific requirement:  A* - 9  A - 8  B - 7

We may accept your English language grade from the French Baccalauréat de l’Enseignement du Second Degré if you achieved 14 (bien) or above. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

Holders of the Abitur/Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, Zeugnis der Fachgebundenen Hochschulreife or Zeugnis der Fachhochschulreife will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA: 1.4 overall in the Abitur  AAA: 1.5 overall in the Abitur  AAB: 1.6 overall in the Abitur  ABB: 1.7 overall in the Abitur  BBB: 1.8 overall in the Abitur  Specific subject requirements:  A* = 14/15  A = 13/15  B = 11/15  Please note: For applicants taking the Fachhochschulreife, we wouldn’t normally accept this qualification for entry to undergraduate programmes.  We will consider holders of the European Baccalaureate (EB) with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 88  AAA - 85  AAB - 80  ABB - 77  BBB - 75  Subject specific requirement:  A* - 9  A - 8  B - 7 

We may also accept your English language grade from the German Abitur if you achieved 10 (gut) in English (taken as an achievement/main/ intensive course. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Students who hold a Higher National Diploma with a good profile of grades (distinctions and credits, or grades 1-3) will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes (first year entry).

Students who have completed the first year of a 4-year Bachelor degree from a recognised institution in Ghana with excellent grades (2.1, 3.0/4.0, 3.5/5.0) will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes (first year entry).

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English language at grade C or above (or in numerical terms, grade 6 or above) in the WAEC SSCE is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, Ghanaian nationals with a degree from Ghana or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

Holders of the National Apolytirion of Geniko Lykeio, including three Pan Hellenics examinations will be considered for undergraduate programmes with the following overall average grade equivalencies in the Apolytirion:

A*AA – 19 AAA – 18.5 AAB – 18 ABB - BBB – 17.5

Plus, an average of 17+ from Pan-Hellenic exams (3 subjects)

Specific subject requirements (required both within the Apolytirio and as a Panhellenic exam):

A* - 19 A - 18 B – 17.5

The Apolyterion of Geniko Lykeion will also be considered alongside two A levels.

Candidates from Guatemala generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) Bachillerato + foundation programme or c) Successful completion of first year of the Licenicado (with score of 70 or higher)

We will consider holders of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) for entry to our undergraduate programmes with the grade equivalencies shown below (excluding Chinese and Liberal Studies).

A*AA = 5*55

Applicants for programmes with subject specific requirements will need to offer these as normal (please note that combined or integrated science will not normally be acceptable where a stated science is required i.e. Biology or Chemistry). Programmes requiring Mathematics as a specified subject will require both the Compulsory and either M1 or M2.

Higher level Diplomas and Associate Degrees can be considered for year one entry. A typical requirement would be an average grade of B (70-79%) or a GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0 in a relevant subject.

Holders of Higher Diplomas with a good performance (at least B+ or GPA 3.2 above) will be considered for entry to year 2 of relevant undergraduate degree programmes within Engineering and Computer Science.

Holders of the HKU SPACE Associate Degree programme with a good performance (at least B+ or GPA 3.2 above) throughout their studies may be considered for entry to year 2 of relevant undergraduate degree programmes.

Holders of the Erettségi / Matura with at least two subjects at advanced level (emelt szint) plus any required subjects at advanced level will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 85%, 80% (Advanced level) plus 80%, 80%, 80% (Intermediate level)  AAA - 80%, 80% (Advanced level) plus 80%, 80%, 80% (Intermediate level)  AAB - 80%, 80% (Advanced level) plus 80%, 80%, 80% (Intermediate level)  ABB - 80%, 75% (Advanced level) plus 80%, 80%, 80% (Intermediate level)  BBB - 75%, 75% (Advanced level) plus 80%, 80%, 75% (Intermediate level)  Subject specific requirements (Advanced level):  A* - 85%  A - 80%  B - 75%

Holders of the Indian Standard XII will be considered for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes. 

• A*AA = 90% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra or 85% West Bengal or 95% Other State boards
• AAA = 85% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra or 80% West Bengal or 90% Other State boards
• AAB = 80% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra or 75% West Bengal or 85% Other State boards
• ABB/BBB = 75% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra and West Bengal or 80% Other State boards

Where a programme requires a specific A'level subject grade please refer to the guidance below for Indian Standard XII equivalent.

• A* = 90% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra or 85% West Bengal or 95% Other State boards
• A = 85% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra or 80% West Bengal or 90% Other State boards
• B = 80% ISC, CBSE, Maharashtra and 75% West Bengal or 85% Other State boards

Applicants with appropriate grades in Standard XII English (English Core/English Elective/Functional English in CBSE) do not require additional SELT qualifications.

• GCE A Level in three acceptable subjects.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) with 32 points overall.
• A Diploma (D3/D4), with good grades, from a recognised Indonesian institution.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Diplom-Metevaseth are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our own foundation pathways. 

Students who have completed the Pre-University Certificate (Peeshdaneshgahe) with a minimum overall GPA of 16/20 and students who have successfully completed the National Entrance Exam (Kunkur) will be considered for entry onto our undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Sixth Form Baccalaureate/Iraqi high school leaving certificate are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

We will consider students who have completed the Bagrut and achieved grade 8 or above in 6 subjects.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our own foundation pathways, for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Diploma di Esame di Stato will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 95  AAA - 92  AAB - 90  ABB - 88  BBB - 85  Subject specific requirements:  A* - 15/15 OR 10/10  A - 14/15 OR 9/10  B - 13/15 OR 8/10

Students who hold the French Baccalaureat with minimum grades of 12/20-15/20 will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the  Foundation Pathways  at the BIA, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

• GCE A Level examinations or a recognised foundation programme
• International Baccalaureate (IB) - 32 points overall for entrance to most of our undergraduate programmes, certain courses will require specific grades and subjects at Higher Level

Many students who have studied in Japan have followed a 12 year education system. For admission onto an Undergraduate degree programme, the University of Birmingham requires all applicants to have studied for 13 years, and therefore you may need to take a foundation year before commencing your undergraduate programme. 

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Holders of the Tawjihi are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate programmes without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the  Birmingham International Academy , for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our  Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English language at grade C or above in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, Kenyan nationals with a degree from Kenya or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examination, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Shahadat-al-thanwiia-al-a'ama are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

Candidates from Latvia generally require either A levels, an IB Diploma or a recognised foundation programme qualification in order to be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme. Holders of the Atestats par visparejo videjo izglitibu (Certificate of General Secondary Education) are not eligible for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entry onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Baccalaureat General (School Certificate) are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without prior completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examination, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme (such as the Birmingham Foundation Academy), for entrance to undergraduate programmes.  Students who have completed a Higher Technician Diploma with minimum GPA of 65%, or a Bachelors degree from a Higher Technical or Vocational Institution with minimum GPA of 65%, may be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme.  Students who have the Secondary Education Certificate plus one year of a Bachelors degree from a recognised university with a minimum GPA or 65% may also be considered.

Holders of the Brandos Atestatas (Secondary School Diploma/Maturity Certificate) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 9.5 with 95% average in 3 state exams  AAA - 9.0 with 90% average in 3 state exams  AAB - 9.0 with 87% average in 3 state exams  ABB - 8.5 with 85% average in 3 state exams  BBB - 8.0 with 80% average in 3 state exams  Subject specific requirements (state exam):  A* - 95%  A - 90%  B - 85% 

Holders of the Diplôme de Fin d'Etudes Secondaires will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 50/60  AAA - 48/60  AAB - 46/60  ABB - 44/60  BBB - 42/60  Subject specific requirements:  A* - 52  A - 48  B - 42 

In addition to the standard qualifications that we accept as proof of English language proficiency, the University accepts the following as proof of English language for students from Luxembourg: 6/10 in English Language I in the European Baccalaureate; or 8/10 in English Language II in the European Baccalaureat

We may also accept your English language grade from the Luxembourgish Examen de Fin d'Études Secondaires 45 (bien) in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

The University will consider students who have taken A Level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Sigjil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysian (STPM)

STPM is considered equivalent to A-levels and is acceptable for admissions to the first year of an undergraduate programme. Grades equivalent to the A-level requirement should be achieved in three out of the five subjects studied.

Malaysian Ministry of Education Matriculation Programme

Holders of the Malaysian Ministry of Education Matriculation Certificate in Science can be considered for entry to year one of Biosciences, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.

Certificates in Accountancy

Students with Certificates in Accountancy can be considered for entry to year one of the Accountancy, Economics, and Money, Banking and Finance programmes, provided a minimum GPA of 3.5 is obtained. In addition, a candidate must reach the appropriate level of English requirement for the particular course.

Canadian Pre-University (Ontario Grade 13)

A pass in 6 OACs (minimum of three at grade B, and three at grade C) is generally acceptable for admission to the first year of an undergraduate programme, although, some programmes may require higher grades.

South Australia Matriculation Programme (SAM)

For candidates offering the South Australian Matriculation qualification, a TER of between 90 to 98 is required.

Diploma and certificate

If you have completed a 2 year certificate or diploma at a local college, you may be considered for admission to undergraduate programmes in some subjects.

If you have obtained a 3 year diploma it is sometimes possible to gain 'advance standing' to the second year of some undergraduate programmes.

Unified Examination Certificate (UEC)

Holders of the UEC may be considered for entry onto the first year of an undergraduate degree course (except Medicine & Surgery or Dentistry) on the following basis:

Where a specific subject is required the following grades should be attained:  A Level grade A* -  UEC grade A1, A Level grade A - UEC grade A2, A Level grade B - UEC grade B3.  Where Maths A Level is required UEC Advanced Maths (I) or (II) should be provided at the appropriate grade.

For all courses not requiring A Level Maths UEC Maths must be studied, the grade required will vary by programme (C8 required for most programmes, some may require B6 or B3).

Direct entry to second year

Taylor's university.

The University has various twinning programmes with Taylor's University which can allow Taylors students entry into year 1, year 2 or year 3 of an Undergraduate Degree course, depending on their choice of subject and GPA score. Degree courses available through twinning agreements are: Biosciences, Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering.  We have a longstanding relationship with Taylor’s University (TU), and many students have joined us for a variety of Engineering and Computer Science programmes. Students from TU can enter Year 2, or Year 3 of a number of programmes. For more information please refer to the table below, or contact the TU University Placement Services office, or  [email protected] .

Students from UCSI are able to join Year 2 of the following Birmingham programmes:

• BEng or MEng Mechanical Engineering
• BEng or MEng Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

For more information please contact the UCSI Global Engagement Office, or  [email protected] .

INTI College and Prime College 

Students from INTI College and Prime College may be considered for direct entry to the second year of our Engineering programmes.

HELP Institute

Students from HELP Institute may be considered for direct entry to the second year of Computer Science programmes and those students completing the LSE Diploma may be admitted directly to the second year of Economics and Money, Banking and Finance programmes.

Direct entry from other colleges is unusual. If you are a student of any other college and you wish to be considered for second year entry, you must submit your full transcript and a copy of the syllabus you have followed so that we can assess your suitability.

• For Medicine country specific requirements, please visit our  Applying to Medicine website .

SPM 1119 or GCSE/IGCSE minimum grade C may be accepted for a range of programmes with a four year validity period. 

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the  Birmingham Foundation Academy , for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Holders of the Advanced Matriculation will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - AA (Advanced level) + AAA (Intermediate level to exclude Systems of Knowledge)  AAA - AA + AAB  AAB - AA + ABB  ABB - AB + BBB  BBB - BB + BBB  Subject specific requirements:  A* & A - A  B - B  NB no overall score given as of 2012.

Applicants with a GCSE English grade 4/C equivalent or a degree from the University of Malta are exempt from taking an English proficiency test.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), the French Baccalaureate, or a suitable foundation programme, such as our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes English language at grade C or above in the CIE O Level or Cambridge High School Certificate is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes Mauritian nationals with a degree from Mauritius or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

• For Dentistry, please see the general entry requirements listed on the Dental Surgery course page .

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB). Holders of the Diplôme du Baccalauréat / Diplôme du Baccalauréat Technique (School Certificates) are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate programmes without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

A High School Leaving Certificate is not sufficient for undergraduate courses. Applicants for UG study will require additional qualifications, such as A Levels or the IB.

Holders of the Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO - University Preparatory Education) Diploma (Gymnasium A/B and Atheneum A/B) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 8.0  AAA - 7.7  AAB - 7.5  ABB - 7.2  BBB - 7.0  Subject specific requirements:  A* - 8.5  A - 8  B - 7.5 

NB Grades 9-10 rarely awarded

We may accept your English language grade from the Dutch Voorbereidend Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs (VWO) diploma if you achieved 8 (good) in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

The University has a number of agreements with foundation providers in Nigeria which allows students to be considered for admission to undergraduate programmes. Please contact us for more information.

Students who have completed the first year of a 4-year Bachelor degree from a recognised institution in Nigeria with excellent grades (2.1, 3.0/4.0, 3.5/5.0) will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes (first year entry).

For Postgraduate programmes, Nigerian nationals with a degree from Nigeria or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

Holders of the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering (VVO – Upper Secondary School Leaving Certificate) with a minimum overall average score of 4/6 will be considered for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes.

Please refer to the information below as guidance for grade comparisons to A-level entry requirements:

A*AA = 5.0 overall in the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering AAA = 4.5 overall in the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering AAB = 4.5 overall in the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering ABB = 4.0 overall in the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering BBB = 4.0 overall in the Vitnemål for Videregående Opplaering 

Specific subject requirements: A*= 6, A=5, B=4

For GCSE, from the lower school leaving certificate (first year of the Vitnemål), the same equivalences would apply.

We may accept your English language grade from the Norwegian Vitnemål fra den Videregående Skole if you achieved 3 in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Thanawiyan are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

We will consider students who have taken A Level examinations and/or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes. We will also consider students who have successfully completed a Bachelors (Honours) degree of at least two years duration. Degrees must be from a Higher Education Commission recognised institution in Pakistan.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Tawijihi are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

Candidates from Paraguay generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) Título de Bachillerato Científico plus a recognised foundation programme  Candidates who have completed the Título Intermedio (2-3 years) can be considered for first and/or second year entry, depending on subject fit.

Candidates from Peru generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) a recognised foundation programme or c) successfully completed the first year of the Título de Licenciado with at least 13/20.

Holders of the Matura / Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci (Secondary School Certificate) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - 90%, 85%, 85% (extended level subjects) plus 75% overall  AAA - 85%, 85%, 85% (extended level subjects) plus 75% overall  AAB - 85%, 85%, 80% (extended level subjects) plus 70% overall  ABB - 85%, 80%, 80% (extended level subjects) plus 70% overall  BBB - 80%, 80%, 80% (extended level subjects) plus 70% overall  Subject specific requirements at extended level:  A* - 90%  A - 85%  B - 80%

Holders of the Certificado de fim de Estudos Secundários / Diploma de Ensino Secundario (previously Certificado do 12 ano) will be considered with the following grade equivalencies: 

A*AA - 18/20 overall with 19, 18, 18 in 3 year 12 subjects  AAA - 18/20 with 18, 18, 18 in 3 year 12 subjects  AAB - 17/20 with 18, 18, 17 in 3 year 12 subjects ABB - 17/20 with 18, 17, 17 in 3 year 12 subjects  BBB 17/20 with 17, 17, 17 in 3 year 12 subjects 

Subject specific requirements: 

A* - 19  A - 18  B - 17 

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Qatar High School Certificate, or the Thanawiyan Mustaqala are not usually eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without the completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

Holders of the Diploma de Bacalaureat with a minimum overall score of 8/10 will be considered for entry to the first year of our undergraduate degree programmes.  Please refer to the information below as guidance for grade comparisons to A-level entry requirements:  A*AA - 9  AAA – 8.5  AAB - 8.3  ABB - 8  BBB - 7.5  Specific subject requirements:  A*/A - 9  B - 8

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as the  Birmingham International Academy , for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

The University will consider students who have taken A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB) or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Thanawiyah are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without the completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), West African Higher School Certificate (WAHSC), Cambridge Overseas Higher School Certificate COHSC), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

For Postgraduate programmes, Sierra Leonean nationals with a degree from Sierra Leone or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

Students with suitable grades at A level or International Baccalaureate (IB) may be considered for entry to an undergraduate degree programme.

Students who have successfully completed a Polytechnic Diploma may be considered for entry to our undergraduate degree programmes (applicable subjects only). Students who achieve a B grade average or above with good scores in relevant subjects can be considered for direct entry to the second year. Students who achieve a C grade average should be considered for year one entry (a few exemptions apply for certain departments).

The University has established Advance Standing Agreements with 5 Polytechnics in Singapore (Singapore, Ngee Ann, Temasek, Nanyang, Republic) which provide guidelines for some of the Diplomas we will accept and scores required by certain departments (Business, Life Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science). Please contact your institution for further information. Departments that are not part of this list can still consider Diplomas for entry to undergraduate programmes. Diplomas that are not on the list will be considering on an individual basis and may require you to provide further details such as the curriculum and module transcripts to identify suitability.

Holders of the "Vysvedcenie o Maturitnej skúska/Maturita" will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA: 1/výborný in four subjects (if any other subjects have been taken they must be graded no lower than 2)  AAA: 1/výborný in three subjects, other subject(s) taken must be graded no lower than 2  AAB: 1/výborný in two subjects, other subjects taken must be graded no lower than 2  ABB: 1/výborný in one subject, other subjects taken must be graded no lower than 2  BBB: 2 in all subjects   Subject specific requirements:  A* & A - 1  B - 2

Holders of the "Maturitetno Spricevalo"/"Matura"/Secondary School-Leaving Diploma/Technical Matura will be considered with the following grade equivalencies:  A*AA - Total score of 28/34  AAA - 27/34  AAB - 26/34  ABB - 24/34  BBB - 22/34  Required subjects need to have been at Higher Level:  A* - 8  A - 7  B - 6

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes. Applicants who hold the South African National Senior Certificate (SA NSC or IEB) (or pre-2008 the Senior Certificate with matriculation) will be considered for entry onto our undergraduate degree programmes. Students need these grades in 5 subjects, not including Life Orientation.

Grade equivalencies are as follows: A*AA = 77766 AAA = 77666 AAB = 76666 ABB-BBB = 66666

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English language at grade 5 (or C) or above in the South African National Senior Certificate (SA NSC or IEB) (or pre-2008 in the Senior Certificate) is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, South African nationals with a degree from South Africa or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

Students with A levels, the International Baccalaureate, a 2 year Junior College Diploma, the NCUK International Foundation Year, a suitable foundation programme, or one or two years of university level study at a recognised institution in South Korea will be considered for entry to an undergraduate degree programme. Students need a sufficiently high score in their Diploma or University level study (3.0+/4.0 or 3.2+/4.5).

Holders of the Título de Bachillerato will be considered for undergraduate programmes with the following grade equivalencies:

A*AA - 9.0 AAA - 8.5 AAB - 8.2 ABB - 8.0 BBB - 7.7

Required subjects must be studied in Year 2 of the Bachillerato and the subject grade equivalencies are:

A* - 10/9 A - 9 B - 8

The Sri Lankan system is based on the English system. Holders of the Sri Lankan A-Levels will be considered for undergraduate programmes as an equivalent to GCE A levels. We accept local or Cambridge A Levels for entry.

Please note however that grading systems for local A Levels are as follows:

A = A grade B = B grade C = Credit S = Simple pass

For Medicine country specific requirements, please visit our Applying to Medicine website. For Dentistry, please see the general entry requirements listed on the Dental Surgery course page

Holders of the Fullständigt Slutbetyg från Gymnasieskolan / Slutbetyg från Komvux / Avgangsbetyg (previously Studentexamen) with the following grade equivalencies: A*AA: 10 subjects at A and the remainder at B. AAA: 10 subjects at A and the remainder at B. AAB: 9 subjects at A and the remainder at B. ABB: Majority of subjects at A, remainder at B BBB: Majority of subjects at B. Subject specific requirements: A*/A - A B - B 

We may accept your English language grade from the Swedish Fullständigt Slutbetyg från Gymnasieskolan/ Slutbetyg från Komvux / Avgangsbetyg if you achieved Grade C in English (numerical grade 15). Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

Holders of the Federal Maturity Certificate/ Maturitatszeugnis can be considered for entry to year 1 of our undergraduate degrees. Grade equivalences: AAA* = 5.0 overall to include 5.5 in one subject and 5.0 in two further subjects AAA = 4.8 overall to include 5.0 in 3 subjects AAB-ABB = 4.8 overall to include 5.0 in 2 subjects BBB = 4.8 overall to include 5.0 in 1 subject Grade requirement for required subjects: A* = 5.5 A/B = 5.0

We may accept your English language grade from the Swiss Maturitätzeugnis / Certificat de Maturité / Attestato di Maturità (federal maturity certificate or federally-recognised cantonal maturity certificate) if you achieved 5 (gut / bien / bene) in English. Please note this is only valid for 2 academic years after qualification. 

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Thanewiyah are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

We will consider students who have taken A Level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Students with 2 year Junior College Diplomas may be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme, where the college is recognised by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan and/or the BTCO and where the student achieves a sufficiently high score overall.

Students with 5 year Junior College Diplomas may be considered for entry to the first and/or second year of an undergraduate degree programme, where the college is recognised by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan and/or the BTCO and where the student achieves a sufficiently high score overall.

Students who hold the East African Advanced Certificate of Education (EAACE), Advanced Certificate of Secondary Education (ACSE), Cambridge Higher School Certificate (COHSC) and National Form VI Examination will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

For study on our Foundation and Undergraduate programmes, English language at grade C or above in the ACSE is sufficient to meet the standard English language requirements.

For Postgraduate programmes, Tanzanian nationals with a degree from Tanzania or another English speaking country (as on the University's approved list) are not required to submit an English Language test.

We will consider:

• GCE A Level we will usually consider students with 3 good subjects
• International Baccalaureate (IB) we will normally consider students with 32 points overall for entrance to most of our undergraduate programmes, certain courses will require specific grades and subjects at Higher Level
• High School Certificate (M6) and a recognised one year foundation qualification may be considered
• One or two years of university level study at a recognised university in Thailand, with a sufficiently high score overall in their university level study (3.0+/4.0), may be considered for entry to an undergraduate degree programme.

Candidates from Caribbean and West Indies generally require The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE).

The University will consider students who have grades required are I – II in six CAPE units, including 2 double-unit level courses with a minimum of II in each of these double-unit courses. The requirement for a subject taken to include I for A (A-level equivalent) and II for a B (A-level equivalent) in any required subject.

For any courses that accept general studies, we will consider the Caribbean studies and Communication Studies additional to the 2 double-unit level courses, to make up the six required units.

Candidates offering an Associate degree from a recognised institution may also be considered for entry to the first year of an undergraduate degree programme. We would typically require a minimum GPA of 3.0 to include high grades in relevant and required subjects.

For Engineering and Physical Sciences degree programmes that require an A level in Mathematics, we require CAPE Pure Mathematics.  

The University will consider students who have taken A level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes.  Students educated in the Philippine system require at least two years post-high school education at a recognised institution before entering a Bachelors degree programme at Birmingham.  Many students who have studied in the Philippines have followed a 12 year education system. For admission onto an undergraduate degree programme, the University of Birmingham requires all applicants to have studied for 13 years, and therefore you may need to take a foundation year before commencing your undergraduate programme.  We will consider students for entry to the Birmingham International Academy who have completed their first year at a recognised institution in the Philippines and obtained good grades in all subject areas. 

The University will consider students who have taken the Lise Diplomasi and a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our  Foundation Pathways , or GCE A Level examinations, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to our undergraduate programmes.

Students who have taken the Lise Diplomasi or Lise Bitirme Diplomasi from certain schools will be considered for entry to our undergraduate degree programmes.  The scores required in grade 12 on the high school diploma vary according to the A level requirement for that programme:

Alternatively students who have also taken SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and AP (Advanced Placement) tests will be considered for admission to Bachelor degree programmes.  For more details on SAT and AP requirements please refer to the USA country page. 

We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entry onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Tawjihiyya are not usually eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways.

Pre-sessional programmes

The Birmingham International Academy (BIA) also offers pre-sessional English courses, which you can take to improve your spoken and written English in preparation for academic study. If you have a conditional offer you can attend one of these courses instead of retaking IELTS.

Our pre-sessional programmes

The University will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examinations, the International Baccalaureate (IB), the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), Cambridge Overseas Higher School Certificate, East African Advanced Certificate of Education or a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our Foundation Pathways, for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

Applicants from the USA can  meet Maths and English (UK-GCSE) requirements with the following. We require Maths and English (or similar e.g. Calculus, Algebra) from any of the following: AP (min grade 4), SAT S/II (min score 650), Honours classes or College-level course (min B+), HSD (pass grade at grade 12 level), ACT composite score (min 28), SAT-R (min score 670), International Baccalaureate English, Standard or Higher Level, First or Second Language (min grade 5). Other English language requirements can be found here .

Applicants studying A levels or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, will be eligible for direct entry if you meet your chosen programme’s entry requirements.

Alternatively, applicants should satisfy the following:

1. A minimum score of 3.2/4.0 GPA on the High School Diploma (HSD) (non-weighted )

2. Three distinct subject tests are required from a combination of either: (These options can be used in various combinations to meet our standard 3 subject A level requirement)

• International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level (HL) Subject Tests
• Advanced Placement tests (APs)
• Honours classes (Year 11/12-(1 year duration)
• College Level /dual level classes (academic, full year)
• SAT II Subject Tests (prior to being discontinued in Jan 2021)

To offer greater flexibility, one of the following tests can be used to replace one of the three subject test requirements listed above:  (for a specific subject requirement this would not be accepted)

Composite ACT with a score of 28+ to replace one subject test ( not accepted to replace a subject requirement. )

• SAT-R with a score of 1350+ to replace one subject test ( not to replace a subject requirement. )  (SAT superscores are not accepted)

For example:

(For a course that requires: A level AAA (with no specific subject requirements).  This means you could present with an HSD (3.3) + ACT (28), AP History (5) and an Honours Earth/Environmental Science (A).)

( For a course that requires: A levels AAB (A level Mathematics required). This means you could present with an HSD 3.2+, 2 subject test and as A level Mathematics is required AP Calculus BC.)                                                                      

A table of accepted A level grade equivalents can be found below. Use this table to work out the equivalents to the A level entry requirements to your preferred course(s).

• Where a certain A-level subject is required for entry to the course students must present with a suitable subject test, or have studied that subject at Community College, at a USA University or during their Associate’s degree.  (We advise that you look at the  course pages  and select entry requirements to find out if there are specific subject requirements)
• For subjects requiring A-level Mathematics applicants must present with AP Calculus BC or International Baccalaureate HL Mathematics.  (We do not accept AP Calculus AB to fulfil this requirement). Please check the individual course pages for our typical A-level requirements and see below for the corresponding scores.
• IB Higher Level (HL) Subject Tests  should be shown on the transcript or through a certificate.
• Advanced Placement tests (APs)  should be the certified test, we will not accept just the classes. 
• Honours classes (Year 11/12-(1 year duration)  these should be shown on a HSD transcript named as 'H' Honours', 'Hons' and to be taken in the USA.
• College Level /dual level classes (academic, full year)  should be shown on a transcript or certificate and named as academic subject (rather than practical or recreational) to be taken in the USA.

As an alternative to the above HSD and 3 tests, we can accept an Associate’s Degree, or one year at a Community College or a USA University to be accepted onto the first year of an  undergraduate degree. 

Entry requirements for Medicine and Surgery MBChB :  SAT1 score of 1380 or ACT score of 29. Three AP subjects at grade 5, including Biology and Chemistry or three SAT subject test scores of 700, 700 and 700, including Biology and Chemistry. We will also accept appropriate combinations of SAT and AP scores (We cannot accept other test for this programme)

• For Medicine country specific requirements, please visit our Applying to Medicine website  look for International Applicants.
• Our BNurs -Adult courses detail international entry requirements and useful tips. 

As a reminder you don't need to have completed all of these tests to apply through  UCAS . So our admissions team can fully review your application, please include your already achieved academic qualifications and tests up to your senior year (including all target/predicted results for tests you are yet to complete)   in the Education section of UCAS. 

The Designated Institution Code for College Board: The University of Birmingham is 7390.

We are registered with  ACT , therefore if you wish to provide your qualifications to us you can find our details on their website.

Applicants from the USA may already meet the English language  requirement (UK-GCSE equivalent ) through one of the following English  related tests:  SAT II Subject test (min score 650), AP (min grade 4),  Honours classes or College-level course (min B+), HSD (pass grade at grade 12 level), ACT English composite score (min 28), SAT-R Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (min score 670), International Baccalaureate English, Standard or Higher Level, First or Second Language (min grade 5). Other English language requirements can be found  here .

We will consider students who have taken A level examinations and the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to undergraduate programmes.  Holders of the Certificate of Secondary Education (Attestat o srednem obrazovanii) at grade 11 and a suitable foundation programme (or 2 years study at a recognised higher education institution) will be considered for entry to our Bachelor degree programmes.  For more information on our foundation programme, please visit the  Foundation Pathways  website.

Candidates from Venezuela generally require a) A levels or IB Diploma or b) a recognised foundation programme or c) successfully completed the first year of the Licenciatura/Título with 70% or equivalent overall.

• GCE A Level in three acceptable subjects, certain courses will require specific grades and subjects.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) with 32 points overall for entrance to most of our undergraduate programmes, certain courses will require specific grades and subjects at Higher Level.
• Students who have completed the first year of a University programme in Vietnam will be considered for direct entry of the undergraduate programme at the University of Birmingham.

Students holding the Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC) or ZIMSEC A Levels will be considered for entrance to undergraduate programmes.

IB Diploma : 6,6,5 in Higher level subjects plus 32 points overall, to include Literature or Literature and Language at HL 5.

• BTEC Extended Diploma: DDM, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s mentioned above.
• BTEC Diploma: DD, plus a B at A level in the required subject/s mentioned above.
• BTEC Subsidiary Diploma: D, plus AB at A level, including the required subject/s mentioned above.

Other qualifications are considered - learn more about entry requirements .

Alternative offers through our Pathways to Birmingham programmes and our Contextual Offer scheme

Students who are eligible and successfully complete a Pathways to Birmingham programme will receive special consideration from admissions tutors and an alternative offer (typically two grades below the standard offer). In addition, our Contextual Offer Scheme recognises the potential of students whose personal circumstances may have restricted achievement in school or college. If you are eligible to benefit from the contextual offer scheme, you will receive an offer which is one grade lower than the standard offer.

International Students

We welcome applications from international students and invite you to join our vibrant community of over 4500 international students who represent 150 different countries. We accept a range of qualifications, our country pages show you what qualifications we accept from your country.

Depending on your chosen course of study, you may also be interested in one of our foundation pathways, which offer specially structured programmes for international students whose qualifications are not accepted for direct entry to UK universities. Further details can be found on Birmingham International Academy web pages .

You will have access to a comprehensive support system to help you make the transition to higher education when you start at Birmingham. 

Personal tutors – You will be assigned your own personal tutor who will get to know you as you progress through your studies. They will provide academic support and advice to enable you to make the most of your time here at Birmingham.

Wellbeing Officers –You will also have access to dedicated wellbeing officers who provide professional support, advice and guidance to students across a range of issues. They can meet with you to discuss extensions, disabilities, reasonable adjustments, extenuating circumstances, or to talk through any problems you might be experiencing, and help you access wider support on campus and beyond if you need it.

Our Academic Skills Centre helps you to become a more effective and independent learner through a range of high-quality support services. The centre offers workshops on a range of topics, such as note-taking, reading, academic writing and presentation skills.

The Academic Writing Advisory Service (AWAS) provides guidance on writing essays and dissertations if you need it. You can receive individual support from an academic writing advisor and meet with postgraduate tutors who specialise in particular subjects too.

Our Student Experience Team will help you get the most out of your academic experience. They offer research opportunities, study skills support, and help you prepare for your post-university career. They also organise social events, including trips.

Teaching staff

Students at the University of Birmingham are taught by a mixture of professors, senior lecturers, lecturers and doctoral researchers, thereby receiving a rich diversity of academic knowledge and experience. Many of our teaching staff have published important works about their areas of expertise, whilst others have taught at international institutions and can offer unique perspectives of their subjects.

You can find out more about the members of staff (including their qualifications, publication history and specific areas of interest) in their academic profiles linked below.

• Staff in English Literature
• Staff in English Language and Linguistics
• Staff in Film and Creative Writing

Contact Hours

All Birmingham degrees are set within a credit framework designed to measure your academic achievements. We expect all students to accumulate 120 credits in each full year of study which is equivalent to 40 hours of learning a week. Learning is considered to include contact learning (lectures and seminars), private study, revision and assessment.

For this programme, those 40 hours are estimated to be broken down and split into lectures, seminars and other guided teaching opportunities and then independent study. This is a general rule across the entire academic year and may change week by week.

• Year 1 : 20% Lectures, seminars or similar and 80% Independent study
• Year 2: 15% Lectures, seminars or similar and 85% Independent study
• Year 3: 10% Lectures, seminars or similar and 90% Independent study

Assessment Methods

Assessments - you will be assessed in a variety of ways to help you transition to a new style of learning. At the beginning of each module, you will be given information on how and when you will be assessed. Assessments methods will vary with each module and could include:

• coursework, such as essays
• group and individual presentations

Feedback - you will receive feedback on each assessment within three weeks, so you can learn from each assignment. You will also be given feedback on any exams that you take. If you should fail an exam, we will ensure that particularly detailed feedback is provided to help you prepare for future exams.

Studying for BA English and Creative Writing at the University of Birmingham is an unparalleled opportunity to engage with a diverse cultural, textual and linguistic discipline, at the same time as developing your own writing 'voice' and 'genre'.

You may go on to a career as a novelist, screenwriter, poet or journalist, but of course the skill of writing also qualifies you for a wide range of other careers. Whatever path you choose, you will also find the practical skills that you have acquired on your degree course extremely useful such as oral presentation, professional documentation, group work and the uses of information technology. 

Our graduates have started careers with employers including the BBC, Headline Publishing Group, Mirror Group Newspapers and Oxford University Press, in roles such as account executive, editorial assistant, marketing assistant and sales and events coordinator. Many of our graduates pursue postgraduate study to specialise in an academic area or prepare for careers such as law and teaching.

Developing your career

The University of Birmingham is the top choice for the UK's major employers searching for graduate recruits, according to The Graduate Market 2024 report . Our Careers Network are here to offer you tailored, expert advice on your career plans and support you with finding and applying for jobs, internships and further study. There are hundreds of events to help you meet potential employers and learn more about the breadth of opportunities and career sectors available to you.

Support will be offered to you covering the whole job application process, including CVs, LinkedIn, application forms, interviews and assessment centres.  You can also email our experienced Careers Advisors and College Teams to review your applications or answer any careers related question, alongside our on campus and online 1:1 appointments.

We have a number of exclusive Internship Programmes such as our Cultural Internship, which will give you paid, professional experience to set you apart in the graduate market. We also offer work experience bursaries, which allow you to apply for funding to support you during any unpaid internships. 

First years can take part in The Birmingham Project , with themes including celebrating arts and culture and shaping a global society. There’s also a successful Mentoring Programme , where you can gain access to experienced Mentors who can empower, inspire and inform you about their experiences.  As a University of Birmingham student you will also be given access to LinkedIn Learning giving free access to real world training courses to kick-start your careers.

If you want to earn money WorkLink advertises convenient part-time job opportunities on campus to fit round your studies.  

Extra-curricular activities

To enhance your career prospects even further, you may want to engage in extra-curricular activities to broaden your skills and your network of contacts. Our employer-endorsed, award-winning Personal Skills Award (PSA) recognises your extra-curricular activities, and provides an accredited employability programme.

There are more than 500 student groups and volunteering opportunities offered by the Guild of Students (our Students’ Union) so you’re bound to find activities that you want to be involved in whilst meeting friends who share your interests.

• Check your eligibility
• Student life

• Schools & departments

Creative Writing MSc

Awards: MSc

Funding opportunities

Programme website: Creative Writing

The community has been one of my favourite parts. The department has very warm and encouraging staff. Some of my classmates are now close friends, and we still workshop stories across time zones, and complain to each other about writing - and not writing! Bhavika Govil, prize-winning fiction writer MSc in Creative Writing, 2020

Discovery Day

Join us online on 21st August to learn more about postgraduate study at Edinburgh.

Find out more and register

Programme description

Based in the first UNESCO World City of Literature, this one-year, full-time taught Masters programme is tailored towards your practice in either fiction or poetry.

There is a strong practical element to the programme, helping you develop your creative skills through:

• presenting your work for peer discussion
• hearing from guest writers and other professionals on the practicalities of life as a writer

You will also sharpen your critical skills through:

• seminars exploring the particulars of your chosen form
• option courses in literature, helping you move from theoretical considerations to practical applications

The programme culminates with the publication of ‘From Arthur’s Seat,’ an anthology of student work.

Why Edinburgh

Literature has been taught here for over 250 years, and today Edinburgh thrives on its designation as the first UNESCO World City of Literature. The city is home to the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Poetry Library, and a number of celebrated publishing outlets, from Canongate and Polygon, to Luath Press, Birlinn and Mariscat. The University hosts the prestigious James Tait Black Awards, established in 1919 and one of the oldest literary prizes in Britain.

There are lots of opportunities to write and share your work, from ‘The Student,’ the UK’s oldest student newspaper (founded in 1887 by Robert Louis Stevenson), to The Selkie, which was founded by Creative Writing students in 2018 to showcase work by people who self-identify as underrepresented.

Around the city, you will find:

• library readings and bookshop launches
• spoken word gigs
• cabaret nights
• poetry slams

Edinburgh isn’t just historic – it’s a modern hub for literature. That’s part of what makes the city great for writing.

Austin Crowley, MSc in Creative Writing, 2023

We team teach our programme so that you benefit from the input of a range of tutors, as well as your fellow students and our Writer in Residence, the poet and author Michael Pedersen, who also co-ordinates a range of student writing prizes and our annual industry and networking event.

The academic staff you will be working with are all active researchers or authors, including well-published and prize-winning writers of poetry, prose fiction and drama. They include:

• Dr Jane Alexander - Fiction
• Dr Lynda Clark
• Dr Patrick Errington - Poetry/Fiction
• Dr Miriam Gamble - Poetry
• Professor Alan Gillis - Poetry
• Dr Jane McKie - Poetry
• Dr Allyson Stack - Fiction
• Kim Sherwood - Fiction
• Alice Thompson - Fiction

Programme structure

Over the duration of the programme, you will:

• take two core courses, both worth 40 credits
• two optional courses chosen from a wide range of subjects, both worth 20 credits

The core activities in Creative Writing are:

• tutor-led workshops, in which you will present your work-in-progress and critique the work of your fellow students
• regular seminars exploring techniques and issues specific to your practice (either fiction or poetry) and the statements and theories of practitioners

Optional courses

We have a large number of option courses to choose from, including preferred courses for fiction and poetry (which will be offered to Creative Writing students in the first instance), and courses from across the Department of English Literature and the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures.

Visiting speakers

Throughout the programme, you will be expected to attend readings and talks by visiting speakers. Early on, these will be from published writers and, later, advisors from the writing business: literary agents, magazine editors and publishers.

Dissertation

The final element of the programme is your dissertation, a piece of creative writing (worth 60 credits) written with the advice and support of a designated supervisor.

Fiction dissertations are between 15,000 words and 20,000 words, and poetry dissertations between 25 and 30 pages.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this course, you should be able to:

• identify, conceptualise and define formal elements of craft in your chosen field (poetry or fiction) within published works and within works by your peers
• remain open to criticism and respond effectively and creatively to feedback on your own creative work
• work from initial conception through multiple drafts to the final version of a creative piece within your chosen field (fiction or poetry)
• transfer editorial skills and creative abilities from one context to another
• analyse creative works within your chosen field (fiction or poetry), work with a focus on craft effectiveness, and articulate strengths and weaknesses in a piece of writing in a constructive manner

Career opportunities

Over the course of this programme, you will complete a body of creative work that has been rigorously peer reviewed.

Our students go on to careers in a wide variety of fields, including:

• arts administration
• web and audio book editing
• script and ghost writing
• gaming narrative design

Some decide to extend their studies and take a PhD with us.

Many of our alumni go on to achieve literary success, publishing novels and short story and poetry collections, and winning awards. Our graduates’ recent successes include:

debut novels from:

• Amanda Block (The Lost Storyteller, published by Hodder Studio)
• Karin Nordin (Where Ravens Roost, published by Harper Collins)
• Marielle Thompson (Where Ivy Dares to Grow, published by Kensington Books)
• August Thomas (Liar’s Candle, published by Simon and Schuster)
• Rosie Walker (Secrets of a Serial Killer, published by One More Chapter)
• Mark Wightman (Waking the Tiger, published by Hobeck Books and shortlisted for Scottish Crime Debut of the Year 2021)

debut short story collections from:

• Dayle Furlong (Lake Effect, published by Cormorant Books)
• Dima Alzayat (Alligator and Other Stories, shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award for Fiction)
• a non-fiction debut from Sonali Misra (21 Fantastic Failures, published by Rupa Publications India)

debut poetry collections from:

• Rebecca Tamás (WITCH, published by Penned in the Margins)
• Naomi Morris (Hyperlove, published by Makina Books)
• Aileen Ballantyne (Taking Flight, published by Luath Press)
• the 2022 Edwin Morgan Poetry Award, won by Alyson Kissner
• the 2021 Brotherton Poetry Prize, won by Lauren Pope
• the 2021 Pontas & JJ Bola Emerging Writers Prize, won by Bhavika Govil

Meet our graduates

From Arthur’s Seat – stories from the heart of Edinburgh

Tim Tim Cheng

• Bhavika Govil
• Dima Alzayat

What's the best type of masters programme for you?

Entry requirements.

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in any discipline. This will often be in a directly related subject like English Literature/Creative Writing, but we welcome applicants from all academic backgrounds.

Applicants who are entered into selection will be asked to provide a sample of written work to enable their suitability for the programme to be assessed.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

• Fees and costs

Read our general information on tuition fees and studying costs:

Scholarships and funding

Featured funding.

If you are intending to study full time on this Creative Writing programme, you are eligible for a William Hunter Sharpe Memorial Scholarship which will contribute towards your tuition fees.

You do not need to apply for this scholarship – all eligible candidates who apply for the programme by Monday 6 May 2024 will be considered for them and contacted if successful.

• Find out more about the William Hunter Sharpe Memorial Scholarship and other scholarships in literatures, languages and cultures

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s governments.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
• Contact: College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences Admissions Office
• School of Literatures, Languages & Cultures
• 50 George Square
• Central Campus
• Programme: Creative Writing
• School: Literatures, Languages & Cultures
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

This programme is not currently accepting applications. Applications for the next intake usually open in October.

Start date: September

Application deadlines

Due to high demand, the school operates a number of selection deadlines. We will make a small number of offers to the most outstanding candidates on an ongoing basis, but hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline when we will offer a proportion of the places available to applicants selected through a competitive process.

Please be aware that applications must be submitted and complete, i.e. all required documents uploaded, by the relevant application deadline in order to be considered in that round. Your application will still be considered if you have not yet met the English language requirement for the programme.

Deadlines for applicants applying to study in 2024/25:

(Revised 27 March 2024 to extend Round 3 application deadline)

• How to apply

The online application process involves the completion of a web form and the submission of supporting documents.

You should supply a portfolio of writing.

• For poetry, this should be six (6) pages of poetry, starting a new page for each new poem of 14 lines or over.
• For fiction, this should be a complete story or stories, or an equivalent amount from a longer work (between 2,500 and 3,500 words).

These are firm limits.

If you are undecided about whether to apply for fiction or poetry, you should send a sample of both, i.e. six (6) pages of poetry and 2,500-3,500 words of fiction (if offered a place it will be for one or the other).

Work in other forms (for example journalism, life writing or advertising) will not be considered.

Personal statement

When writing your personal statement, consider the following questions:

• What do you most hope to learn/gain from a Creative Writing degree, and why is ours the programme for you?
• Tell us about your writing: what are you interested in and why? Are there aspects of your current practice you're particularly proud of? Things you know you need to work on?

What (if any) prior experience do you have of studying Creative Writing?

Guidance on the application process and supporting documents

All supporting documents, including references, must be uploaded to the online application system by the deadline date.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Study Undergraduate

English literature and creative writing ba (ucas qw38).

22 September 2025

3 years full-time

Qualification

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Warwick Writing Programme

University of Warwick

Book an Open Day

Enquire now

Find out more about our English Literature and Creative Writing degree at Warwick

Studying English Literature and Creative Writing (BA) at Warwick will transform your understanding of literature, of yourself, and of the world. It will also fully prepare you to thrive in any profession that values intellectual rigour, creativity, and the ability to communicate a message that matters.

General entry requirements

A level typical offer.

AAA or A*AB to include grade A in English Literature or English Language and Literature (combined).

A level contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is ABB, including A in English Literature or English Language and Literature (combined). See if you’re eligible.

General GCSE requirements

Unless specified differently above, you will also need a minimum of GCSE grade 4 or C (or an equivalent qualification) in English Language and either Mathematics or a Science subject. Find out more about our entry requirements and the qualifications we accept. We advise that you also check the English Language requirements for your course which may specify a higher GCSE English requirement. Please find the information about this below.

IB typical offer

36 to include 6 at Higher Level in English Literature or combined English Language and Literature.

IB contextual offer

We welcome applications from candidates who meet the contextual eligibility criteria and whose predicted grades are close to, or slightly below, the contextual offer level. The typical contextual offer is 32 including grade 6 in Higher Level English Literature or English Language and Literature (combined). See if you’re eligible.

Other UK qualifications

We welcome applications from students taking BTECs alongside A level English Literature or English Language and Literature (combined).

Scotland Advanced Highers

AA in two Advanced Highers including English, and AAB in three additional Highers subjects.

Welsh Baccalaureate

AAB in three subjects at A level including A in English Literature or English Language and Literature (combined) plus grade C in the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate.

Access to Higher Education Diplomas

We will consider applicants returning to study who are presenting a QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma on a case-by-case basis.

Typically, we require 45 Credits at Level 3, including Distinction in 33 Level 3 credits and Merit in 12 Level 3 Credits. We may also require subject specific credits or an A level to be studied alongside the Access to Higher Education Diploma to fulfil essential subject requirements.

International qualifications

• English Language requirements

All applicants have to meet our English Language requirements Link opens in a new window . If you cannot demonstrate that you meet these, you may be invited to take part in our Pre-sessional English course at Warwick Link opens in a new window .

This course requires: Band B

Learn more about our English Language requirements Link opens in a new window .

Frequently asked questions

Contextual data and differential offers.

Warwick may make differential offers to students in a number of circumstances. These include students participating in a Widening Participation programme or who meet the contextual data criteria .

Differential offers will usually be one or two grades below Warwick’s standard offer.

Warwick International Foundation Programme (IFP)

All students who successfully complete the Warwick IFP and apply to Warwick through UCAS will receive a guaranteed conditional offer for a related undergraduate programme (selected courses only).

Find out more about standard offers and conditions for the IFP .

• Taking a gap year

We welcome applications for deferred entry.

We do not typically interview applicants. Offers are made based on your UCAS form which includes predicted and actual grades, your personal statement and school reference.

Course overview

Creative work can happen anywhere, but in our School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures you can learn the craft of writing and work with other emerging writers in a place of energy and ideas.

If you intend to pursue a career as an author, or to work in the creative industries or teaching, this practical course will teach you about the creative writing process and help you become a better reader, with a deeper understanding of literary history, literary theory and the past and future of creative writing. You will be taught by practising and award-winning writers, bridging the gap between academic and creative approaches to literature. Our course is number one for creative writing in the UK (The Times Good University Guide 2023) and has 91.7% overall student satisfaction in National Student Survey.

You will undertake real-world writing tasks and will regularly meet, engage with, and learn from industry professionals, including publishers, editors, literary agents, poets, and authors. Our graduates enter the world with advanced communicative, imaginative, and critical abilities, plus practical and vocational literary writing skills including composition, interpretation, and evaluation. In addition, you will develop argument, analysis and speaking skills, and a capacity for independent thought. Many of our graduates have become professional novelists, poets, dramatists, filmmakers, and performers.

Study abroad

As a student on our English degrees, you will have the opportunity to spend your third year at one of our partner institutions in Europe, China, or North America. You will then return to Warwick to complete your fourth and final year of your degree.

You will be able to apply to transfer to the four-year course when you are in your second year at Warwick, subject to availability of places from the University's International Office.

Core modules

In your first year you will gain the foundation you need to become a better reader and writer. In Modes of Writing, we explore writing in different forms, including poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and writing for performance and new media. Through studying Medieval and Early Modern Literature, you will appreciate the context of contemporary beliefs and social developments. Epic into Novel will give you an understanding of some of the great texts of classical and modern times. The Written World will introduce you to some of the ideas and themes in literary theory, with a particular focus on texts that are important to writers.

As a second year you will progress to Composition and Creative Writing, in which you explore and deepen your practice of fiction and non-fiction. You will take an English Literature module focusing on texts from before 1900 , as well as any module from English Literature, Creative Writing, or another University department.

In your final year you will progress to the Personal Writing Project, your opportunity to work one-to-one with a tutor on an extensive piece of writing in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting, or a genre of your choice. In addition, you will select a global literature module, as well as any module from English Literature, Creative Writing, or another University department.

Modes of Writing

This is a core module for first-year undergraduates reading for the degree QW38 English Literature and Creative Writing. The module is 100% fully assessed. The module complements The Written World and prepares you for the more specialist writing modules in years two and three such as Composition and Creative Writing, The Practice of Poetry, The Practice of Fiction and The Personal Writing Project. The module also complements other academic optional modules in which writing, imitation, rhetoric or translation may be practised or studied.

Read more about the Modes of Writing module Link opens in a new window , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Medieval and Early Modern Literature

Taking you from the mythical court of King Arthur to the real world of ambition, intrigue, and danger in the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, this module introduces you to early literature in a global context. You will study texts like Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales , Thomas More’s Utopia , Edmund Spenser’s The Faerie Queene , and Shakespeare’s sonnets to explore some of the period’s highest ideals—‘trawthe’ or integrity—as well as some of humanity’s darkest impulses: greed, deception, revenge, and desire.

Read more about the Medieval and Early Modern Literature module Link opens in a new window , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Epic into Novel

Tracking the transition from the epics of the ancient world to their incarnation as texts of modernity, this module introduces you to some of the most influential and formative works of world literature. You will study central texts of the classical world, such as Gilgamesh , Homer’s Iliad, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Catullus; ancient epics from India and Africa; Milton’s Paradise Lost ; as well as responses to ancient epic by Tennyson, Margaret Atwood, Seamus Heaney, and Maria Dahvana Headley. Reading across history and cultures, between languages and genres, you will develop the skills to analyse narrative, character, and style.

Read more about the Epic into Novel module Link opens in a new window , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

The Written World

This module will introduce students on the BA in English Literature and Creative Writing to ideas and theories from literary studies, linguistics, critical theory, translation studies and cultural studies that will underpin more specialised scholarly and creative study in the second and third years.

Read more about the The Written World module Link opens in a new window , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Composition and Creative Writing

You will develop your fiction and non-fiction writing through practice of the processes involved, from inception, through drafting and revision, to considerations of audience. You will gain insights into narrative form, including traditional and experimental methods.

Read more about the Composition and Creative Writing module Link opens in a new window , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Personal Writing Project

The Personal Writing Project will see you working closely with a practitioner to advance your technical and critical skills in the development of a portfolio of work focused on a specific genre. You will gain an appreciation of the research and methodology needed for large-scale creative works and in so doing, gain the maturity and confidence to advance your career as a professional writer.

Read more about the Personal Writing Project module , including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Optional modules

Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

• The Practice of Poetry
• The Practice of Fiction
• Screenwriting
• Advanced Screenwriting
• US Writing and Culture 1780-1920
• Romantic and Victorian Poetry
• The Seventeenth Century
• Game Theory: Interactive and Video Game Narratives

Assessment is a combination of creative projects, portfolios, essays, and optional performance. For example, in our Shakespeare and Selected Dramatists of his Time module, student creative work recently included film and radio adaptations, musical compositions, painting, sculpture and photography inspired by Shakespeare's texts.

Practising writers deliver teaching through workshops and seminars. Also, writers and publishers visit and engage with you at our weekly Warwick Thursdays events. Most core modules in your first year are taught through lectures and seminars. In your second and third years, optional modules are normally taught in seminars and workshops.

Working together, we seek to improve our students’ skills and confidence through writing workshops, peer review and live performances. You will be encouraged to attend and participate at spoken word events in the local area.

Class sizes

Targeted teaching with class sizes of 10 - 15 students (on average).

Typical contact hours

Guided learning of typically eight contact hours per week. Seminars are usually 1.5 hours each.

Tuition fees

Tuition fees cover the majority of the costs of your study, including teaching and assessment. Fees are charged at the start of each academic year. If you pay your fees directly to the University, you can choose to pay in instalments.

Home students

Undergraduate fees.

If you are a home student enrolling in 2024, your annual tuition fees will be £9,250 . In the future, these fees might change for new and continuing students.

2+2 course fees

If you are a home student enrolling in 2022 for a 2+2 course through the Centre for Lifelong Learning, your annual tuition fees will be £6,750 . In the future, these fees might change for new and continuing students.

How are fees set?

The British Government sets tuition fee rates.

Learn more about fees from UCAS Link opens in a new window .

Overseas students

If you are an overseas or EU student enrolling in 2024, your annual tuition fees will be as follows:

• Band 1 – £24,800 per year (classroom-based courses, including Humanities and most Social Science courses)
• Band 2 – £31,620 per year (laboratory-based courses, plus Maths, Statistics, Theatre and Performance Studies, Economics, and courses provided by Warwick Business School, with exceptions)

Fees for 2025 entry have not been set. We will publish updated information here as soon as it becomes available, so please check back for updates about 2025 fee rates before you apply.

Fee status guidance

We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Students will be classified as Home or Overseas fee status. Your fee status determines tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available. If you receive an offer, your fee status will be clearly stated alongside the tuition fee information.

Do you need your fee classification to be reviewed?

If you believe that your fee status has been classified incorrectly, you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire. Please follow the instructions in your offer information and provide the documents needed to reassess your status.

Find out more about how universities assess fee status. Link opens in a new window

Additional course costs

As well as tuition fees and living expenses, some courses may require you to cover the cost of field trips or costs associated with travel abroad.

For departmental specific costs, please see the Modules tab on this web page for the list of core and optional core modules with hyperlinks to our Module Catalogue Link opens in a new window (please visit the Department’s website if the Module Catalogue hyperlinks are not provided).

Associated costs can be found on the Study tab for each module listed in the Module Catalogue (please note most of the module content applies to 2024/25 year of study). Information about module specific costs should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below:

• Core text books
• Printer credits
• Dissertation binding
• Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Further information

Find out more about tuition fees from our Student Finance team .

Scholarships and bursaries

Learn about scholarships and bursaries available to undergraduate students.

We offer a number of undergraduate scholarships and bursaries to full-time undergraduate students. These include sporting and musical bursaries, and scholarships offered by commercial organisations.

Find out more about funding opportunities for full-time students. Link opens in a new window

International scholarships

If you are an international student, a limited number of scholarships may be available.

Find out more information on our international scholarship pages. Link opens in a new window

You may be eligible for financial help from your own government, from the British Council or from other funding agencies. You can usually request information on scholarships from the Ministry of Education in your home country, or from the local British Council office.

Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship

We believe there should be no barrier to talent. That's why we are committed to offering a scholarship that makes it easier for gifted, ambitious international learners to pursue their academic interests at one of the UK's most prestigious universities.

Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Global Excellence Scholarship. Link opens in a new window

Part-time fee waiver

Find out more about the Warwick scholarship for part-time students. Link opens in a new window

Warwick Bursary for low income students

We provide extra financial support for qualifying students from lower income families. The Warwick Undergraduate Bursary is an annual award of up to £3,000 per annum. It is intended to help with course-related costs and you do not have to pay it back.

Find out more about your eligibility for the Warwick Undergraduate Bursary. Link opens in a new window

Sanctuary scholarships for asylum seekers

As part of the 'City of Sanctuary' movement, we are committed to building a culture of hospitality and welcome, especially for those seeking sanctuary from war and persecution. We provide a range of scholarships to enable people seeking sanctuary or asylum to progress to access university education.

Find out more about the Warwick Undergraduate Sanctuary Scholarships for asylum seekers. Link opens in a new window

Find out more about Warwick undergraduate bursaries and scholarships.

Eligibility for student loans

Your eligibility for student finance will depend on certain criteria, such as your nationality and residency status, your course, and previous study at higher education level.

Check if you're eligible for student finance .

Home students residing in England

Tuition fee loan.

You can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your tuition fees. It is non-means tested, which means the amount you can receive is not based on your household income. The Loan is paid directly to the University so, if you choose to take the full Tuition Fee Loan, you won’t have to set up any payments.

Maintenance Loan for living costs

You can apply for a Maintenance Loan towards your living costs such as accommodation, food and bills. This loan is means-tested, so the amount you receive is partially based on your household income and whether you choose to live at home or in student accommodation.

Find out more about government student loans for home students residing in England. Link opens in a new window

Home students residing outside of England

Find out more about student funding for home students residing outside of England. Link opens in a new window

EU students

If you’re starting a course on or after 1 August 2021, you usually must have settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme Link opens in a new window to get student finance.

If you are an EU student and eligible for student finance you may be able to get a Tuition Fee Loan to cover your fees. It is non-means tested, which means the amount you may receive is not based on your household income. The Loan is paid directly to the University so, if you choose to take the full Tuition Fee Loan, you won't have to set up any payments.

Help with living costs

For the 2024 academic year, you may be eligible for help with your living costs if both of the following apply:

• You have lived in the UK for more than 3 years before the first day of the first academic year of your course
• You have Settled Status ( see further details on Settled Status) Link opens in a new window

If you are coming to the UK from 1st January 2021, you may need to apply for a visa Link opens in a new window to study here.

Please note: Irish citizens do not need to apply for a visa or to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Find out more about government student loans for EU students Link opens in a new window

Repaying your loans

You will repay your loan or loans gradually once you are working and earning above a certain amount (for students starting their course after 1 August 2023 the repayment threshold is £25,000). Repayments will be taken directly from your salary if you are an employee. If your income falls below the earnings threshold, your repayments will stop until your income goes back up above this figure.

Find out more about repaying your student loan. Link opens in a new window

Your career

Graduates from our course have gone on to work for employers including:

• Bloomsbury Publishing
• British Council
• Cambridge University Press
• Civil Service
• The Forward Poetry Foundation
• Pan Macmillan
• The Poetry Society
• Penguin/Random House
• Royal Opera House
• The Society of Authors
• The Sunday Times
• Teach First

They have pursued roles such as:

• Authors, writers, dramatists, poets, and translators
• Journalists, newspaper, and periodical editors
• Creative directors
• Arts officers, producers, and directors
• Musicians and composers
• Marketing associate professionals
• Academics and researchers
• Higher Education administrators

Helping you find the right career

Our staff have excellent links not only with other writers but also with publishing houses, literary journals and agencies, with national and regional organisations such as the Arts Council, PEN, and with other creative writing programmes both in Britain and in the USA. We also run the Young Writer of the Year Award jointly with The Sunday Times and host the prestigious Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.

Our School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures also has a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant to support you. They offer impartial advice and guidance, together with workshops and events throughout the year. Examples of workshops and events include:

• Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
• Careers in Publishing and Journalism
• Freelancing
• Careers in the Public Sector
• Warwick careers fairs throughout the year

Find out more about careers support at Warwick. Link opens in a new window

Welcome to the Warwick Writing Programme, an internationally acclaimed writing programme that attracts writers and literary translators from across the globe. If you join us you will immerse yourself in contemporary and experimental narratives, including screenwriting, literary translation, gaming, spoken word and fieldwork.

We foster and maintain excellent creative industry links and networks to enable our students to achieve their career ambitions. We are title partner for The Sunday Times and University of Warwick Young Writer of the Year Award, whose recent winners have included Raymond Antrobus, Adam Weymouth and Sally Rooney. We are also the home of the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.

Our teaching staff of novelists, poets, non-fiction writers, screenwriters and literary translators includes Lucy Brydon, A.L. Kennedy, Tim Leach, Nell Stevens, Maureen Freely, Gonzalo C. Garcia, David Morley, Dragan Todorovic and Jodie Kim.

Find out more about us on our website Link opens in a new window

Explore our new Faculty of Arts building

The department recently moved into the brand new £57.5 million Faculty of Arts building.

This means, as an Arts student at Warwick, you’ll find your home amongst brand new teaching, learning and social spaces, including specialist facilities, all designed to support collaborative working and to enable your creativity and innovation to flourish.

The sustainably built, eight-storey building is located next to the newly refurbished Warwick Arts Centre in the heart of the University’s creative and cultural arts quarter.

Explore our new Faculty of Arts building further.

Life at Warwick

Within a close-knit community of staff and students from all over the world, discover a campus alive with possibilities. A place where all the elements of your student experience come together in one place. Our supportive, energising, welcoming space creates the ideal environment for forging new connections, having fun and finding inspiration.

Accommodation

• Arts, Culture and Events
• Clubs and societies
• Food and drink
• Sports and Fitness
• Wellbeing support

Keep exploring life at Warwick

Find out how to apply to us, ask your questions, and find out more.

Warwick Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is key to helping you settle in quickly.

We have a range of residences for undergraduate students on campus.

Explore Warwick Accommodation

You won't be short of ways to spend your time on campus - whether it's visiting Warwick Arts Centre, using our incredible new sports facilities, socialising in our bars, nightclub and cafés, or enjoying an open-air event. Or if you need some peace and quiet, you can explore lakes, woodland and green spaces just a few minutes’ walk from central campus.

Explore our campus

We have lots of cafés, restaurants and shops on campus. You can enjoy great quality food and drink, with plenty of choice for all tastes and budgets. There is a convenience store on central campus, as well as two supermarkets and a small shopping centre in the nearby Cannon Park Retail Park. Several of them offer delivery services to help you stay stocked up.

And don't miss our regular food market day on the Piazza with tempting, fresh and delicious street food. Soak up the atmosphere and try something new, with mouth-watering food for all tastes.

Explore food and shops

Explore Students' Union venues

We currently have more than 300 student-run societies.

So whether you’re into films, martial arts, astronomy, gaming or musical theatre, you can instantly connect with people with similar interests.

Or you could try something new, or even form your own society.

Explore our societies

Sports and fitness

Staying active at Warwick is no sweat, thanks to our amazing new Sports and Wellness Hub, indoor and outdoor tennis centre, 60 acres of sports pitches, and more than 60 sports clubs.

Whether you want to compete, relax or just have fun, you can achieve your fitness goals.

Explore sports at Warwick

Studying on campus

Our campus is designed to cater for all of your learning needs.

You will benefit from a variety of flexible, well-equipped study spaces and teaching facilities across the University.

• The Oculus, our outstanding learning hub, houses state-of-the-art lecture theatres and innovative social learning and network areas.
• The University Library provides access to over one million printed works and tens of thousands of electronic journals
• Different study spaces offering you flexible individual and group study spaces.

Studying at Warwick

Travel and local area

Our campus is in Coventry, a modern city with high street shops, restaurants, nightclubs and bars sitting alongside medieval monuments. The Warwickshire towns of Leamington Spa and Kenilworth are also nearby.

The University is close to major road, rail and air links. London is just an hour by direct train from Coventry, with Birmingham a 20-minute trip. Birmingham International Airport is nearby (a 20-minute drive).

Travelling from campus

Wellbeing support and faith provision

Our continuous support network is here to help you adjust to student life and to ensure you can easily access advice on many different issues. These may include managing your finances and workload, and settling into shared accommodation. We also have specialist disability and mental health support teams.

Our Chaplaincy is home to Chaplains from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths. We provide regular services for all Christian denominations and a Shabbat meal every Friday for our Jewish students. There is also an Islamic prayer hall, halal kitchen and ablution facilities.

Student support

How to apply

Learn more about our application process.

Key dates for your application to Warwick.

Writing your personal statement

Make an impression and demonstrate your passion for your course.

After you've applied

Find out how we process your application.

Our Admission Statement

Read Warwick's Admission Statement

Useful links

• Access to Warwick degrees
• Contextual Offers
• Entry requirements
• Exemption from part of a degree
• Guidance for parents and carers
• International applicants
• Returners to study
• Students with disabilities
• Younger applicants

3 ways to connect

Join us at a live event. You can ask about courses, applying to Warwick, life at Warwick, visas and immigration, and more.

See event calendar Link opens in a new window

Warwick Experience

Take a virtual, student-led campus tour. Then join an interactive panel session, where you can hear from and chat to our current students and staff.

Book a tour Link opens in a new window

Student blogs

Explore our student blogs in Unibuddy. You can read about campus life from students themselves, and register to post questions directly to students.

Ask a student Link opens in a new window

Explore campus with our virtual tour

Our 360 tour lets you:

• Watch student videos
• View 360 photography and drone footage
• Learn about facilities and landmarks

Explore our campus virtually through our 360 campus tour now

Come to an Open Day

Don’t just take it from us, come and see for yourself what Warwick is all about. Whether it's a virtual visit or in-person, our University Open Days give you the chance to meet staff and students, visit academic departments, tour the campus and get a real feel for life at Warwick.

Open Days at Warwick

Sign up for updates

Discover more about our courses and campus life with our helpful information and timely reminders.

Why Warwick

Discover why Warwick is one of the best universities in the UK and renowned globally.

About Warwick

Find out more about life at Warwick including:

Open days and online events

Sign up for emails.

Register to take part in our next Open Day

Page updates

We have revised the information on this page since publication. See the edits we have made and content history .

9th in the UK (The Guardian University Guide 2024) Link opens in a new window

67th in the world (QS World University Rankings 2024) Link opens in a new window

6th most targeted university by the UK's top 100 graduate employers Link opens in a new window

(The Graduate Market in 2024, High Fliers Research Ltd. Link opens in a new window )

About the information on this page

This information is applicable for 2025 entry. Given the interval between the publication of courses and enrolment, some of the information may change. It is important to check our website before you apply. Please read our terms and conditions to find out more.

• My Account |
• StudentHome |
• TutorHome |
• IntranetHome |
• Contact the OU Contact the OU Contact the OU |
• Accessibility hub Accessibility hub

Postgraduate

• International
• News & media
• Business & apprenticeships
• Contact Contact Contact
• A to Z of subjects
• Course types
• Honours degrees
• Integrated masters degrees
• Foundation degrees
• Diplomas of Higher Education
• Certificates of Higher Education
• Open University certificates
• Open qualifications
• Higher Technical Qualifications
• Microcredentials
• Short courses
• All courses
• Student stories
• Accountancy
• Counselling
• Engineering
• Environment
• IT and computing
• Mental health
• Social work
• Working with children
• Employability and the OU

International recognition

• Apprenticeships
• What is distance learning?
• A guide to our qualifications
• How long will my qualification take?
• How will I study?
• Tutors and tutorials
• How will I be assessed?
• Support and the OU community
• Ask a student
• Our global reputation
• Can I do it?
• Finding time to study
• Is my English good enough?
• Computing skills
• Am I ready tool
• Fees and funding
• Tuition fee loan
• Tuition fee grants and loans
• Part-time fee grant
• Support for living costs

Employer sponsorship

• Credit or debit card
• Enhanced learning credits
• Mixed payments
• Study costs funding
• Carers' Scholarship
• Carers' Bursary
• Care Experienced Bursary
• Care Experienced Scholarship
• Scholarship for Black Students
• Disabled Veterans' Scholarships
• Sanctuary Scholarship
• How to apply
• Transferring your study

• Also known as an undergraduate or bachelors degree.
• Internationally respected, universally understood.
• An essential requirement for many high-level jobs.
• Gain a thorough understanding of your subject – and the tools to investigate, think critically, form reasoned arguments, solve problems and communicate effectively in new contexts.
• Progress to higher level study, such as a postgraduate diploma or masters degree.
• Credits measure the student workload required for the successful completion of a module or qualification.

One credit represents about 10 hours of study over the duration of the course.

You are awarded credits after you have successfully completed a module.

For example, if you study a 60-credit module and successfully pass it, you will be awarded 60 credits.

BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing

This degree offers a stimulating and wide-ranging introduction to English literature and creative writing. You’ll have the opportunity to study and interpret literature from different historical periods and diverse cultural settings – including translations – and to develop your writing skills in several genres including fiction; poetry; life writing; and scriptwriting for film, radio and stage. The emphasis is very much on practice through guided activities to develop a habit for writing which will involve producing several pieces of creative writing in the forms studied.

• Learn how to analyse a wide range of texts including fiction, poetry and drama
• Develop and reflect on your own writing and editorial practice in several genres
• Learn the skills of complex argument and critical commentary, which are highly valued in the workplace
• Introduces the world of publishing and the requirements of professional presentation 

Find out more about Entry requirements

This degree has three stages, each comprising 120 credits.

• You’ll start Stage 1 with a broad introduction to the arts and humanities before learning how culture affects the creative process of writing.
• Next, in Stage 2 , you'll focus on your creative writing and English literature studies with two compulsory modules.
• Finally, in Stage 3 , you’ll complete your degree with an advanced creative writing module and an advanced literature module.  

Prepare for OU study with an Access module

Stage 1 (120 credits).

In Stage 1 you'll encounter a variety of different times and places and engage with some fascinating people, art works, ideas and stories. This broad foundation will help you develop the skills and the confident, open approach you need to tackle more specialist modules at Stages 2 and 3.

Stage 2 (120 credits)

In Stage 2 you’ll be introduced to the creative process, develop your fiction, poetry and life writing skills, and learn about the publishing process. You’ll also choose between looking at whether literature matters by drawing on a range of literary texts and finding out about the ways in which writers of fiction have put together their stories.

Stage 3 (120 credits)

At Stage 3 you’ll develop your writing ability, learning how to sustain longer, more complex works of fiction, life writing and poetry. You'll also learn how to write dramatic scripts for different media. This final stage gives you a choice between two different periods in English literature to focus on.  

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available modules – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which the University might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us . This description was last updated on 19 March 2024 .

Accessibility

Our qualifications are as accessible as possible, and we have a comprehensive range of support services. Our BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing uses a variety of study materials and includes the following elements:

• Online study – most modules are online; some have a mix of printed and online material. Online learning resources could include websites, audio/video, and interactive activities
• Pre-determined schedules – we’ll help you to develop your time-management skills
• Assessment in the form of short-answer questions and essays
• Feedback – continuous assessment includes feedback from your tutor and using this to improve your performance
• Using and producing diagrams and screenshots
• Finding external/third-party material online
• Accessing online catalogues and databases
• Specialist material, such as films and dramatic scripts for different media
• Mathematical and scientific expressions, notations and associated techniques
• Online tutorials

Every module has its own Accessibility Statement with more detailed accessibility information – you’ll find these on individual module descriptions. Visit our  Disability support  page to learn about our services.

Learning outcomes, teaching and assessment

This qualification develops your learning in four main areas:

• Knowledge and understanding
• Cognitive skills
• Practical and professional skills

The level and depth of your learning gradually increases as you work through the qualification. You’ll be supported throughout by the OU’s unique style of teaching and assessment – which includes a personal tutor to guide and comment on your work; top quality course texts; elearning resources like podcasts, interactive media and online materials; tutorial groups and community forums.

Credit transfer

If you have already studied at university level, you may be able to count it towards your Open University qualification – which could save you time and money by reducing the number of modules you need to study. At the OU we call this credit transfer.

It’s not just university study that can be considered, you can also transfer study from a wide range of professional or vocational qualifications such as HNCs and HNDs.

You should apply for credit transfer before you register, at least 4 weeks before the registration closing date. We will need to know what you studied, where and when and you will need to provide evidence of your previous study.

For more details of when you will need to apply by and to download an application form, visit our Credit Transfer website.

Classification of your degree

On successfully completing this course, we’ll award you our BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing.

The class of honours (first, upper-second, lower-second or third) will depend on your grades at Stages 2 and 3.

You’ll have the opportunity to attend a degree ceremony.

If you intend to use your Open University qualifications to seek work or undertake further study outside the UK, we recommend checking whether your intended qualification will meet local requirements for your chosen career. Find out more about international recognition of Open University qualifications .

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the qualification-specific regulations below and the academic regulations that are available on our Student Policies and Regulations  website. 

• Bachelor of Arts (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing

Compare this course

There are no formal entry requirements for this qualification.

At The Open University we believe education should be open to all , so we provide a high-quality university education to anyone who wishes to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.

Even though there are no entry requirements, there are some skills that you'll need to succeed. If you're not quite ready for OU study we can guide you to resources that prepare you, many of which are free.

Answer a few quick questions to check whether you're ready for study success

How much time do I need?

• Most of our students study part time, completing 60 credits a year .
• This will usually mean studying for 16–18 hours a week .

Find out if you have enough time to study with our time planner

Preparing for study with an Access module

Students who start their study with an Access module are more likely to be successful when they advance to Stage 1 of their qualification. They’re specially designed to give you a gentle introduction to OU study, boost confidence in your study skills, and help you gain a broad overview of your chosen subject area.

You’ll also benefit from:

• feedback from your tutor through regular one-to-one phone tutorials
• support from a dedicated team throughout your study
• detailed written feedback on your work.

Arts and languages Access module

What you will study.

View full details of Arts and languages Access module

Fees and funding in England

80% of our students pay nothing upfront by financing their studies with a student loan.

Tuition fee

Years of  study.

Part-time study gives you the flexibility to balance other commitments with study.

You’ll study for around 16–18 hours a week.

Full-time study enables you to complete your course over a shorter time.

You’ll study for around 32–36 hours a week.

Because OU study is flexible, you don’t have to stick to just part-time or full-time study. You can choose to study more or less each year to suit you.

Most OU students study part-time.

Because OU study is flexible, you don’t have to stick to just part-time study. You can vary the amount of study you take on each year. That means you can gain your qualification in a timeframe that works for you.

3 years 6 years

Current fee per year in England

£7,272* £3,636*

How we worked out the cost

A degree is worth 360 credits. The fee per year is based on studying 60 credits per year for 6 years. A degree is worth 360 credits. The fee per year is based on studying 120 credits per year for 3 years.

Total fee for qualification at current prices

You’ll fund your modules as you study them – you won’t have to pay for your whole qualification up front

That’s 21% less than the cost of an equivalent qualification offered at most other universities in England.

*The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2025. Fees typically increase annually. In England, fees are subject to the part-time fee limit, as set out in section C of the University's Fee Rules .

What are my funding options?

There are several ways to fund your study, often without paying anything upfront.

Student loan

The most common way for our students to fund their study.

• A student loan is used by 80% of our students.
• It’s not means-tested and there’s no age limit.
• You don’t pay anything upfront. Student Finance England pay your fees directly to the OU for you.
• You won’t pay back a penny until you earn over £25,000.
• The amount you repay is tied to how much you earn. For example, if you earn £27,000 you’ll pay just £15.00 per month.

Other options

Open university student budget account (ousba).

Repay in monthly instalments while you study.

Credit/debit card or bank transfer

Pay before each module starts. You can also combine card or bank transfer payments with other payment methods.

More than 1 in 10 OU students are sponsored by their employer.

Enhanced Learning Credits (ELCs)

If you’re a serving member of the British Armed Forces (or you’ve recently left), you may be eligible to use ELCs to cover up to 100% of your course fees.

Which funding options could I be eligible for?

To find out what funding options are available you need to tell us:

• how many credits you want to study
• if you already hold a degree
• if your household is in receipt of benefits
• about your household income
• if you are employed
• if you are a member of the British forces overseas

How many credits are you planning to study per year?

Do you already hold a degree, was your previous degree in the same subject you wish to study now, was it achieved in the last 5 years, are you employed, are you a member of british forces posted overseas.

British Forces

• If you have a BFPO address, you are only eligible for UK course fees if you are a currently serving member of the British armed forces and you're temporarily and unavoidably working abroad. Other students using BFPO addresses should contact us on +44 (0)300 303 5303 for UK fee eligibility to be assessed.

*The fee information provided above is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2025. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules .

Other costs to think about

Your course fees cover your tuition, assessment and study materials, but there are still a few additional costs that can come with studying. If your income is less than £25,000 or you receive a qualifying benefit, you could get help with some of these costs after you start studying.

• You’ll need a computer and the internet to access our learning resources and to participate in online tutorials.

Additional support

You may be eligible for:

• help with study-related costs like set books and internet access
• a free introductory Access module to build your confidence and skills
• funding to study an OU qualification for free from our Carers’ Scholarships Fund if you are, or have recently been, an unpaid carer
• a Carers’ Bursary towards study-related costs if you provide unpaid care to a friend or family member
• a Care Experienced Bursary of £250 towards study-related costs if you’ve previously been, or are currently, in care
• a Care Experienced Scholarship to study an OU qualification for free if you're care experienced and aged 25 and under
• a Sanctuary Scholarship to study an OU qualification for free if you’ve been displaced from your homeland for political, economic, ethnic, environmental, or human rights pressures
• funding from our Scholarship for Black Students to study an OU qualification for free if you identify as being from a Black background

If you have a disability

• The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a government grant to cover study support costs if you have a disability. It’s not means-tested, and there’s no age limit. Visit our Supporting students with disabilities page to find out more.
• If your disability is a result of being injured in, or due to, military service, you could be eligible for our Disabled Veterans’ Scholarship Fund .

Need more information?

Talk through your funding options with one of our advisors, save money with the open university.

Compare the cost of studying at the OU with other campus-based universities in England.

*Based on maximum chargeable fees for 24/25 academic year.

**The fee information provided here is valid for modules starting before 31 July 2025. Fees typically increase annually. In England, fees are subject to the part-time fee limit, as set out in section C of the University's Fee Rules .

How will I study this course?

With our unique approach to distance learning, you can study from home, work or on the move.

You’ll have some assessment deadlines to meet, but otherwise, you’ll be free to study at the times that suit you, fitting your learning around work, family, and social life.

For each of your modules, you’ll use either just online resources or a mix of online and printed materials.

Each module you study will have a module website with

• a week-by-week study planner, giving you a step-by-step guide through your studies
• course materials such as reading, videos, recordings, and self-assessed activities
• module forums for discussions and collaborative activities with other students
• details of each assignment and their due dates
• a tutorial booking system, online tutorial rooms, and your tutor’s contact details
• online versions of some printed module materials and resources.

If you have additional needs, we can also provide most module materials in alternative formats. Find out more about materials on our accessibility webpage .

See how our module websites work.

Tutor support

Student, Ffion, describes why she chose the OU and how she is using her degree to progress herself further in a career she loves.

You’ll have a tutor for each module, who will introduce themselves before the module begins.

Throughout the module, they will:

• mark your assignments and give feedback to help you improve
• guide you to learning resources
• support you, whether with general study skills or help with a specific topic.

Tutorials usually take place online, and they’re always optional.

Online tutorials are live presentations with module tutors in dedicated online tutorial rooms and are sometimes recorded.

Our assessments are all designed to reinforce your learning and help you show your understanding of the topics. The mix of assessment methods will vary between modules.

Computer-Marked Assignments

• Usually, a series of online, multiple-choice questions.

Tutor-Marked Assignments

• You’ll have a number of these throughout each module, each with a submission deadline.
• They can be made up of essays, questions, experiments or something else to test your understanding of what you have learned.
• Your tutor will mark and return them to you with detailed feedback.

End-of-Module Assessments

• The final, marked piece of work on most modules.
• Modules with an end-of-module assessment won’t usually have an exam.
• Some modules end with an exam. You’ll be given time to revise and prepare.
• You’ll be given your exam date at least 5 months in advance.
• Most exams take place remotely, and you will complete them at home or at an alternative location.
• If a module requires you to take a face-to-face exam, this will be made clear in the module description, and you will be required to take your exam in person at one of our exam centres.

Progressing to a point where I felt more comfortable writing my assignments, and having my scores reflecting that, made me quite happy because it showed the hard work was being rewarded. Patrick ‘Ricky’ Skene, BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness and Coaching

Other support and resources

Throughout your studies, you’ll have access to our subject-specific Student Support Teams.

They’ll help you with any general questions about your study and updates to your OU account.

To help with your studies, you’ll also have access to:

• our online library, with high-quality online resources to support your study
• other university libraries in the UK and Ireland
• the online Help Centre, which has general information about OU study and support, along with study skills advice
• free Microsoft Office 365 software
• IT and computing support from our Computing Helpdesk.

Find out more about student support and being a part of the OU community.

Having a course that was really varied and studying in a style that worked for Nick, was key to him launching his own business and becoming an entrepreneur.

Skills for career development

Studying English literature and creative writing will equip you with an adaptable set of skills that can give entry to a vast range of occupations, leading in a number of career directions. You’ll learn to evaluate and assimilate information in constructing an argument; and acquire skills of creative and critical thinking, analysis, and communication that are much in demand in the workplace. You’ll also sharpen up essential writing and IT skills. These are key skills that are crucial to many different kinds of complex organisations, and are greatly sought after in the world beyond study – whether you’re already working, volunteering, or changing career.

Career relevance

The breadth of study and the range of analysis, combined with training in clear thinking and communication, make this degree course relevant to a wide variety of careers, including:

• public administration, local government, the civil service, art institutions, and social services
• advertising, journalism, publishing, creative industries and public relations
• business, banking and retail
• human resources
• charities and campaigning.

Other careers

Many graduate-level jobs are open to graduates of any discipline, particularly in business, finance, management consultancy and the public sector. Some careers may require further study, training and/or work experience beyond your degree.

Exploring your options

Once you register with us (and for up to three years after you finish your studies), you’ll have full access to our careers service for a wide range of information and advice. This includes online forums, website, interview simulation, vacancy service as well as the option to email or speak to a careers adviser. Some areas of the careers service website are available for you to see now , including help with looking for and applying for jobs. You can also read more general information about how OU study enhances your career .

In the meantime if you want to do some research around this qualification and where it might take you, we’ve put together a list of relevant job titles as a starting point. Some careers may require further study, training and/or work experience beyond your degree:

• teacher/lecturer
• tourism officer
• civil servant
• local government and NHS management
• advertising account manager
• marketing officer
• public relations manager
• media researcher
• charity campaigner
• retail manager
• business and HR management
• information archivist.

Register for this course

• Oct 2024 - Registration closes 05/09/2024
• Feb 2025 - Registration closes 09/01/2025

Request your Arts and Humanities prospectus

Our prospectuses help you choose your course, understand what it's like to be an OU student and register for study.

Request prospectus

The Open University

• Study with us
• Work with us
• Supported distance learning
• Funding your studies
• International students
• Global reputation
• Sustainability
• Develop your workforce
• Contact the OU

Undergraduate

• Arts and Humanities
• Art History
• Business and Management
• Combined Studies
• Computing and IT
• Creative Arts
• Creative Writing
• Criminology
• Early Years
• Electronic Engineering
• Film and Media
• Health and Social Care
• Health and Wellbeing
• Health Sciences
• International Studies
• Mathematics
• Mental Health
• Nursing and Healthcare
• Religious Studies
• Social Sciences
• Social Work
• Software Engineering
• Sport and Fitness
• Postgraduate study
• Research degrees
• Masters in Social Work (MA)
• Masters in Economics (MSc)
• Masters in Creative Writing (MA)
• Masters in Education (MA/MEd)
• Masters in Engineering (MSc)
• Masters in English Literature (MA)
• Masters in History (MA)
• Masters in International Relations (MA)
• Masters in Finance (MSc)
• Masters in Cyber Security (MSc)
• Masters in Psychology (MSc)
• A to Z of Masters degrees
• OU Accessibility statement
• Conditions of use
• Privacy policy
• Cookie policy
• Manage cookie preferences
• Modern slavery act (pdf 149kb)

Follow us on Social media

• Student Policies and Regulations
• Student Charter
• System Status
• Contact the OU Contact the OU
• Modern Slavery Act (pdf 149kb)

© . . .

Where do you live?

Please tell us where you live so that we can provide you with the most relevant information as you use this website.

If you are at a BFPO address please choose the country or region in which you would ordinarily be resident.

We value your privacy

We use cookies to allow this site to work for you, improve your user experience, and to serve you advertising tailored to your interests. Let us know if you agree to all cookies. You can manage your preferences at any time

Your Privacy

We use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer, to allow the site to work for you, improve your user experience, to provide us with information about how our site is used, and to deliver personalised ads which help fund our work and deliver our service to you for free.

The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalised web experience.

You can accept all, or else manage cookies individually. However, blocking some types of cookies may affect your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

You can change your cookies preference at any time by visiting our Cookies Notice page. Please remember to clear your browsing data and cookies when you change your cookies preferences. This will remove all cookies previously placed on your browser.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, or how to clear your browser cookies data see our Cookies Notice

Manage consent preferences

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.

They are essential for you to browse the website and use its features.

You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. We can’t identify you from these cookies.

These help us personalise our sites for you by remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers, whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then these services may not function properly.

These cookies allow us to count visits and see where our traffic comes from, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are popular and see how visitors move around the site. The cookies cannot directly identify any individual users.

If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to improve its performance for you.

These cookies may be set through our site by social media services or our advertising partners. Social media cookies enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They can track your browser across other sites and build up a profile of your interests. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to see or use the content sharing tools.

Advertising cookies may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but work by uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will still see ads, but they won’t be tailored to your interests.

• CHOOSE ONE OR MORE

Popular universities

• University of Kent
• University of East Anglia UEA
• University of Chester
• Coventry University
• University of Aberdeen
• University of Portmouth
• Nottingham Trent University
• University of Sunderland
• London Metropolitan University
• London South Bank University
• University of East London
• BROWSE ALL UNIVERSITIES

Course search

Popular undergraduate courses.

• Computer Science
• LLB Bachelor of Laws
• Biomedical Sciences
• Physiotherapy
• Sports Science

Open days search

Upcoming open days.

• Royal Agricultural University
• University of Bedfordshire
• Leeds Beckett University
• University of Wales Trinity Saint David
• University of the Arts London

Article search

Popular topics.

• Clearing advice for students
• Clearing advice for parents
• Clearing advice for teachers
• League tables
• Getting ready for uni

Popular articles

• What is UCAS Extra?
• Applying directly into Clearing
• Clearing success stories
• What's a university open day
• How university rankings can help you through Clearing
• BROWSE ALL ADVICE
• Creative Writing

SUBJECT LEAGUE TABLE 2025

A Creative Writing degree will let you flex your storytelling abilities and study the work of literary legends.Our university rankings for Creative Writing include Scriptwriting and Poetry Writing.

OTHER LEAGUE TABLES

• University League Tables
• Arts, Drama & Music League Table
• Download league tables

QUICK LINKS

• Methodology

Looking for Clearing advice?

The Clearing concierge has the answers

• University ranking
• University name
• Overall score
• Entry standards
• Student satisfaction
• Research quality
• Graduate prospects
• 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 1 5 2 6 7 1 8 6 9 1 10 2 11 12 17 13 6 14 15 16 16 7 17 5 18 9 19 22 20 13 21 7 22 2 23 5 24 3 25 26 10 27 8 28 13 29 3 30 13 31 14 32 2 33 5 34 16 35 4 36 13 37 7 38 6 39 2 40 2 41 11 42 6 43 8 44 3 45 New 46 47 6 48 8 49 6 50 4
• IN CLEARING University of Warwick IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Royal Holloway, University of Londo... VIEW COURSES University of Birmingham VIEW COURSES University of Leeds VIEW COURSES Newcastle University VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Lancaster University IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES University of East Anglia UEA VIEW COURSES University of Strathclyde VIEW COURSES University of Kent VIEW COURSES University of Plymouth VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING University of Lincoln IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Keele University VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Manchester Metropolitan University IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES University of Hull VIEW COURSES Kingston University VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING University of Chester IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Edge Hill University VIEW COURSES Bournemouth University VIEW COURSES Bristol, University of the West of ... VIEW COURSES Canterbury Christ Church University VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Aberystwyth University IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Nottingham Trent University VIEW COURSES Brunel University London VIEW COURSES University of Essex VIEW COURSES University of Westminster, London VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Bangor University IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES University of Portsmouth VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Teesside University, Middlesbrough IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Bath Spa University VIEW COURSES University of Brighton VIEW COURSES GET PROSPECTUS University of Greenwich VIEW COURSES De Montfort University VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING University of Gloucestershire IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES Sheffield Hallam University VIEW COURSES Anglia Ruskin University VIEW COURSES York St John University VIEW COURSES Birmingham City University VIEW COURSES University of Chichester VIEW COURSES Liverpool Hope University VIEW COURSES University of Winchester VIEW COURSES University of Salford VIEW COURSES University of Central Lancashire VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING Arts University Bournemouth IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES IN CLEARING University of Worcester IN CLEARING VIEW COURSES University of Bolton VIEW COURSES Liverpool John Moores University VIEW COURSES University of Derby VIEW COURSES Falmouth University VIEW COURSES St Mary's University, Twickenham VIEW COURSES University of Wolverhampton VIEW COURSES
• 100% 100% 99% 98% 97% 97% 97% 97% 95% 95% 94% 93% 93% 92% 91% 91% 90% 90% 90% 90% 89% 89% 89% 89% 89% 88% 88% 88% 88% 88% 87% 86% 86% 86% 86% 86% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 85% 84% 84% 84% 83% 81% 80% 79%
• 79% 74% 73% 76% 68% 71% 75% 100% 62% 68% 62% 55% 60% 60% 55% 59% 61% n/a 56% 60% 61% 55% 64% 58% 54% 53% 52% 62% 58% 47% 58% 54% 51% 54% 49% 55% 57% 56% 58% 55% 56% 56% 60% 50% 48% 62% 64% 57% n/a n/a
• 77% 77% 76% 74% 79% 78% 74% 71% 77% 80% 88% 87% 80% 92% 83% 80% 80% 75% 79% 84% 81% 81% 82% 78% 72% 77% 85% 82% 76% 78% 82% 77% 79% 76% 79% 87% 76% 83% 76% 77% 81% 85% 89% 77% 82% 84% 80% 80% 76% 72%
• 86% 87% 89% 90% 94% 82% 87% 85% 87% 86% 75% 83% 86% 84% 77% 70% 73% 70% 71% 82% 69% 75% 77% 81% 84% 77% 71% 79% 81% 78% 68% 82% 67% 80% 79% 63% 88% 72% 72% 64% 70% 74% 64% 63% 65% n/a 62% n/a n/a 80%
• 74% 82% 78% n/a 76% 74% 72% n/a 78% 66% n/a 76% 76% n/a n/a 78% 60% 78% 92% 64% 62% n/a 58% 62% n/a 64% 68% n/a 66% 68% 56% 56% 54% 64% 64% 62% 54% 46% n/a 58% 70% 40% 60% 58% 66% 60% 60% 54% 72% 46%

This table was first published on 14 May 2024. 

Read the  University and subject tables methodology  to find out where the data comes from, how the tables are compiled and explanations of the measures used. 

All measures used to compile the tables are available on the full table view. Maximum scores for the measures: 

Overall score: maximum score of 1000 

Entry standards: no maximum score  

Student satisfaction: maximum score of 4

Research quality: maximum score of 4 

Continuation: maximum score of 100 

Graduate prospects – outcomes: maximum score of 100 

Graduate prospects – on track: maximum score of 100 

The following institutions have courses in this subject but insufficient data to be included in the ranking:  

• - Birmingham Newman University
• - Cardiff Metropolitan University
• - Cardiff University
• - Coventry University
• - Goldsmiths, University of London
• - Leeds Arts University
• - Leeds Beckett University
• - Leeds Trinity University
• - London Metropolitan University
• - Loughborough University
• - Middlesex University
• - Oxford Brookes University
• - Plymouth Marjon University
• - Queen's University Belfast
• - Staffordshire University
• - Swansea University
• - University of Aberdeen
• - University of Bedfordshire
• - University of Dundee
• - University of East London
• - University of Hertfordshire
• - University of Huddersfield
• - University of Leicester
• - University of Nottingham
• - University of Oxford
• - University of Reading
• - University of South Wales
• - University of Suffolk
• - University of Surrey
• - University of Wales Trinity Saint David
• - University of West London
• - University of the West of Scotland

Filter by region

• East Midlands
• East of England
• North East England
• North West England
• South East England
• South West England
• West Midlands
• Yorkshire and the Humber

Subject league tables

• Accounting & Finance
• Aeronautical & Aerospace Engineering
• African & Middle Eastern Studies
• Agriculture & Forestry
• American Studies
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Architecture
• Art & Design
• Asian Studies
• Biological Sciences
• Business & Management Studies
• Celtic Studies
• Chemical Engineering
• Childhood & Youth Studies
• Civil Engineering
• Communication & Media Studies
• Complementary Medicine
• Counselling, Psychotherapy & Occupational Therapy
• Drama, Dance & Cinematics
• Electrical & Electronic Engineering
• Food Science
• Forensic Science
• General Engineering
• Geography & Environmental Science
• Health Studies
• History of Art, Architecture & Design
• Iberian Languages
• Information Technology & Systems
• Land & Property Management
• Linguistics
• Manufacturing & Production Engineering
• Materials Technology
• Mathematics
• Mechanical Engineering
• Medical Technology & Bioengineering
• Nursing & Midwifery
• Optometry, Ophthalmics & Orthoptics
• Paramedic Science
• Pharmacology & Pharmacy
• Physics & Astronomy
• Russian & East European Languages
• Social Policy
• Social Work
• Speech & Language Therapy
• Theology & Religious Studies
• Tourism, Transport, Travel & Heritage Studies
• Town & Country Planning and Landscape Design
• Veterinary Medicine

CHOOSE A REGION

University group, choose a group.

• Current Students
• News & Press
• Research Excellence
• Teaching & Student Experience
• Graduate Employability
• UK Rankings
• World Rankings
• Single Topic Rankings
• Research Excellence Framework
• Higher Education Awards
• Ageing and Health
• Cities and Place
• Culture and Creative Arts
• Social Justice
• Engagement and Place Awards 2024
• Faculty of Science, Agriculture & Engineering
• Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
• Faculty of Medical Sciences
• Central and South Asia
• Latin America
• Middle East and North Africa
• North America
• Small Island Developing States
• South East Asia and Oceania
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• Transparency
• Office for Students Transparency Data
• Access & Participation
• Support for our Community
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• https://www.ncl.ac.uk/who-we-are/equality/race-equality/black-history-month/
• Faith, Religion & Belief
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender
• Let Us Know
• Workplace Adjustments
• Useful Resources
• Equality Analysis
• Social Justice Stories
• Voluntary & Community Groups
• Santander Universities
• Regional Partnerships
• Widening Participation
• Newcastle Helix
• Art on Campus
• History of Newcastle University
• Education Strategy
• Find a Degree
• Subject Areas
• Step-by-Step Guide for UK Students
• Step-by-Step Guide for International and EU Students
• Applying through UCAS
• A and AS Levels
• Application Decisions
• Access Schemes and Pathway Programmes
• Policies and Procedures
• Applicants with Disabilities
• Mature Applicants
• Deferred Entry
• Undergraduate Application Advice
• Subject Scholarships
• Sports Scholarships
• Opportunity Scholarships
• VC's Excellence Scholarships
• VC's Global Scholarships
• VC's International Scholarships
• International Foundation Scholarships
• St Nicholas’ Educational Trust Scholarship
• NU Sanctuary Scholarships
• Undergraduate Norway Scholarship
• International Family Discounts
• VC’s EU Scholarships – Undergraduate
• VC's Excellence Scholarships - Europe
• VC's Business Excellence Scholarships - Europe
• Additional Costs
• Student Loans
• International Student Finance
• Undergraduate Open Days
• Sign up and Discover
• School and College Outreach
• Information for Parents and Supporters
• Why Choose Newcastle?
• Your Study Options
• Qualifications Explained
• Postgraduate Research Programmes
• Search for Funding
• Guide to Funding
• Postgraduate Tuition Fees
• Application Help
• Advice & Resources
• Your Offer Guide
• Postgraduate Open Days
• Doctoral College
• Distance Learning
• Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
• Study Support
• Campus Tours
• Life in Newcastle
• Get Involved
• Cost of Living
• Health & Wellbeing
• Mature Students
• Childcare Support
• Care Leavers
• Asylum Seekers
• Teaching & Learning
• Student Blog - Belong
• Types of Rooms
• Accessibility and Individual Requirements
• Castle Leazes
• Bedrooms we offer
• Accommodation Guides
• New Student Guarantee
• Advanced Booking
• Submit an Application
• Part Year Student Accommodation
• What Happens Next?
• Safety and Security
• Returning Next Year
• Extending Your Stay
• Room Changes
• Parking & Bicycle Storage
• Post and Parcels
• Guest Visitors and Going Away
• Energy & Recycling
• ResLife Find a Flatmate
• Your ResLife Team
• Student Support
• Payment Methods
• Payment Schedules
• Managed Partnerships
• Rent Adjustments
• Student Village Receptions
• Your Accommodation Team
• Report a Fault
• Feedback and Complaints
• Internet Connection
• Work Placements
• About the Careers Service
• Careers Service News
• Careers Service Events
• Work for Yourself
• Career Planning
• Careers Modules
• Making Applications
• Interviews, Tests & Assessment Centres
• Internships, Placements & Shadowing
• Finding Jobs
• Handling Job Offers
• Researching Employers
• Making Contacts
• Further Study
• Awards, Competitions & Project Funding
• Volunteering
• Boost Your CV
• Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme (DTUS)
• Getting Here
• Self-Guided Campus Tours
• Undergraduate Offer Holder Days
• Postgraduate Schools & Supervisors
• Tier 4 Visa from Inside UK
• Tier 4 Visa from Outside UK
• Short-Term Visa from Outside UK
• International Study Blog
• Our Pathway Courses
• English Language Courses
• Fees, Costs and Scholarships
• INTO Newcastle University
• Student Exchange and Study Abroad
• Request a Prospectus
• Chat to a Student
• Your Academic Experience
• Research Impact
• Research Strengths
• Centre for Ageing and Inequalities
• Centre for Biomedical Engineering
• Centre for Cancer
• Centre for Children and Youth
• Centre for Climate and Environmental Resilience
• Centre for Cyber Security and Resilience
• Centre for Data
• Centre for Energy
• Centre for Healthier Lives
• Centre for Heritage
• Centre for Landscape
• Centre for Mobility and Transport
• Centre for Rare Disease
• Centre for Researching Cities
• Centre for Transformative Neuroscience
• Centre for Water
• Research Culture Action Plan
• Working Together on Research Culture
• Global Partnerships
• Let's Work Together
• Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021
• Code of Good Practice in Research
• University Research Committee
• Animal Research Policy
• Declaration on Openness on Animal Research
• Animal Procedures
• Helping Human Health
• Animal Research News
• Ethics at Newcastle
• Research Data and Open Access
• Research Strategy & Development
• Policy and Information Team
• Grants & Contracts (HaSS and SAgE)
• NJRO (inc Grants & Contracts FMS)
• Research Funding Development
• Biomedical Facilities
• Chemistry Facilities
• Clinical Facilities
• Engineering Facilities
• Marine & Agricultural Facilities
• More Facilities
• Facilities A to Z
• Research Funding
• Research News
• Case Studies
• CPD Courses
• Collaborative Research
• Company Creation
• Consultancy
• Corporate Partnerships
• DA Power Engineering
• DA MSc Digital Technology Solutions
• DA Executive Education Snr. Leader Apprenticeships
• Facilities and Equipment
• Intensive Industrial Innovation Programme
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
• Technology Transfer and Licensing
• Clinical Trials & Research
• Working with Newcastle
• Tender Opportunities
• Submitting an Invoice
• Sustainable Procurement
• Code of Conduct & Terms and Conditions
• Health & Social Challenges
• Creative Collaborations
• Connect with alumni
• Develop your career
• Discover lifelong learning opportunities
• Support future generations

English Literature with Creative Writing BA Honours

• UCAS code: QW38

Discover the literature that has shaped our society and tap into your creative skills with our English Literature with Creative Writing BA degree.

You are currently viewing course information for entry year: 2024

Next start date:

• September 2024

Fees (per year)

• Home: £9250
• International: £22900

Entry requirements and offers

• A-Level: AAB
• IB: 34 points

View contextual offers

UCAS Institution name and code:

• How to apply
• Support for your application
• Sign up for an Open Day

Course overview

Our English Literature with Creative Writing BA brings together criticism and creativity, with opportunities to study and create poetry, prose, film, and plays.

Whether you’re polishing a short story, learning about literature and postcolonialism, or writing your own poetry, you’ll be working alongside our world-leading researchers and internationally acclaimed writers and filmmakers.

At our Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts, you’ll meet famous creative artists. You can join workshops on everything from finding an agent to creating a fantasy language. You can also get experience in arts management.

You'll also have the flexibility to choose how much creative writing you do. Find out more in our modules section

At the end of this three-year degree, you will have the critical skills to analyse a wide range of literature. You will also have developed the practical skills necessary to produce creative writing of a professional standard and build a literary career.

You’ll be ready to take further steps towards a career in the creative arts. You will also have critical and creative skills that many other employers value highly.

Download information about this course as a PDF

Your course and study experience - disclaimers and terms and conditions   Please rest assured we make all reasonable efforts to provide you with the programmes, services and facilities described. However, it may be necessary to make changes due to significant disruption, for example in response to Covid-19. View our  Academic experience page , which gives information about your Newcastle University study experience for the academic year 2023-24. See our  terms and conditions and student complaints information , which gives details of circumstances that may lead to changes to programmes, modules or University services.

Quality and ranking

Professional accreditation and recognition.

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body.

Modules and learning

The information below is intended to provide an example of what you will study.

Most degrees are divided into stages. Each stage lasts for one academic year, and you'll complete modules totalling 120 credits by the end of each stage. 

Our teaching is informed by research. Course content may change periodically to reflect developments in the discipline, the requirements of external bodies and partners, and student feedback.

To find out more please see our terms and conditions.

Optional module availability Student demand for optional modules may affect availability. Full details of the modules on offer will be published through the  Programme Regulations and Specifications ahead of each academic year. This usually happens in May.

You'll be introduced to a variety of literary texts; poetry, prose, plays and film. You'll build a foundation in the critical and theoretical skills you need for your studies in stages 2 and 3.

You explore different ways of approaching creative writing. You will develop your creativity and gain experience in writing in different forms.

Before you start your degree you'll choose between the following pathways:

• English Literature  with  Creative Writing - on this pathway you will spend a third of your time on creative writing and two thirds studying English literature.
• English Literature  and  Creative Writing - on this pathway you will split your time equally between creative writing and English Literature.

When you graduate, your degree transcript will show either 'English Literature with Creative Writing' or 'English Literature and Creative Writing', depending on which pathway you choose in stage 1. 

English Literature with Creative Writing pathway

English Literature and Creative Writing pathway

You will advance your understanding of literature through the ages, and take at least one pre-19th-century module alongside at least one focusing on modern or contemporary topics.

In Creative Writing, you will develop your craft and literary techniques in prose, theatre script, poetry or screenwriting.

You will take one of the following modules:

You will take one and may take up to three of the following modules:

You can take one of the following optional modules:

You will take two of the following modules:

You will take one and may take up to two of the following modules:

You will take one and may take up to two of the following modules:

You will be supported in the production of an original piece of literary work in an area of your interest, in either prose, theatre script, poetry or screenwriting. Your portfolio will bring together everything you’ve learnt about creative writing and allow you to devise a project that demonstrates your individuality.

You'll choose four specialist options in literature, taking modules that cover both pre-19th century and post-19th century topics.

Current options include The Victorian novel, British and international children’s literature, Romantic poetry, Caribbean literature and film, Medieval literature, American literature, and Contemporary Documentary. Or, you can also do a work placement in the cultural industries.

English Literature with Creative Writing Pathway

You will take one, and may take up to three of the following modules:

You may choose the following optional module:

English Literature and Creative Writing Pathway

You will take three of the following modules:

We base these figures and graphs on the most up-to-date information available to us. They are based on the modules chosen by our students in 2023-24.

Teaching time is made up of:

• scheduled learning and teaching activities. These are timetabled activities with a member of staff present.
• structured guided learning. These are activities developed by staff to support engagement with module learning. Students or groups of students undertake these activities without direct staff participation or supervision

Teaching and assessment

Teaching methods.

You can normally expect to spend around 10 hours per week attending lectures, seminars, workshops and film screenings. You also spend around 25 hours per week on class preparation, reading, writing, and other kinds of independent research recommended by your tutor.

Assessment methods

You'll be assessed through a combination of:

Assignments – written or fieldwork

Dissertation or research project

Examinations – practical or online

Presentations

Skills and experience

Practical experience.

Our Creative Writing instructors are all practising professional writers. They model their teaching to provide similar experiences to those in the creative industries.

When you study English Literature at Newcastle, you will also enjoy regular field trips organised by the School. These include visits to:

• The Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage)
• Seven Stories (the National Centre for Children's Books)
• various city theatres including Northern Stage, Live Theatre and Theatre Royal

Business skills

Our modules provide a huge number of transferable skills.

You will learn to:

• work independently
• manage projects
• write clear and persuasive prose
• analyse complex datasets and sources.

You'll have the opportunity to gain real-world work experience in the cultural industries in Stage 3. We also offer modules in partnership with the Careers Service in Stage 2 and 3.

Employability

Employability and the engagement of literature with the wider world go hand-in-hand in this degree.

Many of our literature modules, particularly in Stage 3, model their assessments on the kind of tasks you might be employed to do:

• constructing marketing briefs
• drafting website copy
• curating exhibitions
• writing persuasive arguments
• enthralling creative fiction.

Beyond our modules, there are plenty of extracurricular opportunities. These range from freelance work for Newcastle’s student newspaper to paid internships in our department.

In particular,  the Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts  hires students to work on everything from event management to app design. The centre also runs workshops with professionals in the creative industries.

Chat with an English Literature with Creative Writing student

Harrogate, UK

English literature with creative writing ba.

To find out that Newcastle did my dream course was ideal and I am so lucky to be studying what I love at such a good university.

• Opportunities

Study abroad

You can study abroad for one semester in your second year as part of this degree. In Europe we have links with:

• Ghent University, Belgium
• Leipzig University, Germany
• Groningen University, Netherlands
• Radboud University Nijmegen, Netherlands

We also have links with universities in other parts of the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the USA, including, but not limited to:

• Monash University, Australia
• University of Sydney, Australia
• McGill University, Canada
• University of Hong Kong
• University of Vermont, USA

Find out more about Study Abroad .

Work placement

During your degree, you’ll have multiple opportunities to undertake a meaningful work placement. In your second and third years, you may choose to take the Career Development Module which offers academic credit for 50 hours of placement. You can choose to carry out your placement via part-time work, volunteering or in a local school. You will be assessed through a mixture of written work, presentations, and professional skills assessment.

In addition, you'll have the option to spend 9 to 12 months on a work placement with University support from our dedicated Careers team to help you secure your dream placement in the UK or abroad. Work placements take place between stages 2 and 3.

You'll gain first-hand experience of working in the sector, putting your learning into practice, and developing your professional expertise. Previous placements have been in a range of sectors, including:

• Journalism and Broadcasting
• Sustainable Energy
• Digital Media and Marketing
• Museum and Heritage
• Travel and Tourism

If you choose to take a work placement, it will extend your degree by a year. Placements are subject to availability.

Find out more about work placements.

Facilities and environment

You'll be based in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics. The School is located in the Percy Building, which is at the heart of our city-centre campus. You'll join a lively community of students, academics, writers, and professionals.

You'll have access to:

• a digital media lab – for students with documentary and film-making modules
• a PC cluster
• a student-led café
• plenty of spaces to work and socialise

You will have exceptional library provision from our award-winning Library Service. It houses over one million books and a huge range of electronic resources.

Our literature and creative writing teaching is linked to  the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA) programme. This will give you regular contact with leading creative artists. You'll also have access to a diverse programme of events, including spoken-word events and creative writing courses.

Find out more about the  School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics .

You'll have the support of an academic member of staff as a Personal Tutor throughout your degree to help with academic and personal issues affecting your academic progress.

Peer Mentors will help you in your first year. They are fellow students who can help you settle in and answer questions you may have when starting university.

Your future

Industry links.

Our alumni include: 

• Peter Straughan (screenwriter of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
• Andy Bird (former chairman of Walt Disney International)
• Neil Astley (writer and founder of Bloodaxe publishing house)
• Teresa Graham (accountant and SME champion, awarded a CBE in 2007 and an OBE in 1997)

Students with this degree get a range of valuable skills, which they can transfer to many different sectors. Your literary training can be used in journalism, librarianship, teaching and the highly competitive fields of writing, acting, and directing. Our graduates have also gone into a variety of career areas including marketing, law, politics, and human resources.

Sorry, you need JavaScript to view this video

Follow in their footsteps

• Nationality: British
• Graduated: 2015
• Now working as: Author

'You can’t beat the experience of having an expert and engaged tutor read your work and say "Not quite", "Not quite", and then, finally, "That’s it!"'.

Find out what Will liked the most about studying English Literature with Creative Writing at Newcastle University and how this degree helped him in his career as an author.

Read about Will's journey .

Careers support

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Recognition of professional qualifications outside of the UK

From 1 January 2021 there is an update to the way professional qualifications are recognised by countries outside of the UK

Check the government’s website for more information .

Entry requirements

All candidates are considered on an individual basis and we accept a broad range of qualifications. The entrance requirements and offers below apply to  2024 entry.

Other UK and the Republic of Ireland qualifications

Contextual offers.

Through one of our contextual routes, you could receive an offer of up to three grades lower than the typical requirements.

What is a contextual offer? Find out more and if you’re eligible for this or our PARTNERS Programme supported entry route.

Qualifications from outside the UK

English language requirements, entrance courses (into).

International Pathway Courses are specialist programmes designed for international students who want to study in the UK. We provide a range of study options for international students in partnership with INTO. 

Find out more about International Pathway Courses

Admissions policy

This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at Newcastle University. It is intended to provide information about our admissions policies and procedures to applicants and potential applicants, to their advisors and family members, and to staff of the University.

• Download our admissions policy  (PDF: 201KB)
• Other policies related to admissions

Credit transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can allow you to convert existing relevant university-level knowledge, skills and experience into credits towards a qualification.  Find out more about the RPL policy which may apply to this course.

Tuition fees and scholarships

Tuition fees for 2024 entry (per year).

The maximum fee that we are permitted to charge for home fee-paying students is set by the UK government.

As a general principle, you should expect the tuition fee to increase in each subsequent academic year of your course, subject to government regulations on fee increases and in line with inflation.

Read more about fees and funding

Depending on your residency history, if you’re a student from the EU, other EEA or a Swiss national, with settled or pre-settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, you’ll normally pay the ‘Home’ tuition fee rate and may be eligible for Student Finance England support.

EU students without settled or pre-settled status will normally be charged fees at the ‘International’ rate and will not be eligible for Student Finance England support.

If you are unsure of your fee status, check out the latest guidance here .

Scholarships

We support our EU and international students by providing a generous range of Vice-Chancellor's automatic and merit-based scholarships. See our  undergraduate scholarship page for more information.

Year abroad and additional costs

For programmes where you can spend   a year on a work placement or studying abroad,   you will receive a significant fee reduction for that year. 

Some of our degrees involve  additional costs  which are not covered by your tuition fees.

Find out more about:

• scholarships for UK, EU and international students
• Student Loans and Government financial support for UK and EU students

Open days and events

You'll have a number of opportunities to meet us throughout the year at our on-campus and virtual open days.

You'll be able to:

• explore our beautiful campus

• find out about our vibrant city

• discover what students think about studying at Newcastle

You'll also have the opportunity to speak to academic staff and find out more about the subjects you're interested in.

Find out about how you can visit Newcastle in person and virtually.

We regularly travel overseas to meet with students interested in studying at Newcastle University. Visit our  events calendar to find out when we're visiting your region.

Visit our events calendar for the latest virtual events

Apply through UCAS

To apply for undergraduate study at Newcastle University, you must use the online application system managed by the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). All UK schools and colleges, and a small number of EU and international establishments, are registered with UCAS. You will need:

• the UCAS name and institution codes for Newcastle University (NEWC/N21)
• the UCAS code for the course you want to apply for
• the UCAS 'buzzword' for your school or college

If you are applying independently, or are applying from a school or college which is not registered to manage applications, you will still use the Apply system. You will not need a buzzword.

Apply through an agent

International students often apply to us through an agent. Have a look at our recommended agents and get in touch with them.

Visit our International pages

Get in touch

Call us on  +44 (0) 191 208 3333 and press option 1. Our opening hours are Monday to Friday 10am until 4pm.

Our NCL chatbot might be able to give you an answer straight away. If not, it’ll direct you to someone who can help.

You'll find our NCL chatbot in the bottom right of this page.

Fill in our enquiry form

Keep updated

We regularly send email updates and extra information about the University.

Social Media

You may be interested in.

• Course Overview
• Quality & Ranking
• Modules & Learning
• Facilities & Environment
• Your Future
• Entry Requirements
• Tuition Fees & Scholarships

We use cookies to help our site work, to understand how it is used, and to tailor ads that are more relevant to you and your interests.

By accepting, you agree to cookies being stored on your device. You can view details and manage settings at any time on our cookies policy page.

BA (Hons) — 2025 entry English Literature and Creative Writing

If you’re an aspiring writer and literature enthusiast, our English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons) degree has the ideal combination of topics for you.

Key course information

Ba (hons) with placement, why choose this course.

• Engage in intellectually challenging teaching in literature and creative writing, with acclaimed writers and scholars as well as enthusiastic and experienced teachers who convey ideas and explain techniques and methodologies enthusiastically and accessibly  
• As a student of English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons) at Surrey, you will become part of a community of literary and cultural scholars, writers, and creative practitioners, and will be able to explore the opportunities and challenges of studying, practising, and producing critical and creative forms of expression.  
• We have a firm eye on your future employability. We’ll equip you with skills that employers value – clear and compelling communication skills, independent thinking and collaborative working. If you choose to take one of our award-winning Professional Training placements , you’ll be able to enhance your readiness for employment.  

Top 5 in the UK

English literature is ranked top 5 for overall student satisfaction* in the National Student Survey 2023

12th in the UK

For English in the Guardian University Guide 2024

Surrey is ranked 12th in the Complete University Guide 2025

*Measured by % positivity across all questions for all providers listed in the Guardian University Guide league tables.

English Literature and Creative Writing alumna launches short story collection

What you need to know about studying English literature

Introducing the School of Literature and Languages

Course details open, what you will study.

On our English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons) course, you’ll study vital and influential works of literature, you'll read and discuss contemporary writing as well as classics in a wide range of genres.   

You’ll explore canonical as well as more experimental forms, texts, and authors alongside perspectives, world views, and creative practices that have been historically silenced, marginalised, or endangered. Throughout the programme, you’ll develop sensitivity and appreciation for a diverse range of cultures and forms of artistic expressions, as well as emotional and cultural intelligence when discussing them with your peers and tutors.   

The programme includes innovative modules Science-Fiction and Renaissance Lives, plus a new Creative Writing poetry module and identities module, alongside our excellent existing creative writing and period-based literary modules in Medieval, Early Modern, 19th century, Modernist and Contemporary Studies.   

You’ll develop a wide range of creative writing skills and knowledge, looking at forms such as novels, short stories, poetry, plays, screenplays, graphic novels and writing for games.    

You will study classic works like those of Shakespeare and George Eliot, as well as writing by contemporary authors including Kazuo Ishiguro, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Jhumpa Lahiri.    

Genres you’ll study include travel writing, 19th-century theatre and fiction, science-fiction, contemporary global literatures, medieval literature, romantic literature, early modern, modernist and contemporary literatures.    

Our creative writing modules will develop your understanding of the techniques used and challenges faced by the writers you study on your English literature modules. You’ll assess the potential and challenges of forms of artistic expression that are increasingly central in contemporary culture and society, such as digital storytelling, video-gaming, blogging and podcasting. Your studies will also help you find inspiration and root your own creative work in the authors and literary traditions you’ll be exploring.   

You’ll gain professional and transferable skills in communications, writing, and critical thinking. You’ll learn how to write at a professional level in a variety of modes: analytical commentary and interpretive analysis, literary criticism, prose fiction, poetry, and writing for stage, screen, gaming and beyond. These skills are paramount in a wide range of professional environments and career paths, such as writing, editing, copywriting, teaching, publishing, marketing, journalism, social media and communications roles.  

Culture and arts at Surrey

As a BA (Hons) English Literature and Creative Writing student at Surrey, you’ll find yourself in an exciting and creatively invigorating environment. 

Alongside your lectures, tutorials, seminars and workshops, you'll have a wide range of opportunities to engage with our vibrant research culture and arts activities.  

Literary events on and around campus include the annual Morag Morris Poetry Lecture, the Surrey Poetry Festival and the Surrey New Writers Festival.  

The School of Literature and Languages also regularly hosts talks by major writers and critics, as well as literary agents, publishers and other speakers of interest.  

Our current Distinguished Writer in Residence is the acclaimed writer,  Neel Mukherjee , and our new Poet in Residence for 2023-24 is Briony Hughes. Both offer regular writing workshops and, in the case of our Distinguished Writer in Residence, one-on-one writing surgery sessions.  

Dr Liz Bahs

Programme leader

School of Literature and Languages

This course is taught by academic staff from the School of Literature and Languages.

Course structure Open

The academic year is divided into two semesters of 15 weeks each. Each semester consists of a period of teaching, revision/directed learning and assessment. 

The structure of our programmes follow clear educational aims that are tailored to each programme. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes.

• English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons)
• English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons) with placement

Please note: The   full module listing for the optional Professional Training placement part of your course is available in the relevant programme specification.

Modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Modules are subject to teaching availability, student demand and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programmes based on a 15-credit tariff.

Course options

Year 1 - ba (hons), introduction to creative writing.

This introductory module will provide a theoretical and practice-based introduction to narrative and poetics. We will discuss technical elements of poetry and prose, and address the similarities and differences among various forms. In addition, we will consider historical and literary movements in relation to different formal techniques and their cultural contexts. During the seminar session, students will engage in writing exercises and connected to the topic of the weekly lecture and workshop original work with other students, benefitting from that key peer group feedback and support that will help guide and sustain their practice as writers. Throughout the module, we will examine creative processes and practices and the role of revision in the wider writing process itself. Students will have the opportunity to discuss their own processes in a self-reflective critical commentary that will accompany their final portfolio of creative work.  

THINKING LIKE A CRITIC I

This module introduces students to key theoretical debates and critical methodologies relating to literature and literary studies. It extends the student's knowledge of the different approaches we can take to literary studies, the various questions we can ask of literature, and the diverse forms of knowledge and insight that the study of literature can yield. Simultaneously, it allows students to identify the approaches and concerns in which they have been previously (and often unwittingly) been trained and those which most interest them going forward; it then helps them develop and enhance their understanding and application of their preferred methodologies. The module is in this way both complementary and foundational to all the other modules students will take in both their first year and in subsequent years: it gives them a vital tool-kit they will deploy on all modules. Topics and methodologies to be explored include questions of form and the close reading of literary texts; the political and ideological implications of literary texts; the interrelationships between texts, genres and culture more generally; the relationship between texts and their various historical contexts; and the evolution of the academic discipline of English Literature from the early 20th to the early 21st century. Students are trained not only to understand some of the most influential literary theories and methodologies, but also to appraise, compare and critique these different approaches. They will also undertake their own theoretically-informed critical analyses of literary texts, thereby also developing their ability to apply different methodologies and theoretical approaches. The module's themes and focus are then extended by the semester 2 companion module ELI1011 Theories of Reading II, which continues the survey of key literary theories. Both these modules form a foundation for levels 5 and 6 where the theoretical knowledge and application skills will be further reinforced.

LITERARY HISTORIES I

This module introduces students to different periods in literary history from the medieval period to the late Eighteenth Century through the examination of a variety of texts. Students will study texts in English from the medieval period, the Early Modern period, the Restoration, and the neo-Classical period. Throughout the module students will learn to interpret literature by focusing on aspects of its historical including social, environmental, global and cultural context, and to consider the interplay between historical background and texts. How does historical change and how do specific historical events impact on the production and reception of literature? What distinguishes imaginative literature from other textual historical documents? Students will also be encouraged to reflect on the academic practice of dividing history into key 'moments': the 'politics' of periodization, in other words. At what point does one period end and another begin? Why have literary critics chosen to mark the parameters of certain literary-historical periods as they have? While the focus is on English literature, the module will remain sensitive to the interplay between English literary traditions and those in other countries and the increasingly multicultural dimension of English literary history. Lectures will introduce students to key features of the literary period in question, to theoretical concepts which have proved useful in historicist approaches to literary criticism, and provide readings of set literary texts from a historical perspective. Seminars will enable students to discuss issues raised in the lectures and secondary reading as well as their own interpretations of the set texts in ways that will develop their critical thinking, research, and communication skills. By enabling students to gain the critical skills and knowledge required to study literature historically this module will provide a foundation for their further study of historical literary periods in semester 2 of their first year and for their study of literature in their second and final years.

UNDERSTANDING THE NOVEL

  This module is designed to introduce students to the academic study of the novel. Over the course of the module students will learn to read narrative fiction closely and critically, and to consider the relations between prose texts and the political, cultural, and intellectual contexts in which they are written and read. Focusing on novels in English from a range of historical periods and national contexts, the module examines fundamental aspects of the novel such as formal structure, characterisation, narrative, and voice, and important novelistic genres such as realism and the Gothic. It also considers the novel form’s representation of key issues such as subjectivity, gender, race, and politics. By enabling students to acquire the knowledge and critical skills needed to study and analyse novels, this module will provide a foundation for the study of prose fiction at degree level. This module connects to other period specific modules throughout the degree at levels 5 and 6. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the first, second and final years  

UNDERSTANDING STAGE AND SCREEN

This module is designed to introduce the academic study of drama and film. By studying three modern British plays and their adaptations to the screen you will develop an understanding of how drama and film are distinguished from other printed forms of literature alongside an appreciation of their cultural significance. Students on the module will be encouraged to think about the relationship between texts and their immediate historical and political contexts. You will be trained in the use of technical terms for drama and films, and will be introduced to the visual and audio analysis appropriate to both forms. Students will have the opportunity to develop creative as well as critical responses to the films and plays studied.  

THINKING LIKE A WRITER

Building on your semester 1 creative writing module, this module will further examine prose and poetry, and will also address writing for the stage, screen and even for games! Additionally, this module will encourage students to reflect on what it might mean to ‘think like a writer’. It will introduce students to writing for the stage as well as the big and small screen, through the work of individuals who are both critics and creative practitioners in their respective fields. The module also examines the creative work of poets, playwrights, screenwriters, prose writers and writers for the new spaces of digital and electronic media often in the light of these authors’ critical writing, and helps students to think about how their own creative and critical practice might inform each other. The module also includes an introduction to narrative and creative writing theory that will be explored in greater depth in the second and final years of your creative writing programme.  

THINKING LIKE A CRITIC II

The module builds on ELI1033, continuing to give students the necessary methodologies for undertaking close reading of literary texts and a self-aware understanding of their own subject positions in doing so. It provides wide coverage of different forms of literary theory and sets this alongside discussions of how to carry out critical analyses on literary texts. The module acts as a basis for levels 5 and 6, where the theoretical knowledge and application skills will be reinforced. Together with a rigorous study of a wide range of theoretical traditions, students will also analyse, through collaborative exercises and seminar discussions, short texts and cultural phenomena. In this way, they will develop the critical skills necessary to appreciate how theoretical texts can provide us with powerful tools to discuss important social questions that affect contemporary societies.

LITERARY HISTORIES II

This module introduces students to the main periods in literary history from Romanticism to Postmodernism by examining a variety of texts from these periods. Students will study texts in English from the Romantic and Victorian periods and from modernism and postmodernism. Throughout the module students will learn to interpret literature by focusing on aspects of its historical (including social, cultural, environmental, and global) context, and to consider the interplay between historical background and texts. How does historical change and how do specific historical events impact on the production and reception of literature? What distinguishes imaginative literature from other textual historical documents? Students will also be encouraged to reflect on the academic practice of dividing history into key 'moments': the 'politics' of periodization, in other words. At what point does one period end and another begin? Why have literary critics chosen to mark the parameters of certain literary-historical periods as they have? While the focus is on English literature, the module will explore the increasingly multicultural dimension of English literary history in the modern period. Lectures will introduce students to key features of the literary period in question, to theoretical concepts which have proved useful in historicist approaches to literary criticism, and provide readings of set literary texts from a historical perspective. Seminars will enable students to discuss issues raised in the lectures and secondary reading and develop their own interpretations of the set texts. This module enables students to build upon and expand the critical skills and knowledge acquired in semester 1 modules by enhancing students' capabilities in these areas and encouraging a deeper study of literature historically, this module will also provide a foundation for the study of literature across a range of time periods in levels 5 and 6. In particular, the module connects to other period specific modules throughout the degree especially at level 5.

UNDERSTANDING POETRY

This module is designed to give students the confidence to read, study, and enjoy poetry. Over the course of the module students will learn to read and think critically and creatively about poems in English from a range of genres, historical periods and sub/cultures, about the formal elements of verse (such as rhyme, lineation, stanza structure, and metre), and about the social, political,global and intellectual contexts that shape poetic writing. The module will introduce and examine the technical features of poetry as a form, and offer an in-depth consideration of some of the most important poetic genres: epic, lyric, dramatic, and free verse. In the final week of the module, a lecture given by one of Surrey University’s professional poets will introduce students to the most recent trends in contemporary poetry. By enabling students to acquire the knowledge and critical skills needed to appreciate and analyse poems, this module will provide a foundation for the study of poetry at degree level. Peer-led discussion of debates around poetry, and workshopping and portfolio-building in seminars, fosters resilience and confidence (in analytical and/or creative writing; sharing ideas and written work in class) whilst developing transferable writing, communication and presentation skills suitable for a range of careers. This module connects to other first year modules in both the English literature and creative writing streams to ground students in the basics of their discipline, setting the scene for more in depth knowledge and practice development in modules throughout the degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the first, second and final years.

GLOBAL LITERATURES

This module introduces students to global literatures across geocultural spaces and historical periods through the study and critical analysis of a range of texts written in multiple languages and from both Western and non-Western perspectives. This module is part of a global strand embedded in our programme, which will help students develop global sensitivity and appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity. The central question that will guide our discussions is how literary texts engage with the idea of the world. You will work collaboratively to develop critical and analytical skills that will enable you to appreciate: (1) how literary texts foster historical awareness and sensitivity to global issues affecting contemporary societies; (2) how literature is deeply shaped by cultural, political, and social forces; (3) how texts actively create narrative worlds that respond to specific symbolic and cultural needs. Building upon the theoretical foundations acquired during the first year, students will reflect on the value and challenges of studying literature today from a global, multilingual and  comparative perspective.

Year 2 - BA (Hons)

Elements of narrative.

This module explores the varied formal and technical challenges facing creative writers, examining the affordances and constraints of different modes of writing and the cultural, historical and theoretical contexts which impact upon how texts (including prose fiction, poetry, screenplays and dramatic scripts) are written and understood, and to translate this understanding into more effective creative practice.

CONTEMPORARY POSTCOLONIAL FICTIONS AND CULTURES

By focusing on a wide range of postcolonial fictions, this module explores what it means to write in a postcolonial context and allows students to reflect on the legacies of colonialism today. Student will discuss how colonialism and postcoloniality affect both content and fictional form, and will be encouraged to use the solid theoretical foundations built during the first year in the programme to critically analyse postcolonial fictions and cultures. The skills in interpretive analysis and research they will acquire in this module will be fundamental in preparing them for the dissertation project at the conclusion of their learning journey. Students will be able to explore a wide range of artistic forms¿prose, poetry, drama, and film and will develop crucial skills in critical analysis, connective thinking, and digital competency during our seminar discussions and in online activities. This module is part of a global strand embedded in our programme. In addressing prominent global issues such as colonialism, migration, diaspora, racial, gender, and class inequalities this module offers students tools to understand how and why literature can be a powerful instrument of critique and analysis of a persistently unequal world. The module further provides a theoretical underpinning that will enable students to draw connections between contemporary fictions and postcolonial and decolonial theories.

Building on the introduction to modernism covered in the first-year core modules, this module explores a period in literature that was to bring innovation across the spectrum of cultural endeavour. Through a range of exciting and innovative works of literature from around the world, you will be introduced to the key ideas underlying the theories and practises of modernist writers in the period between 1900 and 1945. By exploring the concept of multiple global modernisms, the module builds global and cultural skills that will enable you to critically engage with the key themes central to modernist thought. As well as acquiring in-depth knowledge of the individual texts on the module, you will be able to develop a sense of how movements in modernist literature relate both to each other and to other disciplines such as philosophy, economics, politics, and art. Through the independent research undertaken for assessment and a particular focus on the skills required for advanced secondary source research, this module will also develop resourcefulness and digital skills.

MONSTERS, MYSTICS AND DEMONS

This module explores a range of literary texts produced in England at the end of the Middle Ages, paying particular attention to issues of language, gender, race, social status, travel, and religion. It explores the relationship between the self and the other, focusing on ideas of perfection and monstrosity, and the divine and the demonic. The module explores three interrelated themes that speak to the historical, social, and religious contexts of late Medieval English literature: 1) Monstrous Masculinities and Femininities 2) Travellers’ Tales: Encountering the Other and 3) Visions of Another Order. Alongside analysing examples the literature of the period, you will practice translating passages from late medieval literary texts in the workshops. In addition to the set primary texts, you will examine relevant examples from historical texts and visual that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands.

INTRODUCTION TO TEFL

This is a module for Level 5 students in the School of  Literature and Languages. It is taught over one semester, with three contact hours per teaching week.The module considers a range of approaches to teaching English as a Foreign Language, approaches which can be applied to the teaching of other languages. It provides practice and assessment in lesson planning and in teaching through peer teaching tasks. The skills developed on the module such as speaking in front of groups and decision making are transferable to a number of other careers. The module is capped at 14 students in each semester.  

NINETEENTH-CENTURY LITERATURE AND CULTURE

This module gives students a broad and deep understanding of nineteenth-century literature in relation to a range of social, cultural and political contexts. Following a roughly chronological trajectory the module picks up key issues (industrialisation, the impacts of empire, faith and doubt) and examines them through key texts and authors of the period. The module pushes students to think in nuanced ways about the relationship between text and context and about the cultural forces which have promoted or marginalised historical voices.

TRANSLATION FRENCH-ENGLISH I

This is a practical introduction to translation from French to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from French to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from French to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Francophone cultures.

TRANSLATION GERMAN-ENGLISH I

This is a practical introduction to translation from German to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from German to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from German to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of German-speaking cultures.

TRANSLATION SPANISH-ENGLISH I

This is a practical introduction to translation from Spanish to English. Students will be introduced to some basic concepts and terminology in translation and will learn through translating short texts from Spanish to English and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from Spanish to English and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems as well as to introduce aspects of Spanish-speaking cultures.

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: VICTORIAN CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS

This interdisciplinary module, focused on Victorian creative partnerships, explores connections between texts, individuals, couples, circles and movements. It investigates the ways in which female and male figures worked in various forms of partnership: as spouses, siblings, friends and lovers. It examines a range of Victorian texts including poems, short stories, plays, novels and novellas, letters and diaries as well as visual texts. It engages with the themes of gender, sexuality, identity, power, partnership, co/authorship and readership. The module introduces students to contextual debates about sexual politics, gender and representation in the nineteenth-century, and seeks to understand how writers responded and contributed to them. It also reads nineteenth-century figures and texts in relation to more recent feminist and gender theory, revealing their continued cultural importance. Authors studied include: tthe Brownings, the Brontës, George Eliot and George Henry Lewes, Arthur Hugh Clough and Matthew Arnold, Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, the Rossettis, and Michael Field.

WRITING POETRY: COMPOSITION AND CRAFT

This module explores elements of poetic craft, discourse, and techniques for writing poetry through the close analysis of lyric, narrative, dramatic, and hybrid modes in contemporary poetry written for the page and / or performance and exhibition. The module introduces students to contemporary and innovative discussions including topics such as formal and free poetic structures, sound effect and rhythm, poetic voice and persona, writing communities, poetic intent and play. The module asks students to engage with the development of their own writing alongside of reading and listening to contemporary poetry, essays, and manifestos by chosen 'companion poets' they will encounter in the module.

UNDERSTANDING POPULAR CULTURE: FROM DICKENS TO DISNEY

This innovative, interdisciplinary and university-wide module explores multiple aspects of popular culture in the contemporary world. The module considers how and why some works acquire the status of popular culture and how these works permeate everyday life. Through an overview of contemporary issues and approaches to popular culture in social, literary, filmic, musical and sociological contexts, you will consider the values inherent in some cultural works, and how these transform to reflect societal preoccupations. You will examine case studies from Dickens through Disney to the Diva, considering the creative choices and the critical reception. This module will equip you with a sophisticated understanding of the academic approaches to culture which will inform and illuminate your work in other disciplines. In particular the module embeds the University Pillars of Resourcefulness & Resilience, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities. This original module is delivered by staff specialising in diverse forms of popular culture across the university, including from the Department of Music and Media, School of Literature and Languages and GSA.

CONTEMPORARY STORYTELLING

This module allows you to explore various modes of storytelling in a contemporary context, with a view to developing your narrative skills. The course will engage with contemporary fiction, poetry, non-fiction, film, and theatre and will help you to to investigate and understand the multiple ways readers and writers engage with storytelling and narrative. There will be lectures on each topic, with workshop-style seminars that are designed to help you engage with and analyse your own writing and the writing of others, with the aim of helping students to hone your ability to edit and create. 

GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN CONTEMPORARY TEXTS AND CULTURES

This module explores how a culturally diverse range of contemporary texts negotiate issues of gender and sexuality. Using a variety of formats (novels, poems, graphic novels, films and even comedy) we will reflect on what writing about gendered experiences and queer desire entails and how these lived and embodied intimacies affect form and determine meaning. The module provides a theoretical underpinning that will enable you to construct links between contemporary texts and relevant trans-inclusive and anti-racist theories about intersectional identities and LGBTQIA2S+* literature and culture. In this module, you will not just read about queer theory, you will hear directly from the theorists: The module provides podcast conversations with several prominent scholars from the field to enrich your reading of secondary literature with a digital research communication tool. You will be able to expand the knowledge of feminism, queer studies, and intersectional thinking that you have built in your first year of studies and reflect on how these discourses affect you and your peers in your day-to-day life, while also considering unfamiliar perspectives and cultures.

ROMANTIC LITERATURE: 1789-1830

Following on from the brief introductions to Romanticism at Level 4 , this module allows students to explore in more depth and detail the profound literary and cultural innovations that took place in the Romantic period (roughly, 1789-1830), and which continue to shape culture and society today. The module forms part of a set of historically focused pre-1900 ‘period’ modules that focus on specific literary periods as a way of studying literature: students must take at least one of these modules to complement the more contemporary focus of other modules, so as to gain greater knowledge of both the evolution of English literature over time and the variant forms and concerns of literature in different historical periods. Examining a broad range of canonical and non-canonical Romantic texts (and thus highlighting the diversity of authors and styles in the period), the module each week uses a selection of representative writers to explore a key form or theme: for example, Nature, imagination, the self and subjectivity, sentimentalism and feeling, and shifting notions of masculinity and femininity. Famous writers such as Blake, Wordsworth, Keats and Byron are read alongside authors who are less well known today (for example, Charlotte Smith, Anna Letitia Barbauld, Ignatius Sancho and Henry Derozio) to give students a rich, synchronic understanding of the key concerns, debates, alliances and animosities distinctive to this specific period in British literary history. At the same time, students explore the global contexts and connections driving the evolution of English literature and of British culture more broadly in this period, and they also consider the ongoing relevance of Romantic-era concerns and debates to 21st century society (for example, Romantic writers’ diverse reactions to increasing globalization, and the emergence of modern environmental and conservationist thinking).

THE AMERICAN CENTURY

This module draws attention to and interrogates the changing relationship between the 'self' and 'society' in twentieth-century American culture. Approaching this topic from an interdisciplinary perspective, the module examining three interrelated areas that address the major social, political, and aesthetic developments of the 'American Century': 1) urbanisation, commerce and the American city, 2) transnationalism and American identity, and race, nation, and the body in contemporary America. In addition to the primary texts, students will examine relevant examples from film, art, music, and design that help to further illuminate these three thematic strands. In particular, this module focuses on students’ global awareness and understanding, both regarding American literary and culture, as well as the ways in which successive periods of migration and transnational exchange have led to widespread American influence in a range of cultural domains. Through analysis of a range of texts and cultural materials, students will gain deeper insight into the impact and influence of American culture in the twentieth century and beyond to develop global and cultural capabilities.

SCIENCE FICTION

This module explores the meanings and developments of science fiction throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, as well as focusing on the relationship between this innovative form and the cultural, political, ethical and ecological sustainability issues addressed in the texts. Discussion and analysis will focus not only on what worlds or peoples are imagined in science fiction and why, but also on how such core features of science fiction have been developed, challenged and reconfigured by various political and historical movements and events (such as the cold war, feminism, black civil rights movements, gay liberation, imperial endeavours, global warming and other ecological sustainability narratives, among others). The module will give particular attention to technological developments and their relationship to the human, addressing the ways in which the human is rethought and reimagined through its interaction with technological innovation. Themes that will be addressed may include alternative futurisms, artificial intelligence, body modifications, alien species and/or worlds, dystopian and utopian imaginaries, future technologies, technology and sustainability, technology and identity and struggles for freedom. Science fiction will therefore be engaged with through the lens of contemporary theories (such as postcolonialism, gender studies, ecocriticism and posthumanism), as well as with attention to changing interpretations of the meaning of the genre in its diverse socio-political and global cultural contexts.  This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in your second year and is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree, which includes module in the first and final years of the degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

TEACHING LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE

This module takes students off campus and into local schools. They work closely with MFL or English Literature teachers, shadowing them or taking small groups of school students, and gaining an insight into the teaching profession. This module complements ELA2012 Introduction to TEFL, by allowing students to see teaching strategies and techniques in the real world. The Module has the backing of the "Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme" ( www.uas.ac.uk ).

WRITING THE VICTORIANS: NEO-VICTORIANISM IN CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

This module aims to explore a variety of neo-Victorian texts to examine how the legacy of the Victorians continues to inform contemporary culture. Students will be asked to consider the significance of neo-Victorian writing in the context of postmodernity and will analyse the literary, cultural and commercial impacts of the genre. The module will begin by considering early examples of neo-Victorian texts that emerged in the 1950s and 60s before exploring the expansion of the genre in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It will cover a range of neo-Victorian productions including novels, poetry, film and TV adaptations that are informed by well-known Victorian texts in order to examine the wider cultural impact of contemporary engagements with the Victorian period, and will ask students to analyse issues of race, class, gender and sexuality which are interrogated and challenged by neo-Victorian works. The module draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

TRANSLATION ENGLISH-FRENCH I

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to French. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in French and will learn through translating short texts from English to French and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to French and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

TRANSLATION ENGLISH-SPANISH I

This is a practical introduction to translation from English to Spanish. Students will learn to express some basic concepts and terminology in translation in Spanish and will learn through translating short texts from English to Spanish and writing reflective commentaries on translation issues. Students will gain an understanding of the processes involved in translating from English to Spanish and will develop their ability to analyse and interpret texts and to recognise and resolve translation issues, using appropriate translation resources. Texts will be contemporary and will cover a range of text types, chosen to illustrate a wide variety of translation problems and enhance cultural awareness.

INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Sociolinguistics explores language as a social phenomenon, examining both how social factors affect language, and what language can tell us about society. This module introduces students to the interaction between language and society. We start by considering the linguist variables that reflect our social identity, before examining how speaker’s responses to external social factors influences the way in which languages are used, lost and standardized. This module is taught in English at FHEQ Level 5. Introduction to Sociolinguistics builds on themes in linguistics introduced at throughout modules taught at Level 4 and provides in-depth preparation for Level 6 modules that focus in detail on the sociolinguistics of specific languages including French and Spanish.

COMMUNICATION IN SOCIETY

Communication is a key skill in the information society, from making sense of the world around you to making yourself heard in different settings, including university, work, with friends and family, and in society. This module will introduce students to key concepts in communication as they are relevant to communicating in 21st century society. Accounting for the fact that most of our communication is mediated in some way, the module will give students a strong contextual understanding in mediated communication. This is followed by an interdisciplinary approach to communication in which students will learn about the way we communicate and understand communication in a range of areas, including business, medical settings, science, language, and psychology.

Year 3 - BA (Hons)

Language diversity.

This module, which assumes no prior knowledge of languages other than English, is intended to give students an insight into the diversity of human communication systems found throughout the world. In order to understand how language works, we need to examine the variety of systems to be found, some of which differ drastically from what we know and what we might expect. This module builds on the skills students have developed in constructing arguments and finding evidence in support of their reasoning through their modules at Levels 4 and 5, by demonstrating how complimentary skills are applied in scientific research related to language. Students are introduced to alternative ways of thinking about the world around us to further develop their ability to scrutinise and assess evidence.

QUEER ECOLOGIES AND ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE

Environmental literature is deeply entwined with queer, decolonial and intersectional perspectives: Place and race, space and class, feminist and LGBTQIA2s+* issues, all meet in the queer ecologies we will explore in this module. We will learn about the (queer) history of writing about the environment, about the role of protest in literature and about how describing the world around us in texts actually changes the shape of the natural and built environment. Building on skills and knowledge you have acquired in previous modules on literary history and on theoretical approaches, the module aims to expand your knowledge of global ecocritical and queer writing and theory and to enable you to critically analyse contemporary depictions of climate change dystopias, of human and non-human animal relationships, of protest poetry, and of queer environmental fiction. We will discuss novels, poetry, performances, Youtube videos, as well as the odd social media account, and always combine our readings with a specific theoretical concept to help you learn how to put knowledge into practice. Since the module will also give you some insight into research communication, you will have the option of creating a research-based podcast as your final assessment. The module will include a workshop on podcasting, which will teach you new digital skills and enable you to develop an independent project, potentially in cooperation with collaborators outside of the seminar room. You will also contribute to a collaborative digital glossary, taking charge of creating a communal knowledge resource with formative feedback from your lecturer and comments and questions from fellow students. This module is part of a global strand embedded in our programme, which will help students develop global sensitivity and appreciation for cultural and linguistic diversity. We will discuss a global and culturally diverse range of primary texts, as well as theory texts, and cover, for example, Indigenous knowledges from different parts of the planet.

CONTEMPORARY SHAKESPEARE

This module introduces students to a range of creative and critical strands and debates related to contemporary Shakespearean performance. These may include global and intercultural Shakespeare, adaptations on stage and screen, applied Shakespeare, gender - and colour-blind Shakespeare, cultural politics and ethics. Drawing on relevant critical debates on how and why Shakespeare is performed today within diverse and multicultural societies, students will be able to engage with case-studies of UK and international productions and artists. The module will pay attention to key terms such as diversity, diaspora, hybridity and inclusivity and enable students to draw on these in informed critical analysis and discussion.

CREATIVE WRITING AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

This module is intended to follow on from previous CW modules and help you develop with an advanced engagement with questions of form and craft. It will concentrate on the practicalities of writing creatively within the context of a broad narrative frame. The focus of the module is on prose fiction and on poetry, as well as helping you produce polished and professional quality work in either or both modes. This module also provides knowledge and advice on the processes of getting published, the workings of the publishing industry and invites reflection on the challenges and opportunities of writing professionally.    

THE GOTHIC IMAGINATION, 1800S PRESENT

The Gothic has been a fixture of British and American literary history and popular culture from its origins in the eighteenth century, and continues to capture and haunt the human imagination. Straddling both 'high' and 'low' art forms, appealing to elite as well as mass audiences, the Gothic thrives on blurring boundaries and dissolving traditional dichotomies- between, for example, self and other, human and inhuman, civilisation and savagery, public and private identities This optional level 6 module focuses on Gothic literary and cultural production from Horace Walpole's 1764 seminal Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto up to the stylized Goth aesthetic and obsession with true crime Gothic figures in twenty-first-century cinema and television. Drawing on a variety of literary and visual texts this module demonstrates how Gothic fictions are born out of hyper-tense socio-political and psychological states, symbolising and expressing anxieties about class, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and gender. Gothic texts are situated in their historical, biographical, geographical and global contexts, offering a nuanced understanding of the proliferation of the genre across periods, disciplines and borders. As well as exploring famous Gothic figures of the vampire and the zombie, we also consider the Gothic as a mode of writing, and as a mode of cultural engagement with the traumas of post/modernity. The module confronts topics including otherness and the limits of the human, monstrous doubling, the horrors of addiction, grotesque transformation, and the ethics and dangers of science. It traces the evolution of the Gothic, covering: Gothic origin; European Gothic; Gothic satire; Romantic and Neo/Victorian Gothic; Female and Feminist Gothic; American and African-American Gothic; and Goth culture. Through studying the texts, debates and themes of the module, and through the assessments, you will develop transferable skills in critical thinking and reading, independent research and groupwork, presentation and communication, digital capabilities and analytical writing.

RULE BREAKERS, UPSTARTS & GENRE RAPSCALLIONS: GENRE WRITING FROM COMMERCIAL TO SUBVERSIVE

Often dismissed as disposable entertainment, derided for rehashing formulaic plot devices, popular genre fiction may better be considered literature that tests the generic boundaries within which it operates. This Level 6 Creative Writing module aims to establish the fundamental techniques, strategies, and conventions of popular genres and modes (such as mystery, horror, graphic narrative), as well as ways writers may choose to subvert those conventions, with an eye toward developing original creative projects that engage—in some way—with genre. This module is intended to complement the range of Creative Writing modules offered at level 6, focussing on genre construction and reception across a variety of contexts. One of the keys to becoming a more sophisticated writer is to become a more careful reader. Whether you love or hate, are exhilarated, or bored by a text, you can always learn from it. To that end, we will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering both the elements of craft that contribute to the construction of different genres (character, plot, form, structure, and so on), as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text, particularly where writers may subvert genre expectations. And to make use of all our reading, we will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which you are encouraged to experiment—and have fun—with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other’s work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

THE AGE OF CHIVALRY: MEDIEVAL AND EARLY MODERN ROMANCE

This module introduces students to the huge variety of medieval and Early Modern romance from the twelfth to the early-seventeenth centuries. The texts will be read either in Middle English or in translation (languages covered will be Latin, French, Middle English, Arabic, Spanish, and Welsh). The module explores the genre with a particular interest in gender and sexuality, instances of transgression, multi-culturalism, and multilingualism. It also investigates the traditional connection of romances with female readership. The module is subdivided into three interconnected areas: stories of knightly chivalry, tales of the supernatural, and reactions to romance. As well as the primary texts, students will study examples of contemporary historical material to help them contextualise both the romances and these three thematic areas. The module will build on students’ understanding of medieval and Early Modern texts and historical contexts developed from modules in the first and second years. Additionally, the module will enable students to further engage their interests in literary history, the development of romance as a genre, and examining literature through key critical and theoretical lenses such as gender theory, queer theory, critical race theory, and ecocriticism. After taking this module, students will have a detailed understanding of the fluid and expansive nature of romance and its changing historical and social contexts. They will also have been afforded the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path.

WRITING GAMING

Gaming has existed as a mode of play and expression since the earliest times of human existence. In the latter part of the 20th and into the first two decades of the 21st Century (the period we will focus on with this module), there has been a vast expansion of the forms, modes and technologies employed in gaming and game play. Out of wargaming and board gaming practices (and often the interfaces of these) in the post-World War II era, increasingly complex and sophisticated character and narrative focussed Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed as well as other narrative forms that connect gaming with interactive textuality, such as gamebooks, Collectable Card Games, online interactive fiction, video games and multi-player online gaming platforms. There has been, in the early 21st century, additionally, a large increase in the number of board games being produced and played, while wargaming also remains an active and vibrant aspect of gaming culture. An aspect of gaming that has sometimes fallen short, in ‘quality’ terms, though, is the writing that underpins both the rules systems and the ‘story’ component of games (background, character, description. narrative, dialogue, terminology, etc.) This is perhaps unsurprising as games have been primarily written by gamers rather than professional writers; many of these, of course, go on to develop their writing skills and become accomplished writers in their own right. More and more, though, creative writers are specifically incorporated into the game design and realisation processes (for both analogue and virtual gaming environments) to improve the quality of the gaming experience. In this module students will receive an overview of the gaming field and examine aspects of this that specifically pertain to writing for games. What approaches work well for games and gaming modes? How are these different from writing for and in other forms and media? What writing skills are particularly useful? Do we have the freedom to write outside of limiting industry constraints and models? What are the new forms of writing practice that are emerging in relation to games and gaming? We will also be interested in analysing games and gaming critically as cultural objects, and situating them within the broader context of contemporary cultural and literary theory. This is not a module that will teach students how to code and/or produce and design video games (or, indeed commercial analogue games). We will touch on aspects of game design, game production, gaming studies, critical digital studies, etc., but the focus for this module will be on writing creatively for games: writing gaming. Expert guest speakers from the gaming and independent gaming industries will be included in the teaching provision for this module. If students have specific coding, visual art or musical/sound art skills that they would like to bring to their exercises and assignments, they can certainly draw on these skills, but if they don’t, that is completely fine – none of these are required for this module. In each seminar we will first spend some time discussing the set texts and the techniques and standpoints employed by writers and other artists, before moving on to the workshop part of the session where students will produce work in accordance with the task set for that week, within and outside of the classroom. We will read and discuss a selection of pieces at the end of each class. This process will help students grow in confidence, both in presentational terms and in terms of delivering and receiving feedback on their work, in a safe and supportive setting. In addition, each week there will be a scheduled 2-hour gaming session where students will gather to explore individual and collaborative gaming in practice. Different approaches to gaming will be proposed each week, or students can opt to work during this time on longer gaming experiences and projects. At the end of the semester students will produce a creative portfolio of gaming writing, alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the creative work produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module, OR an academic critical essay examining some aspect of writing for games OR a Game Demo alongside a critical commentary reflecting on the demo produced and using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module. Possible submissions for the creative portfolio include online interactive fiction (e.g. Twine, Squiffy), a gamebook text, a tabletop game text (board game, card game, wargame, Role-Playing Game), a game demo, a game setting, a game system, Game Design Documentation (GDD) for a proposed game, a 'creative essay', gaming portfolio as creative essay, a zine, a website for a game, etc. This module connects to other contemporary literature modules on the programme in the 2nd and final years where the emphasis is on 20th and 21st Century approaches to creating and examining literatures and our cultural responses to them. As such, it is part of the contemporary literature route that students can choose as a focus of their degree. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.  

CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

The module offers students the opportunity to learn about children’s literature across a variety of genres, ages, as well as about its historical development and socio-cultural contexts. The module will require students to engage the critical thinking skills and theoretical knowledge that they have acquired in modules across their first and second years in a new context, enabling them to think deeply about the ways in which children’s literature should be studied with the same rigorous approach that they would apply to texts written for adults. In particular, students will be encouraged to consider how genre, form, gender, race, identity, setting, temporality,. They will also confront their own relationship to texts that they read as children or young adults and consider what components result in effective writing for children which will enable them to engage with complex critical concepts, and develop their own writing both creative and critical. Through participating in group discussions in the lecture-seminars, students will develop a detailed understanding of how to analyse children’s literature and how to write for children. The module will also afford students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills in ways that will benefit them on their chosen career path. At the end of the semester students will produce a work of children’s literature alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work OR a critical essay that focusses on two works of children’s literature using the theories, concepts and practices studied.

SCREENWRITING

The module offers students the opportunity to learn the processes for writing a compelling script for film or television. Through analysing film clips, reading extracts from screenplays, engaging with theoretical concepts, and participating in class discussions and workshops students will be offered a comprehensive overview of the screenwriting process. The module builds upon the knowledge and skills from students’ BA studies in English Literature and Creative Writing at Level 4. It develops critical and creative skills for modules including the dissertation and aligns with other critical and creative modes in other at Level 6.  The two-hour workshops address the needs of in-depth writing and analysis at level 6. At the end of the semester students will produce a professionally formatted script for a short film or television episode alongside a commentary reflecting upon their creative work and/or a critical essay that focusses on films/ TV episodes of their own choice using theories, concepts and practices studied on the module.

MOBILITIES OF NATION AND EMPIRE: VICTORIAN LITERATURE 1850-1890

This module explores the relationship between national and imperial identities in literature from the 1850s to 1890s by writers from Britain and beyond, including Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Wilkie Collins, Behramji Malabari and James Africanus Horton. The module introduces students to contextual debates about the nation-state and its imperial engagements, and seeks to understand how authors respond and contribute to these ideas through literature both from within and beyond Britain. The module engages with these themes through a focus on concepts of space and mobility, using literary journeys as a way into understanding how novelists construct a dialogue between national and imperial spaces in literary texts. It draws upon and enhances the core knowledge and research skills acquired in second year Victorian Literature focussed modules. As a hybrid creative writing and English literature module, it also makes up part of the creative writing pathway in the degree, connecting to creative writing modules in the 1st, 2nd and final years.

BUILDING STORIES- METHODS AND MATERIALS OF CONTEMPORARY WRITING

"Literature was never only words, never merely immaterial verbal constructions. Literary texts, like us, have bodies, an actuality necessitating that their materialities and meanings are deeply interwoven into each other"-N. Katherine Hayles, Writing Machines. In this level 6 Creative Writing module, we will, as Hayles argues, consider the materiality of a variety of print-based and digital-born literature with an eye toward developing original creative projects. We will read and discuss relevant literary and theoretical works in detail, considering the medium (and technology, where appropriate) involved in their construction, as well as the aesthetic and conceptual frameworks that underpin each text. And to make use of all of our reading, students will learn to articulate responses to set texts through a series of writing exercises in which they are encouraged to experiment-to get their hands dirty, to play, to have fun-with the concepts introduced by the texts we read. Students should also be prepared to contribute fully to workshop discussions of their own and each other's work. The module will provide students the opportunity to produce, revise and polish their creative writing and will encourage and enable them to reflect on their own creative work and writing practice in a productive and critically-informed manner. Attendance is compulsory.

MEDIEVAL WOMEN'S WRITING

This module explores the centrality of texts written by and for medieval women to both the history of medieval literature and to women's literary history. You will be introduced to a range of works written for and about women in England between the 11th and 15th centuries and will examine in detail the major female authors writing from the 12th to the 15th centuries, such as the courtly writer Marie de France, the English woman mystic Julian of Norwich, and the visionary Margery Kempe. Texts will be read either in Middle English or in modernized versions, or (in the case of texts written in the French of the English, in translation). The module will explore a range of literary forms and genres, including saints' lives, romance and lais, mystical and visionary writing and women's letters. You will be asked to critically analyse and/or engage creatively with the texts, paying attention to your linguistic, literary, religious and socio- historical contexts and focusing on issues such as antifeminism, social hierarchies, literacy, multingualism and multi-culturalism, and gender and sexuality. The module provides you with a working knowledge of tools on used by researchers and writers examining and engaging with historically remote literatures and cultures, building on previous modules on global literatures and theories of gender and sexuality. These tools include not only the ability to analyse and critically evaluate texts and ideas, but also to understand them within their wider historical, geographical and social contexts, as well as practical tools of reading and translating Middle English texts.

LIFE WRITING

The module asks students what it means to write a life. We consider the function of auto/biography and the ways in which its writers from different global and cultural settings have reflected on the possibilities of truth-telling, the significance of subjectivity and the distillation of narrative from the everyday. It explores writing that bears witness to war and injustice, that blurs the lines between fact and fiction, and re-makes the self through bold experimentation with language. The module examines a variety of forms and modes that Life Writing might take - biography, autobiography, diaries, poetry, journals and others – and gives students the opportunity to create and/or analyse these forms in their assessment.

Semester 1 & 2

Dissertation.

The dissertation module is intended to provide students with an opportunity to select a research topic relating to an aspect of literary study which has engaged their own particular interest, and to explore it in detail through guided self-study. Each student will be assigned a tutor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.  

CREATIVE WRITING SUBMISSION

This module provides students with the opportunity to explore the challenges of producing a large scale portfolio of creative writing accompanied by self-reflective critical commentary. This Dissertation portfolio may consist of a single extended piece of writing or a collection of pieces of a shorter length. An agreed word count for students submitting poetry should be negotiated with their supervisor, although as a rule 5,000 words of creative prose is considered equivalent to 150 lines of poetry. Each student will be assigned a supervisor who will assist them in choosing their subject matter and literary approach, and who will provide advice, encouragement and formative feedback over the course of the writing process, as well as suggesting relevant reading material which may help inspire or critically locate the project. This module also allows students to reflect at length on the project’s rigourous relationship to previous work in the field, form or genre, on the writing processes and thinking behind the creative choices made, and to locate the work productively in literary and theoretical contexts. As well as the dissertation itself students will undertake a formative presentation in semester 1, and work on developing self-reflective skills through completing a progress log with their supervisors. This module connects to other modules on the programme undertaken by the students and can act as a culmination of their studies, in that the students can bring together and build from strands from earlier modules that they have particularly liked and excelled at, or act as a complement to other modules that the student has enjoyed but where they wish to use this dissertation module as an opportunity to explore and develop a different area that they wish to write on. As such, this module can connect with any of the modules students have studied across their degree, and allows them to tailor their pathway through the degree, and the degree itself, in their own way.  

Year 1 - BA (Hons) with placement

Year 2 - ba (hons) with placement, year 3 - ba (hons) with placement, professional training year module (full-year work).

This module supports students’ development of personal and professional attitudes and abilities appropriate to a Professional Training placement.  It supports and facilitates self-reflection and transfer of learning from their Professional Training placement experiences to their final year of study and their future employment.  The PTY module is concerned with Personal and Professional Development towards holistic academic and non-academic learning, and is a process that involves self-reflection, documented via the creation of a personal record, planning and monitoring progress towards the achievement of personal objectives.  Development and learning may occur before and during the placement, and this is reflected in the assessment model as a progressive process. However, the graded assessment takes place primarily towards the end of the placement.  Additionally, the module aims to enable students to evidence and evaluate their placement experiences and transfer that learning to other situations through written and presentation skills.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING YEAR MODULE (WORK-STUDY 50/50)

This module supports students’ development of personal and professional attitudes and abilities appropriate to a Professional Training placement.  It supports and facilitates self-reflection and transfer of learning from their Professional Training placement experiences to their final year of study and their future employment.  The PTY module is concerned with Personal and Professional Development towards holistic academic and non-academic learning, and is a process that involves self-reflection, documented via the creation of a personal record, planning and monitoring progress towards the achievement of personal objectives.  Development and learning may occur before and during the placement, and this is reflected in the assessment model as a progressive process. However, the graded assessment takes place primarily towards the end of the placement.  Additionally, the module aims to enable students to evidence and evaluate their placement experiences and transfer that learning to other situations through written skills.

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING YEAR MODULE (FULL-YEAR STUDY)

This module supports students’ development of personal and professional attitudes and abilities appropriate to a Professional Training placement.  It supports and facilitates self-reflection and transfer of learning from their Professional Training placement experiences to their final year of study and their future employment.  The PTY module is concerned with Personal and Professional Development towards holistic academic and non-academic learning and is a process that involves self-reflection. Development and learning may occur before and during the placement, and this is reflected in the assessment model as a progressive process. However, the graded assessment takes place primarily towards the end of the placement.  Additionally, the module aims to enable students to evidence and evaluate their placement experiences and transfer that learning to other situations through written skills.

Teaching and learning

Our creative writing lecturers are all published writers as well as experienced lecturers and researchers, who bring their creative and professional experience and insight to the classroom – and to the creative writing you produce. 

In our lectures, we introduce a diverse variety of classic and contemporary texts and a wide range of modes of writing – everything from sonnets to screenplays, novels to flash fiction. In your weekly workshops, you are encouraged to experiment with these techniques and types of writing yourself, receiving regular detailed feedback from your tutors and suggestions from your peers.  

At Surrey, we believe that English literature and creative writing fit together perfectly as parts of a joint degree. The reading in your English literature modules will inspire the work you produce in your creative writing classes. The theoretical discussions and practical exercises you undertake in your creative writing modules will inform your understanding of the creative and technical decisions made by the writers you study in English literature classes.  

This programme is designed not only to deepen your understanding and enjoyment of English literature, but to help build the confidence and skills you’ll need to write creatively to a professional standard yourself. 

• Independent study
• Practical sessions

We assess modules individually and award credits for the successful completion of each one. Assessment takes place through a combination of examination and/or coursework, practical examinations and reports. 

Check individual module information to see full details at a module level. 

General course information

Contact hours.

Contact hours can vary across our modules. Full details of the contact hours for each module are available from the University of Surrey's  module catalogue . See the modules section for more information.

New students will receive their personalised timetable in Welcome Week. In later semesters, two weeks before the start of semester.

Scheduled teaching can take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday), with part-time classes normally scheduled on one or two days. Wednesday afternoons tend to be for sports and cultural activities.

View our code of practice for the scheduling of teaching and assessment (PDF) for more information.

Stag Hill is the University's main campus and where the majority of our courses are taught. 

Career opportunities Open

We offer careers information, advice and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University.

The survey, Graduate Outcomes 2024, HESA, shows that 90 per cent of undergraduates in the School of Literature and Languages go on to further study or employment in a wide variety of careers.  

English literature graduates are ideally qualified for such professions as journalism, marketing, management, communications, publishing, the media industries, teaching, writing and arts administration. 

Some examples of careers our graduates have gone on to include: 

• Graduate Trainee, Dale Carnegie Training 
• Editorial Assistant, The Handbook 
• Junior Account Executive, Livewire Public Relations 
• Teacher of English, Teach First 
• Editor and Marketing Executive, Warner Group Publications 
• Editorial Assistant, Hachette UK 
• Copywriter, Tesco MPC. 

See the developing careers of some of our alumni .

If you’d like to pursue further study, our courses will provide you with essential knowledge and skills, as well as offering informed support and guidance to assist you in your studies. 

Hear from our students Open

Student - English Literature with Creative Writing BA (Hons)

"The staff on my course are brilliant. The literature academics and creative writers know their areas so well and are excited to share and build their knowledge with their students."

Luana Vasconcelos

Student - English Literature and Creative Writing BA (Hons)

"It’s just incredible to be able to write my own work and explore different formats. I’ve always been a prose writer, but by my final year I’ve written poems, short stories and scripts as well."

Entry requirements Open

Learn more about the qualifications we typically accept to study this course at Surrey.

Typical offer

Overall: ABB-BBB.

Required subjects: Grade B at English Language or English Literature.

Please note: A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking are not accepted. Applicants taking an A-level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are expected to pass the practical element.

GCSE or equivalent: English Language at Grade 4 (C) and Mathematics at Grade 4 (C).

BTEC (QCF Level 3) Extended Diploma

Overall: DDD-DDM.

Required subjects: Please contact the Admissions team to discuss suitability

International Baccalaureate Diploma

Overall: 33-32. 

Required subjects: English Literature or English Literature HL5/SL6.

GCSE or equivalent: Mathematics (either course) HL4/SL4.

European Baccalaureate

Overall: 78%-75%.

Required subjects: English Literature or English Literature with at least 7.5.

GCSE or equivalent: Mathematics 6.

Access to HE Diploma

Overall: QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 level 3 credits overall including 30 at Distinction and 15 at Merit - 27 at Distinction and 18 credits at Merit.

Required subjects: Please contact the Admissions team to discuss suitability.

GCSE or equivalent: English Language and Mathematics at Grade 4 (C).

Scottish Highers

Overall: AABBB-ABBBB.

Required subjects: English Language or English Literature.

GCSE or equivalent: English Language - Scottish National 5 - C Maths - Scottish National 5 - C.

Welsh Baccalaureate

Overall: Pass overall with ABB-BBB from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A-levels.

Required subjects: A-level English Literature or English Language.

Please note: A-level General Studies and A-level Critical Thinking are not accepted. Applicants taking an A-level science subject with the Science Practical Endorsement are Expected to pass the practical element. 

GCSE or equivalent: English Language and Mathematics ­– Numeracy as part of the Welsh Baccalaureate. Please check the A-level dropdown for the required GCSE levels.

Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

Applicants taking the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) will receive our standard A-level offer for this programme, plus an alternate offer of one A-level grade lower, subject to achieving an A grade in the EPQ. The one grade reduction will not apply to any required subjects.

Applicants can only receive one grade reduction from the published grades, an EPQ grade reduction can’t be applied in addition to other grade reductions made through other schemes such as Contextual Admissions or In2Surrey.

Country-specific qualifications

International students in the united kingdom, english language requirements.

IELTS Academic: 6.5 overall with 6.0 in writing and 5.5 in each other element.

View the  other English language qualifications that we accept.

If you do not currently meet the level required for your programme, we offer intensive pre-sessional English language courses , designed to take you to the level of English ability and skill required for your studies here.

International Foundation Year

If you are an international student and you don’t meet the entry requirements for this degree, we offer the International Foundation Year at the Surrey International Study Centre. Upon successful completion, you can progress to this degree course.

Selection process

We normally make offers in terms of grades.

If you are a suitable candidate you will be invited to an applicant day. During your visit to the University you can find out more about the course and meet staff and students.

Recognition of prior learning

We recognise that many students enter their higher education course with valuable knowledge and skills developed through a range of professional, vocational and community contexts.  

If this applies to you, the recognition of prior learning (RPL) process may allow you to join a course without the formal entry requirements or enter your course at a point appropriate to your previous learning and experience.  

There are restrictions on RPL for some courses and fees may be payable for certain claims. Please see the code of practice for recognition of prior learning and prior credit: taught programmes (PDF) for further information.

Contextual offers

Did you know eligible students receive support through their application to Surrey, which could include a grade reduction on offer?

Fees and funding Open

Explore  UKCISA’s website for more information if you are unsure whether you are a UK or overseas student. View the  list of fees for all undergraduate courses.

The annual tuition fees for courses starting in September 2025

Payment schedule

• Students with Tuition Fee Loan: the Student Loans Company pay fees in line with their schedule.
• 50% payable 10 days after the invoice date (expected to be early October of each academic year)
• 50% in January of the same academic year.

The exact date(s) will be on invoices. Students on part-time programmes where fees are paid on a modular basis, cannot pay fees by instalment.

• Sponsored students: must provide us with valid sponsorship information that covers the period of study.

Professional training placement fees

If you are studying on a programme which contains a Professional Training placement year there will be a reduced fee for the academic year in which you undertake your placement. This is normally confirmed 12 to 18 months in advance, or once Government policy is determined.

Placements and study abroad Open

Our award-winning Professional Training placement scheme gives you the chance to spend a year in industry, either in the UK or abroad.

We have thousands of placement providers to choose from, most of which offer pay. So, become one of our many students who have had their lives and career choices transformed.

English literature and creative writing placements

Unusually for a course like this, we also offer the opportunity for you to do a Professional Training placement. You can gain experience in degree-related professions such as publishing, marketing, the media industries, teaching or arts administration.

Surrey was the first English course to introduce a Professional Training component, in 2008, and our experience as a leader in professional training will help you make the most of the year.

Some examples of organisations that participate in the scheme include:

• Brighton and Hove Independent Picture Production Company
• British Council
• Grand Connaught Rooms
• NBC Universal
• Toyota (PR and Press Communications)
• Winning Moves (a leading UK board game company).

A Professional Training placement will give you the opportunity to develop valuable transferable skills in analysis, reflection, communication and organisation.

Applying for placements

Students are generally not placed by the University. But we offer support and guidance throughout the process, with access to a vacancy site of placement opportunities.

Find out more about the application process .

Professional Training placement at Toyota

Discover more about English literature student Alice's placement experience within the social media team.

Study and work abroad

Studying at Surrey opens a world of opportunity. Take advantage of our study and work abroad partnerships, explore the world, and expand your skills for the graduate job market. 

The opportunities abroad vary depending on the course, but options include study exchanges, work/research placements, summer programmes, and recent graduate internships. Financial support is available through various grants and bursaries, as well as Student Finance. 

Perhaps you would like to volunteer in India or learn about Brazilian business and culture in São Paulo during your summer holidays? With 140+ opportunities in 36+ different countries worldwide, there is something for everyone. 

Partner institutions

You have the opportunity to spend one semester or the full academic year on a study or work placement abroad. Places include:

• La Trobe University, Australia
• Monash University, Australia
• Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
• University of Sydney, Australia
• University of Wollongong, Australia
• Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
• Seoul National University, South Korea
• Cincinnati University, US
• North Carolina State University, US
• Northern Arizona University, US
• Texas Tech, US
• University of Central Florida, US
• University of North Texas, US.

If you’re more interested in a professional experience, you could have the chance to work with a partner organisation outside the UK.

Apply for your chosen course online through UCAS, with the following course and institution codes.

Institution code S85

Apply via UCAS

Related courses

English Literature BA (Hons)

English Literature and French BA (Hons)

English Literature and Spanish BA (Hons)

About the university of surrey.

Accommodation

We have a range of housing to suit all requirements and budgets. There are more than 6,000 rooms available (en-suite, single-sex, studio flat, shared or single).

Student life

At Surrey we offer a friendly university campus set in beautiful countryside, with the convenience and social life of bustling Guildford on your doorstep.

Need more information?

Contact our Admissions team or talk to a current University of Surrey student online.

Next open day

• BA (Hons)View UPG13F0022U
• BA (Hons) with placementView UPG13S0022U

Terms and conditions

When you accept an offer to study at the University of Surrey, you are agreeing to follow our policies and procedures , student regulations , and terms and conditions .

We provide these terms and conditions in two stages:

• First when we make an offer.
• Second when students accept their offer and register to study with us (registration terms and conditions will vary depending on your course and academic year).

View our generic registration terms and conditions (PDF) for the 2023/24 academic year, as a guide on what to expect.

This online prospectus has been published in advance of the academic year to which it applies.

Whilst we have done everything possible to ensure this information is accurate, some changes may happen between publishing and the start of the course.

It is important to check this website for any updates before you apply for a course with us. Read our full disclaimer .

• Skip to content
• About Accessibility on our website

• Staff Directory

English with Creative Writing, MA

• University Home
• Undergraduate
• Our Degrees
• English with Creative Writing

Introduction

English with Creative Writing at Aberdeen gives you all the advantages of a highly-rated teaching, research and creative hub, teaching by acclaimed writers and poets at Scotland's top centre for creative writing, and the opportunity to develop your own writing in the wonderful environment of a historic university with an award-winning library and priceless literary treasures, and a vigorous calendar of literary events.

Study Information

At a glance.

Aberdeen is a leading centre for the study of literature, language and creative writing, rated second in the UK for its research output and top in Scotland for creative writing.

You’ll study the craft of writing creative prose, poetry and screenplays under the guidance and support of widely published, award-winning writers including the internationally renowned novelist Alan Warner, poet and critic David Wheatley, short story writers Helen Lynch and Wayne Price, and film-maker Alan Marcus.

Your Creative Writing studies will develop your understanding of - and practical skills in - the writing of original work in any genre you choose to focus on. Through masterclasses, seminars and regular practical workshops you will gain a thorough, practice-based understanding of the creative process and technical challenges involved in developing your own original ideas into completed literary works.

You’ll develop your own folio of creative work in either poetry or prose, exploring and extending your creative ambitions in writing and a practical awareness of some of the key stylistic, formal and expressive possibilities available to the skilled creative writer.

You’ll graduate ideally prepared for a career in creative writing, publishing, journalism, teaching, or in applying your highly-developed skills in core writing, analysis and communication to a wide range of career options.

What You'll Study

Compulsory courses.

This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.

This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students (and articulating students who are in their first year at the University), is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

15 Credit Points

This course introduces students to the study of English by exploring the dynamic relationship between author, reader and text in a series of classic works of fiction and poetry. It covers a broad historical range (from Folk Tales and ballads to 21st century postmodernity) and offers a basic grounding in key elements of literary theory, literary history and the varieties of literary form.

Literature can provoke, offend and disturb as well as entertain. This course considers some of the most powerful and controversial works of modern literature. It examines the circumstances of publication, the nature of the controversy, and the cultural and critical impact of each work. The course shows how poems, plays and novels can raise searching questions about national, racial and personal identity, and looks at the methods used by writers to challenge their readers, as well the responses of readers to such challenges.

'Rethinking Reading' complements the module ‘Acts of Reading’. Intended primarily for students with degree intentions in English, this course introduces key areas in critical theory that inform the current work of staff at Aberdeen. It asks students to consider the history of English studies and its relationship to colonialism, and how this impacts on conceptions of literature and authorship, alongside topics such as gender and sexuality, and genre. Through a series of modules, the course introduces each area of theory alongside a literary text used as a case study. The course supports students in learning to read and use critical theory in your work, incorporating reflective learning and a practical focus on the techniques involved in critical writing.

Optional Courses

Select 90 credit points from courses of choice.

30 Credit Points

So you think you know Shakespeare? This course invites you to think again. Studying a range of plays we get behind the mythology of Shakespeare, and rediscover the dynamic inventiveness of the Elizabethan theatre. Shakespeare and his contemporaries were the principal players in a period of literary experimentation that reinvented the possibilities of literature. Encounters with Shakespeare is your chance to find out more.

Select ONE of the courses listed below, plus a further 60 credit points from courses of choice.

This optional course in literature allows students at pre-Honours to learn about the impact of global colonialism through the writings of those who experienced it and its repercussions. It includes theorists of our time and texts like Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen. The texts on this course are necessarily concerned with enslavement and freedom, with how one encounters difference, and what it means to possess or claim territory. In examining these issues students will engage with issues of power and equality over centuries of writing about colonialism and empire.

This course traces the use of key Western myths from antiquity to the present to examine the way knowledge is often presented as both dangerous and compelling. As well as introducing students to a range of historical, social, and formal variations on the theme of knowledge, the course also highlights the role of storytelling and adaptation in the formation of knowledge and understanding.

This course offers students the opportunity, through lectures and interactive workshops, to develop their understanding of, and practical skills in, the writing of prose fiction, poetry and creative non-fiction. Taught by widely published, award-winning writers, it provides a thorough, practice-based understanding of creative process and of the technical challenges involved in developing an original idea into a completed literary artefact, presented to a professional standard. It also contributes to students' future career potential, whether as ‘creative’ or other kinds of professional writers/communicators.

Select ONE course from EACH of the following categories:

Medieval/Renaissance Literature

• EL35EH: Classical Epic
• EL30CP: Page and Stage: Renaissance Writings 1500-1640
• EL35DQ: Knights, Virgins and Viragos: Chaucer and Medieval Writing

Romantic/Victorian Literature

• EL30XR: Romanticism
• EL30SB: Britain and the 19th Century World
• EL35QA: Sympathy for the Devil: Scottish Short Stories

Contemporary/Modern Literature

• EL35KN: Haunted Texts
• EL30FF: Modernism: Make it New
• EL30RD: American Voices: Self and Society,1850-1930
• EL30WC: Queer Times
• EL35UT: Art and Atrocity: Representations of Violence and Trauma

This course explores the poetry, drama and prose of a period often referred to as the golden age of English literature. A period which saw Shakespeare and his contemporaries produce innovative new literary works in which the language of desire took centre stage.

This course is your opportunity to study four of the most influential and gripping texts of world literature. We begin in the oral culture of ancient Greece, with the Iliad's stark meditation on war and death, and the Odyssey's consolatory reflections on divine justice, poetry and love. In imperial Rome, we see the genre transformed into a monument to political power in Virgil's Aeneid, then thrown into disarray by Ovid's irreverent anti-epic, the Metamorphoses. We end by considering some of the ways these texts have been exploited and adapted across the intervening centuries, in poetry and prose, art and film.

Knights, Virgins, and Viragos offers an introduction to the variety of medieval literature and culture. Turning a critical eye on the role misconceptions of the Middle Ages play in present day white supremacy, the course highlights genres from medieval drama to life writing, with attention to the medieval history of race making and modern responses to the work of Chaucer in the poetry of Patience Agbabi.

The Romantic movement swept Europe in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and produced some of the most innovative and exciting literature that has ever been seen. This rule breaking art helped shape the way that we consider art today and underpins many of our ideas about imagination, originality, creativity and self-expression. This course will explore the ways in which the Romantic movement manifested itself across Britain and Ireland and will consider writers such as Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, Austen and Byron.

The Romantic (1782-1832) and Victorian (1832-1901) periods were ones of remarkable activity for British citizens abroad. Imperial expansion, increasing international trade, major conflicts and growing mass migration all drew more British citizens than ever into contact with the wider world. This course explores the footprints left by these interactions in nineteenth-century literature: critically examining how Britain saw the world and how the English-speaking world saw Britain during a century of unprecedented international activity. This course will combine canonical writers of empire and migration with less well-known accounts of the period. Writers covered may include Mary Shelley, Henry Derozio, Fergus Hume, Cornelia Sorabji, Robert Louis Stevenson and Arthur Conan Doyle. The course will apply a range of critical lenses to this material offering students an introduction to key concepts and debates from nation theory, settler studies and postcolonial studies.

While the short story is often said to have developed in America, nineteenth-century Scottish writing is in fact instrumental in the emergence of the form. Often drawing on oral and folk traditions Scottish writers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries employ the supernatural, or our fear of it, to explore subjects such as guilt, fear, remorse and the extent to which we can control our own destinies. This course will explore the ways in which the short story in Scotland develops from the early nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth. It will include writers such as Walter Scott, James Hogg, John Galt, Margaret Oliphant, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle and Jane Findlater.

The early twentieth century was a time of great literary experimentation as literary modernists rose to the challenge to make it new. We will explore modernism’s stylistic experimentation while also considering the social contexts and changes that shaped this literature. The course will examine a range of writers, genres, movements and locations which prompt us to consider what, when and where was modernism.

This course examines an important and diverse period in the development of American literature, lasting from the mid-nineteenth century until the 1930s. During the course we will be analysing works by a variety of American writers from this period in their historical, social and political contexts as well as considering the ways in which they pioneered innovative literary forms and techniques.

This course adopts a cross-period approach, bringing contemporary and premodern texts into conversation in exploring representations of queer experiences and themes in diverse forms. Divided into three sections, queer presents, queer pasts, and queer futures, the course will introduce a selection of theoretical and critical readings in thinking about how representation is shaped by temporal and cultural context. We will consider the relationship between representation of queer experience and formal experimentation, and how queer forms impact on our sense of queer possibilities.

This course offers an overview of a wide range of twentieth-century Scottish literature, focusing on themes of haunting, death, and place. Including novels, short stories, poetry, and drama, the course explores questions of the relationship between self and society, the legacy of the past, and the formation of gendered and regional identities. There are lots of ghosts.

How is the artist to respond when the virtual becomes the real and when words cannot carry the weight of trauma? How can an author avoid the accusations of voyeuristic prurience or crass opportunism when he or she attempts to re-present events of public violence? This multi-disciplinary course examines work from a wide range of modes, including fiction, poetry, film and graphic art, and looks at the difficulties of inscribing trauma and the ethics and praxis of remembrance. Key events covered include the Holocaust, the Sabra and Shatila massacre, 9-11, the Gulf War and the conflict in the Balkans.

This course will provide students with the opportunity to write an extended folio of creative work in either poetry or prose. It will provide students with the opportunity to explore and extend their creative ambitions in writing and, through the reflective commentary element, enable them to contextualise their own creative achievements in relation to works by established writers. Throughout the evolution of the folio, the student will develop a thorough practical awareness of some of the key stylistic, formal and expressive possibilities available to the skilled creative writer.

Select ONE from the following options:

• Screenwriting: The Narrative Within the Frame (EL40TM)
• Brief Encounter (EL40TL)
• The Art of Screenwriting (EL45PG)

Plus select TWO courses from level 4 courses in English (see below).

This course will focus on the ways in which non-standard English is used within anglophone literary texts from the late-eighteenth century to the present day. Classes will cover a wide range of geographical spaces and publishing contexts: different weeks will focus on ballad collecting and linguistic antiquarianism, the use of language in American abolitionist texts, working-class voices in nineteenth-century English novels, postcolonial approaches to English, Scottish post-industrial writing and contemporary African-American literature. Authors covered may include: Walter Scott, Robert Burns, Charles Dickens, Edwin Pugh, Zora Neale Hurston, Chinua Achebe, Jamaica Kincaid, Tom Leonard and Percival Everett.

This course begins by considering the theatre that gave us Marlowe and Shakespeare, among other major dramatists, as an institution actively engaged in the controversies of politics and religion of the age. Part 1 of the course focuses on the plays of Christopher Marlowe, whose controversial life is unusually well documented and whose plays starkly anticipate later tensions in Elizabethan and Jacobean drama . Part 2 considers how those tensions in politics and religion developed in later drama, giving particular attention to the genre of revenge tragedy.

From 1968-1994, Northern Irish writers and visual artists found themselves addressing key questions: what is the role of the artist in a divided society, and must s/he engage with political events? This course considers how the artists framed these dilemmas and how they have been framed by them. Following the outbreak of peace in the province, the role of artists changed: their work now focused on the victims of violence and to demand justice. This course examines the different approaches taken to remembrance by writers/artists and explores the ways in which memory and trauma are framed in their work.

This course focuses on the emphasis on sameness in conceptions of love and friendship within medieval and early modern literature, exploring its implications for the history of sexuality, and its impact on political ideology.

This course explores the relationship between literature and medicine, and asks what kind of ground the two disciplines might share and how they might enrich one another. The use and abuse of literary concepts in medical practice and of medical ideas and history in literature will be considered along with the literary representations of the physician and narratives of illness, focusing on the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The final part of the course explores the representation of psychiatry and psychiatric theory in twentieth- and twenty-first century literature.

What does it mean to inhabit a vulnerable body, or to embrace and celebrate ideas of vulnerability more generally? How can literature help us understand the precarity and uncertainty that seem like an inherent part of contemporary life? This course offers an overview of twenty-first-century women’s fiction from a variety of traditions, and centres on themes of embodiment, community, fragmentation, and environment. Examined together, these texts highlight the generic and thematic diversity of contemporary women’s writing, and the way the self must always be reconstructed through literature in new ways.

This course will explore the work of some of the most influential and innovative voices in 20th century British poetry. Beginning with the Modernist revolution in technique, theory and taste, it will trace some of the main continuities and reactions that stemmed from the first decades of the century and which culminated in a richly diverse and fascinating late 20th century/early 21st century poetic landscape.

Drama was the entertainment phenomenon of the early modern period: a popular art form that developed swiftly and attracted mass audiences. London was both the city that played host to this new cultural form, and the subject of much of its output. The course will examine the relation between life in the early modern city and the great flowering of drama by celebrated authors of the period. Using works by well-known writers such as Middleton, Jonson and Shakespeare, as well as lesser known authors, we will explore how the plays of the period engage with key concerns of urban living.

This course explores the work of women writers with particular emphasis on the role of place (focused mostly, but not exclusively, on modernist women writers from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries). We will look at a number of different environments including urban, rural, domestic and trans-national spaces. We will analyse place in relation to a number of other themes such as gender, sexuality, race, spirituality and creativity. We will read a number of canonical and lesser known women writers, working across various genres, including fiction, poetry and life-writing. Authors may include: Virginia Woolf, Zora Neale Hurston, Jean Rhys, Andrea Levy, Bernadine Evaristo, Elizabeth Bishop. Previous study of modernism is not required.

This course looks at how eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Gothic Fiction confronts themes and concepts which are considered taboo, unpleasant or strictly. Sexuality and mortality are key themes here, as well as the crossing of class, racial and gender boundaries. We explore how the Gothic can be simultaneously deeply conservative and shockingly radical, and speaks to private fears and desires whilst bringing to public light social injustices and inequalities. This course focuses mainly on the Gothic novel, but may also include poetry and short stories.

This course introduces students to contemporary poetry across its many forms and styles. We will investigate the place for poetry in contemporary culture, whether in poetry anthologies, slim volumes of verse, in performance, or on social media. Looking at a wide range of authors active from the turn of the millennium on, we will trace a genealogy for contemporary poetry, as informed by the legacies of modernism, and subsequent waves of poetic schools and movements. The course is strongly recommended for students with an interest in poetry, literary form, contemporary British and Irish writing, and creative writing.

This course will investigate different forms of scriptwriting by writers from a range of historical periods. We will be considering narrative form and content as shaped by subject selection and storytelling devices and structures. The filmic themes will be considered from aesthetic, historical and theoretical perspectives. Through a series of seminars, workshops and screenings, students will develop approaches to visualising film narratives, culminating in a scriptwriting folio of work.

Writing has not always been viewed as self-expression but for long periods of history was perceived as a branch of rhetoric or ‘persuasive speech’. ‘Brief Encounters’ examines some of the implications of this, combining textual analysis from a writerly perspective with creative writing practice in a workshop format.

This course will focus on the theory and the practical techniques of writing screenplays for cinema and for television. It will encourage students to put together the tool kit of skills which they will require to write effective screenplays based on both adapted source material and on original material. The course will survey the established skills of creating effective narrative screenplays across genres, but with an emphasis on contemporary dramatic cinema.

We will endeavour to make all course options available. However, these may be subject to change - see our Student Terms and Conditions page .

Within Subject Area

How you'll study, learning methods.

• Individual Projects

Assessment Methods

Students are assessed by any combination of three assessment methods:

• coursework such as essays and reports completed throughout the course;
• practical assessments of the skills and competencies they learn on the course; and
• written examinations at the end of each course.

The exact mix of these methods differs between subject areas, years of study and individual courses.

Honours projects are typically assessed on the basis of a written dissertation.

Why Study English with Creative Writing?

Why english.

• An international profile through major literary projects such as the Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen and the Edinburgh Edition of the Waverley Novels of Sir Walter Scott.
• The WORD Centre for Creative Writing, promoting creative projects in fiction, non-fiction and collaborative mixed-media in all the languages of northeast Scotland (from Doric to Polish).
• The spectacular, award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library, home to literary treasures collected over 500 years, charting the power of the written word from ancient papyri and medieval manuscripts to contemporary e-books and other media.
• Historic collections including rare printed books, the 12th century Aberdeen Bestiary, MacBean Stuart and Jacobite Collection, the novels of Sir Walter Scott, and an exceptional collection of Charles Dickens' first editions.
• A packed campus programme of student and public events, exhibitions, seminars, invited speakers and the annual May Festival which welcomes internationally acclaimed authors to campus every spring to discuss literature, including European writers.
• Research centres include the nationally recognised Centre for the Novel, the Centre for Modern Thought, and the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies.
• 2nd in Scotland for Creative Writing by The Complete University Guide 2024.
• 8th in the UK for English by The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.
• 1st in Scotland for Overall Student Satisfaction in English Studies by The National Student Survey 2023.

Interested in this programme?

Entry requirements, qualifications.

The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.

General Entry Requirements

SQA Highers

Standard: AABB

Applicants who have achieved AABB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.

Minimum: BBB

Applicants who have achieved BBB (or are on course to achieve this by the end of S5) are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will normally be required.

Adjusted: BB

Applicants who achieve BB over S4 and S5 and who meet one of the widening access criteria are guaranteed a conditional offer. Good performance in additional Highers/Advanced Highers will be required.

More information on our definition of Standard, Minimum and Adjusted entry qualifications.

Standard: BBB

Minimum: BBC

Adjusted: CCC

International Baccalaureate

32 points, including 5, 5, 5 at HL.

Irish Leaving Certificate

5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3.

Entry from College

Advanced entry to this degree may be possible from some HNC/HND qualifications, please see  www.abdn.ac.uk/study/articulation  for more details.

Standard: BBBB

Applicants who have achieved BBBB (or better), are encouraged to apply and will be considered. Good performance in additional Highers/ Advanced Highers may be required.

Foundation Apprenticeship : One FA is equivalent to a Higher at A. It cannot replace any required subjects.

Standard: BBC

Minimum: BCC

The information displayed in this section shows a shortened summary of our entry requirements. For more information, or for full entry requirements for Arts and Social Sciences degrees, see our detailed entry requirements section .

English Language Requirements

To study for an Undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:

IELTS Academic:

OVERALL - 6.0 with: Listening - 5.5; Reading - 5.5; Speaking - 5.5; Writing - 6.0

OVERALL - 78 with: Listening - 17; Reading - 18; Speaking - 20; Writing - 21

PTE Academic:

OVERALL - 59 with: Listening - 59; Reading - 59; Speaking - 59; Writing - 59

Cambridge English B2 First, C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency:

OVERALL - 169 with: Listening - 162; Reading - 162; Speaking - 162; Writing - 169

Read more about specific English Language requirements here .

International Applicants

Additional details for international applicants, including country-specific information, are available here .

Fees and Funding

You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.

Scholarships and Funding

Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who pay tuition fees may be eligible for specific scholarships allowing them to receive additional funding. These are designed to provide assistance to help students support themselves during their time at Aberdeen.

More information about Fee status, living costs, and work allowances for international students is available here .

Additional Fees

• In exceptional circumstances there may be additional fees associated with specialist courses, for example field trips. Any additional fees for a course can be found in our Catalogue of Courses .
• For more information about tuition fees for this programme, including payment plans and our refund policy, please visit our Tuition Fees page .

Our Funding Database

View all funding options in our Funding Database .

There are many opportunities at the University of Aberdeen to develop your knowledge, gain experience and build a competitive set of skills to enhance your employability. This is essential for your future career success. The Careers and Employability Service can help you to plan your career and support your choices throughout your time with us, from first to final year – and beyond.

• More information on employability at the University of Aberdeen
• More information on the Careers and Employability Service

Our Experts

Information about staff changes, discover uni.

Discover Uni draws together comparable information in areas students have identified as important in making decisions about what and where to study. You can compare these and other data for different degree programmes in which you are interested.

Get in Touch

Contact details.

• Email Us [email protected]
• Call Us +44 (0)1224 272090
• Enquire Now Using an online form

Social Media

• Follow us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel

English Literature with Creative Writing BA

Year of entry 2025, open days 2024.

Register your interest for our October Open Days. Register here

Course overview

Take a tour of our School

Get a taste for life as a student in the School of English as undergraduate student Malgorzata takes you on a tour of the School building as well as some campus highlights.

Develop your creativity and sharpen your critical abilities with this course that will equip you with valuable skills as both a reader and a writer. You’ll produce creative work across various genres, such as fiction, poetry, life writing, and travel accounts. 

You'll also learn how writers of the past and the present have used words and literary forms to express their ideas and engage with their times’ social and cultural issues. 

You’ll encounter historical and modern texts in English from around the globe, which explore themes relevant to how we live today, including race and ethnicity, gender, climate change and nature, social class, disability and wellbeing. 

Learn how to shape language to convey your ideas and experience, work in groups, discuss your writing with other students, and build an individual portfolio of work that will set you on track for a creative or cultural industries career.

Our expertise

The School of English has a long and prestigious history in creative writing. Creative Writing at Leeds has a great history of alumni and former staff, including Wole Soyinka, Geoffrey Hill, JRR Tolkien, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, Hannah Copley, Luiza Sauma, literary agent Caroline Hardman, and our recent Douglas Caster Poetry Fellows Helen Mort, Anthony Vahni Capildeo and Malika Booker.

Our current staff includes UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, JR Carpenter, Kimberly Campanello, Zaffar Kunial, Sarah K. Perry, Jay Prosser, Jess Richards, Ross Raisin, Caitlin Stobie and John Whale. Our practices and passions run across creative and critical writing. They include: visual and experimental poetry; eco poetics; the contemporary novel and contemporary lyric poem; literature and medicine; disability studies; autofiction; and transgender memoir.

We are home to the University of Leeds Poetry Centre , which brings together the University’s strength and heritage in creative writing. It hosts regular poetry readings by visiting international poets and supports a poetry reading group.

We regularly host readings and talks by well-known and emerging contemporary writers and you’ll have access to a vibrant community of researchers and creative practitioners. The highly respected literary magazine, Stand , is produced in the School, and publishes the best in new and established creative writing.

Our creative writing community benefits from partnerships with llkley Literature Festival , Leeds Playhouse and Leeds Grand Theatre. We also support a thriving range of events and workshops with visiting writers. 

Specialist facilities

The world-class Brotherton Library has an array of archive, manuscript and early printed material in its Special Collections, including extensive archives of original materials from writers old and new, from the Brontë family to Tony Harrison. 

You’ll also have opportunities to learn traditional printing and typesetting techniques using our period printing presses and learn more about print and publishing history.

Take a look around our libraries:

Brotherton Library Laidlaw Library Edward Boyle Library

Course details

At Level 1, you will take Reading Between the Lines and Writing Matters, introducing you to university-level study, equipping you to read critically and write with rigour and persuasion. You will also take Writing Creatively to introduce you to the techniques of creative practice, and will be presented with a choice of optional modules focusing on poetry, fiction, drama, theatre and further creative approaches. At Level 2, in addition to Developing Creative Writing, you will take two English Literature core modules, Writing Environments and Body Language. These modules explore two urgent contemporary challenges, the climate crisis and personal wellbeing, and will examine how these issues can be understood and expressed through literary texts. You will also select two modules from a choice of several options, ranging historically and geographically from Medieval to Contemporary, and from Postcolonial to American.

Level 2 will deepen and enrich subject knowledge and intellectual skills, preparing you for more independent learning at Level 3, where you can select from a range of specialist research modules.

At Level 3, you will take two core Creative Writing modules. The final year Creative Writing Project enhances active research skills, enabling you to define, plan and produce work on a literary subject of your choosing. The module Page, Publication and Audience allows you to develop an understanding of the relationship between creative writing practices and the creative industries, exploring methods of reaching your audience.

After your second year of study, you may apply for transfer to an International Degree at one of a wide range of universities with which the University of Leeds has established links. You may also spend a year in industry on a work placement as an optional third year of your degree programme

The course information shown below represents typical modules/components studied and may change from time to time. Read more in our terms and conditions .

Most courses consist of compulsory and optional modules. There may be some optional modules omitted below. This is because they are currently being refreshed to make sure students have the best possible experience. Before you enter each year, full details of all modules for that year will be provided.

For more information please read BA English Literature with Creative Writing in the course catalogue .

Year 1 compulsory modules

Writing Creatively (20 credits) - In this module you will develop your creative writing skills by focusing on a range of elements of the writer’s craft. You will learn to read texts like a writer and, through examining a range of exemplary published texts, you will study elements of the writer’s craft which may include voice, metaphor and characterisation. You will develop your critical skills through workshopping your written pieces with your peers and your tutor. Within the supportive environment of the writing workshop, you will learn to give and receive constructive criticism and, guided by this feedback, you will hone your redrafting and editing skills. By the end of the module, you will begin to see how your work fits within contemporary writing practice.

Writing Matters (20 credits) - Writing and communication skills are vital to most professional careers, but they are especially valuable in the field of English studies. This module explores debates around a canonical literary text, examining theoretical approaches and rhetorical strategies used to write about literature. Students will hone their own writing skills by engaging ethically with the text and the ideas of others, developing structured arguments, expressing ideas clearly and concisely, working with feedback, and practising writing as a process. As a result, students will cultivate a deeper understanding of how writing works, learn how to share insights with greater efficacy and sophistication, and practice how to transfer this knowledge to future workplace contexts.

Reading Between the Lines (20 credits) - This module equips students with a critical vocabulary for sophisticated literary study, introducing the creative, argumentative and exciting discipline of ‘English Studies’. Through close analysis of specific texts across a range of periods and forms, students will encounter some of the varied theories that have shaped and continue to underpin the discipline. Students will find out how an English degree might change the way we read and see the world, while developing their academic skills through guided critical reading, collaboration with peers in group presentations and seminar discussions, and a variety of assignments designed to introduce them to the different formats of assessment required throughout the degree.

Year 1 optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)

Drama: Text and Performance (20 credits) Modern Fictions in English: Conflict, Liminality, Translation (20 credits) Poetry: Reading and Interpretation (20 credits) Race, Writing and Decolonization (20 credits) Creative Writing Workshop (20 credits) Writing Science-fiction, Fantasy & Horror (20 credits)

Year 2 compulsory modules

Developing Creative Writing (40 credits) - This module continues to provide you with the regular points of tutorial and teaching support, the learning community, and the ongoing guidance that will help you develop further the new creative writing projects that you produce in an academic environment. Regular small groups with published writers again allow you space and a professional atmosphere in which to consider your own practice of creative writing.

Writing Environments: Literature, Nature, Culture (20 credits) - This module examines what it means to live as human beings on a more-than-human planet. We’ll investigate how literary texts from different times and places have understood the relationship between nature and culture. We’ll address human impacts on the environment in relation to historical phenomena such as colonialism. And we’ll explore the insights that literature can offer at a time of concern about climate change and other environmental issues.

Body Language: Literature and Embodiment (20 credits) - This module explores the relationship between embodiment, language and representation across a range of literary forms, genres, and periods, addressing questions such as: what does it mean to be ‘human’? Can technology change who we are? How do we navigate the relationship between the body and the mind? It examines how critical theorists and creative writers and life writers have treated and imagined this relationship between material bodies and literary representation, in order to better understand both the possibilities and limitations of literary expression.

Year 2 optional modules (selection of typical options shown below)

Style and Authorship (20 credits) Contemporary Literature (20 credits) Renaissance Literature (20 credits) Medieval and Tudor Literature (20 credits) Modern Literature (20 credits) Postcolonial Literature (20 credits) The World Before Us: Literature 1660-1830 (20 credits) Other Voices: Rethinking Nineteenth-Century Literature (20 credits) Script Writing (20 credits) Travel and Journalistic Writing (20 credits) Power of Language (20 credits) Theatre, Society and Self (20 credits) Writing for Children and Young Adults (20 credits)

Year 3 compulsory modules

Creative Writing Project (40 credits) - This module encourages independent, self-directed learning, providing a culmination to the research strand emphasised in other modules. It fosters a wide variety of responses to the challenges it offers students, since any final year project might take one of a number of forms. Most importantly, it promotes academic creativity and the exploration of individual intellectual interests.

Page, Publication and Audience (20 credits) - This module focuses on publishing and presentation to the public through the production and launch of our literary journal Tenter Hook. You will develop an understanding of the relationship between creative writing practices and the creative industries, exploring methods of reaching your audience. You also consider your own creative writing practice in the context of industry processes and professionalisation.

Learning and teaching

We use various teaching and learning methods to help you benefit from our tutors' expertise. Group seminars and workshops are at the heart of this degree.

You'll also encounter:

• Guest masterclasses
• One-to-one tutorials and supervisions
• Online learning through Minerva, our Virtual Learning Environment. 

Independent study is a vital element of this course since it enables you to develop your research and critical skills and form your ideas. Our expert academics will teach you on this course, from lecturers to professors. You’ll have access to the unique and internationally important holdings of the Brotherton Library’s Special Collections, to take inspiration from and see first-hand how some of the top writers of this and previous ages went about crafting their writing.

You may also experience teaching led by published writers or professionals from the cultural industries, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus. 

On this course you’ll be taught by our expert academics, from lecturers through to professors. You may also be taught by industry professionals with years of experience, as well as trained postgraduate researchers, connecting you to some of the brightest minds on campus.

In your Creative Writing modules, you’ll produce a creative portfolio in various genres, such as life writing, fiction, poetry, short fiction, and travel accounts. 

Some modules will also include wikis, podcasts, research exercises or oral presentations.

Your final year project comprises a long independent creative piece and a critical reflection. English modules are assessed using various methods, including exams, essays and shorter written assignments. 

Entry requirements

A-level: AAA including English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature).

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A Levels, this would be AAB at A Level including A in English and grade A in the EPQ.

Alternative qualification

Access to he diploma.

Pass diploma with 60 credits overall, including at least 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 credits must be at Distinction and 15 credits at Merit or higher. The Access course must follow a Humanities pathway and/or include English modules. An interview and a piece of written work may be required.

We will consider the level 3 QCF BTEC at Subsidiary Diploma level and above in combination with other qualifications. Please contact the Admissions Office for more information.

Cambridge Pre-U

D3, D3, M2 including D3 in English.

International Baccalaureate

35 points overall with 17 at Higher Level including 6 in English at Higher Level.

Irish Leaving Certificate (higher Level)

Irish Highers (Leaving Certificate): H2, H2, H2, H2, H2, H2 including H2 in English.

Scottish Highers / Advanced Highers

AA in Advanced Highers including English and AABBB in Highers or A in Advanced Highers English and AAABB in Highers.

Welsh Baccalaureate

The Welsh Baccalaureate is not typically included in the academic conditions of an offer made to you for this course. If you choose to undertake the Welsh Baccalaureate we would strongly encourage you to draw upon these experiences within your personal statement, as your qualification will then be taken into account both when your application is initially considered by the selection panel and again when reviewed by the admissions tutor at the time your A-level results are passed to us.

Other Qualifications

European Baccalaureate: 85% with 8.5 in English.

Read more about UK and Republic of Ireland accepted qualifications or contact the School’s Undergraduate Admissions Team.

Alternative entry

We’re committed to identifying the best possible applicants, regardless of personal circumstances or background.

Access to Leeds is a contextual admissions scheme which accepts applications from individuals who might be from low income households, in the first generation of their immediate family to apply to higher education, or have had their studies disrupted.

Find out more about Access to Leeds and contextual admissions .

Typical Access to Leeds offer: ABB including an A in English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature) at A Level and pass Access to Leeds.

Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year

This course is designed for students whose backgrounds mean they are less likely to attend university (also known as widening participation backgrounds) and who do not currently meet admissions criteria for direct entry to a degree.

The course will give you the opportunity to be taught by academic staff and provides intensive support to enable your development of academic skills and knowledge. On successful completion of your foundation year, you will progress to your chosen degree course. Find out more about the Arts and Humanities with Foundation Year

International

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information contact the School of English admissions team .

International Foundation Year

International students who do not meet the academic requirements for undergraduate study may be able to study the University of Leeds International Foundation Year. This gives you the opportunity to study on campus, be taught by University of Leeds academics and progress onto a wide range of Leeds undergraduate courses. Find out more about International Foundation Year programmes.

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications .

Improve your English If you're an international student and you don't meet the English language requirements for this programme, you may be able to study our undergraduate pre-sessional English course , to help improve your English language level.

UK: To be confirmed

International: To be confirmed

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students are set by the UK Government and will be £9,250 for students starting in 2024/25.

The fee may increase in future years of your course in line with inflation only, as a consequence of future changes in Government legislation and as permitted by law.

Tuition fees for UK undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 Tuition fees for UK full-time undergraduate students starting in 2025/26 have not yet been confirmed by the UK government. When the fee is available we will update individual course pages.

Tuition fees for international undergraduate students starting in 2024/25 and 2025/26 Tuition fees for international students for 2024/25 are available on individual course pages. Fees for students starting in 2025/26 will be available from September 2024.

Tuition fees for a study abroad or work placement year If you take a study abroad or work placement year, you’ll pay a reduced tuition fee during this period. For more information, see Study abroad and work placement tuition fees and loans .

Read more about paying fees and charges .

There may be additional costs related to your course or programme of study, or related to being a student at the University of Leeds. Read more on our living costs and budgeting page .

Scholarships and financial support

If you have the talent and drive, we want you to be able to study with us, whatever your financial circumstances. There is help for students in the form of loans and non-repayable grants from the University and from the government. Find out more in our  Undergraduate funding overview .

Apply to this course through UCAS. Check the deadline for applications on the UCAS website .

Read our guidance about applying.

International students apply through UCAS in the same way as UK students. Our network of international representatives can help you with your application. If you’re unsure about the application process, contact the admissions team for help.

Read about visas, immigration and other information in International students . We recommend that international students apply as early as possible to ensure that they have time to apply for their visa.

Admissions policy

University of Leeds Admissions Policy 2025

This course is taught by

School of English

School of English Undergraduate Admissions

Email: [email protected] Telephone:

Career opportunities

A degree in English with Creative Writing equips you with a range of valuable skills and attributes. Your skills and experience as a flexible and imaginative writer will open up a range of pathways within the creative industries. 

Our graduates have gone on to find success in areas such as the creative industries, marketing, education, journalism, law, publishing, media, business charity work, civil service, management consultancy and leadership. 

Many have also progressed to postgraduate study. 

On this course, you’ll develop your abilities as an excellent communicator who can present well-reasoned arguments and conclusions. 

Learning in groups with others and reading about human problems and social situations will develop your interpersonal skills and understanding of ethical and cultural complexities. 

You’ll have strong creative and verbal skills, and be able to conduct research, interpret complex information, think critically and express yourself clearly. Employers are always looking out for people with these critical skills.

Careers support

We encourage you to prepare for your career from day one. That’s one of the reasons Leeds graduates are so sought after by employers.

Leeds for Life is our unique approach to helping you make the most of University by supporting your academic and personal development. Find out more at the Leeds for Life website .

The Careers Centre and staff in your faculty provide a range of help and advice to help you plan your career and make well-informed decisions along the way, even after you graduate. Find out more about Careers support .

Study abroad and work placements

Study abroad.

On this course you have the opportunity to apply to spend time abroad, usually as an extra academic year. We have over 300 University partners worldwide and popular destinations for our students include Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and Latin America. 

Find out more at the Study Abroad website .

Work placements

Practical work experience can help you decide on your career and improve your employability. On this course you have the option to apply to take a placement year module with organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors in the UK, or overseas.

Find out more about work experience on the Careers website .

Related courses

Arts and humanities with foundation year ba, english and comparative literature ba, english and film studies ba, english language and literature ba, english literature ba, rankings and awards, qs world university rankings by subject.

36th in the world for English Language and Literature

Complete University Guide 2025

13th in the UK for English

Student profile: Elliot Johnston-Coates

Receiving constructive feedback from my peers and tutors has really helped my confidence to grow and inspired me to pursue a career in the creative industry. Elliot Johnston-Coates, Undergraduate

• Current students
• New students
• Returning students
• Support for students
• Semester and term dates
• Policies and regulations
• Online learning tools
• Your feedback
• Studying off campus
• Results and graduation
• Student Portal
• Student handbook
• Student news
• Undergraduate

English and Creative Writing BA (Hons)

• Course detail & modules

Entry requirements

• Fees & funding
• Study & career progression

Why study at the University of West London? 

• In the top 30% of universities nationwide  - The Guardian University Guide 2024
• University of the Year for Social Inclusion  - Daily Mail University Guide 2024
• Best university for Student Experience and Teaching Quality in the UK  - The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024
• Number 1 London university (non-specialist)  - National Student Survey 2023**

Why study this course?

Have you ever dreamed of writing an award-winning screenplay or radio documentary? On this English and creative writing degree you will feed your interest in literature while helping you develop the flexibility to write for different genres and media. 

The course helps you to develop the creative, analytical and professional skills you need to work across a wide variety of media platforms, including radio, television and the web.

As you work towards your degree, you will build a diverse portfolio showcasing your abilities in a variety of genres. And you will develop entrepreneurial and self-management skills – essential ingredients for a successful writing career.

We aim to give you as much real-world experience as possible while you study. Thanks to our west London location, at the heart of the UK’s creative industries, and our strong links with media organisations, you will have access to valuable work placement opportunities.

View some of our students' recent work .

Select your desired study option, then pick a start date to see relevant course information:

Start date:

If your desired start date is not available, try selecting a different study option.

Why study English and Creative Writing with us?

What our students say…

I've learned an enormous amount and progressed so much.   I can't express how much I loved this course and was very sad that it had come to an end .

Course detail & modules

Your English and creative writing course is designed to equip you with the technical abilities and the confidence you need to earn your living as a modern writer. Throughout this joint honours degree, we aim to develop your cultural knowledge and communication skills, while giving you the support and space to develop your own creative specialism.

Although the course emphasises the use of creative writing techniques within broadcast, web and print media, the critical and analytical skills you develop will be transferable to many roles outside these fields.

Employers in the creative industries look for graduates who both know their theory and have the practical skills to fulfil briefs. On this English writing course, we give you the opportunity to gain these capabilities. Through a blend of regular seminars, media debates and screenwriting workshops, you will develop:

• a critically informed understanding of the essential works of English literature
• a critical approach to reading and writing
• your ability to structure complex arguments
• your understanding of the creative writing process and how to apply it to traditional and digital media
• a portfolio that demonstrates your capabilities

There is also the opportunity for you to take a work placement, on which you will gain valuable experience in a professional setting and make contacts for the future. You can choose a placement that is related to your creative specialism or to your main literary interests. Many of our students choose placements in organisations related to film, radio or publishing.

• Level 4 (Year One)
• Level 5 (Year Two)
• Level 6 (Year Three)

Compulsory modules

English literature i: history, form and genre.

In the first half of this module you will focus on the novel and the development of the genre using examples from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century literature. Concentrating on works (or extracts from works) by Samuel Richardson, Charlotte Brontë, Herman Melville, James Joyce and Toni Morrison, through lectures and seminars you will explore the novel form, and ask why it became the dominant mode of literary expression over the course of these three centuries.

In the second half of the module you will study a range of poems in English from different historical periods. You will cover the ways in which language and form work in poetry and the kinds of readings which can be used when looking at poems. 

English Literature II: Critical Approaches (double credit module)

Introducing you to a range of critical approaches to understanding literature, this module will cover formalist, biographical, historicist, gender, psychological, sociological, reader-response, structuralist, postcolonial and deconstructionist models of engagement with literary texts. The aim is provide you with the tools you need to examine writing, writers, and our engagement with their works.

Foundations of Creative Writing

This module will introduce you to the practice of creative writing. It will give you an overview that includes practical challenges, approaches to plot and narrative and considerations about composition and process,. You will explore various forms of creative writing from conventional fiction to creative nonfiction, writing poetry and performing writing. The aim of this module is to help you develop a positive and disciplined approach to your writing.

Foundations of Creative Writing II

Optional modules, media and communications: theories and debates.

In this module you will be introduced to the key theories, concepts and debates about the relationships between media forms, institutions and audiences. Some of the key themes covered in the module include representation, institutions, audiences and effects. The media forms studied will be drawn from film, broadcasting, photography, advertising, the internet and the printed press. 

Video Production

Learn the basics of video production and film grammar, developing your skills as a filmmaker. Using hands-on exercises, you will learn photography, video, lighting, sound and scriptwriting.

Dive into the world of audio production and storytelling through podcasts. Enhance your voiceover skills, audio recording, sound design and web design/publishing skills.

Literature and Modernity: 1900-1960

In this module you will investigate the shifting conceptions of modernism and modernity in literature written in English between the turn of the twentieth century and 1960. You will study important exemplars of literary modernism in the larger context of twentieth century art, culture and politics. The core texts covered will differ from year to year but a typical selection will feature at least five major works from a selection of the following authors: Katherine Mansfield, James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Dorothy Richardson, John Dos Passos, Djuna Barnes and Samuel Beckett.

The Canon Reloaded

On this module you will look at adaptations in the context of relevant cultural, critical, historical and technological factors. In addition, you will examine how and why certain texts are valued, and improve your abilities in research, academic writing and presenting effectively.

Screenwriting

Creative writing workshop.

Building on your creative writing studies at level 4, you will have the opportunity on this module to work on writing projects and take them through the three stages of production, namely getting started, drafting and completion. A range of published creative writers will give talks throughout the module, providing further insights.

Worldbuilding

Explore the migration of form and content between different texts and media, with a focus on fiction. Underpinned by explorations of intertextuality and convergence culture, theories of adaptation, intermediality and transmedia storytelling are explored through key examples from film, literature, TV, videogames, new media, visual arts, and many other media.

Critical Approaches to New and Social Media

On this module you will examine the changes that impact social and cultural issues as we make greater use of social and digital media technologies. You'll also have the opportunity to gain an understanding about the accompanying globalisation of media in political, financial and cultural networks.

Industry Experience

You will begin with a structured induction process, during which you will be guided in researching the job market, understanding professional responsibilities, preparing a CV plus cover letter and undertaking a mock interview. Additionally, you’ll be guided in contacting and negotiating with a potential host organisation/employer or client to secure your industry experience.

Visual Media Cultures

Contemporary writers and the city.

On this module you'll explore literature by contemporary authors who focus on urban and architectural settings, themes and predicaments. You will cover these focal points in the context of contemporary debates concerning the status of the metropolis in a globalised world.

British and Irish Drama since 1945

Writing for performance, creative writing: the short story.

This module seeks to develop your storytelling skills, using the short story format to explore narrative, characterization, setting, and style.

Dissertation OR Project

You will study all compulsory modules and one of the optional modules. Optional modules will run based on staff availability and the number of students enrolled in each module.

You will study the two compulsory modules and select two  from the option modules list A and two from list B. 

Optional modules will run based on staff availability and the number of students enrolled in each module.

Visual Media Cultures (B)

Industry experience (b).

The aims of this module is to provide you with the opportunity to:

• identify potential professional opportunities and goals
• develop the skills and personal networks to make effective applications
• develop a real-life understanding of contemporary industry/organisational practice
• identify core competencies to support your future career
• cultivate a critical understanding of your strengths and weaknesses in a work-based situation
• develop your online professional presence and add elements to your portfolio of practical work (while refreshing key production skills).

You will take the two compulsory creative writing modules and one module from each of the option lists:

• A (literature)
• B (literature)
• C (literature/creative writing)

British and Irish Drama since 1945 (A)

Crime and fiction (b).

On this module you'll have the opportunity to address the representation of crime across a range of media forms, including novels, short stories, films, television, radio and graphic novels. The focus will be on the changes within a story as it is moved from one medium to another, for example, from page to screen.

Shakespeare on the Screen (B)

In this module you will examine how Shakespeare's plays have been adapted for film and television. You will look at the original plays, screen adaptations and a range of theoretical, critical and historical works.

Dissertation or Project (C)

• Requirements: UK
• Requirements: International

These can include:   

• A Levels at grade B, C and C, or above   
• BTEC Extended Diploma with Distinction, Merit, Merit   
• Access to HE Diploma

You also need GCSE English and Maths (grade 9 - 4 / A* - C) or Level 2 equivalents.

Looking for BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing with Foundation Year?

Mature applicants (aged 21+): If you do not hold the qualifications listed but have relevant work experience, you are welcome to apply. Your application will be considered on an individual basis.

Level 5 (year 2) entry To directly enter the second year of this course you will need to show appropriate knowledge and experience. For example, you are an ideal candidate if you have 120 undergraduate credits at Level 4 or a CertHE in a related subject area.

Level 6 (year 3) entry To directly enter the third year of this course you need to show appropriate knowledge and experience. For example, you are an ideal candidate if you have 240 undergraduate credits (at Levels 4 and 5), a DipHE, Foundation Degree or HND in a related subject area.

You need to meet our English language requirement - a minimum of IELTS 6.5 or above, with 6.0 or above for each of the 4 individual components (Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening). Visit our English language requirements page for information on other English language tests we accept.

You also need academic qualifications at the same level as UK applicants. In some countries where teaching is in English, we may accept local qualifications. Check for local equivalents . 

We offer pre-sessional English language courses if you do not meet these requirements.

Find out more about our English Language courses .

Fees & funding

• Funding: UK
• Funding: International

Additional costs

There are additional costs for this course that are not included in the tuition fees. See the links below to get a better idea of what to expect:

• optional study trips

The fee above is the cost per year of your course.

If your course runs for two years or more, you will need to pay the fee for each academic year at the start of that year. If your course runs for less than two years, the cost above is for your full course and you will need to pay the full fee upfront.

Government regulation does affect tuition fees and the fees listed for courses starting in the 2025/26 academic year are subject to change.

If no fee is shown above then the fees for this course are not available yet. Please check again later for updates.

Funding your studies

You may be eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of tuition fees, or a maintenance loan. Additional funding is available to some types of students, such as those with dependants and disabled students.

We offer generous bursaries and scholarships to make sure your aspirations are your only limit. In recent years, hundreds of students have received our Full-time Undergraduate Student Bursary.

Additional scholarships specifically for students in the fields of film, media and design are also on offer .

View full details, including conditions and eligibility.

International students - funding your studies

We offer scholarships for international students including International Ambassador Scholarships. 

Further information about funding and financial support for international students is available from the UK Council for International Student Affairs .

Teaching staff

Professor Garin Dowd

I am a Professor of Film, Literature and Media, and my current research focuses on representations of space, location and spatial relations in the novel and in film. I am a member of the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS), the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) and the Samuel Beckett Society.

Professor Jeremy Strong

Dr Jonathon Crewe

Dr Marcus Nicholls

Dr Matilde Nardelli

Professor Helen Hester

Study & career progression

Once you graduate with your English and creative writing degree, you may go on to find work in:

• film and television
• radio broadcasting

You may decide to specialise in a related area or explore a new subject. Please see our postgraduate courses for a range of options.

How to apply

• How to apply: UK
• How to apply: International

Head to the UCAS website where you can apply using:

• our institution code - W05
• the UCAS course code (below)

Want to ask us a question first? We would love to hear from you. Contact us free on: 

• 0800 036 8888
• [email protected]

Apply for this course

Next steps after making your application.

We aim to make a decision on your application as quickly as we can. If we need any more information about your qualifications, we will be in touch.

In the meantime, come and visit us and find out more about what studying at UWL is like. Sign up for an  open day  or join a campus tour .

• Applying for an undergraduate course
• Applying for a postgraduate course
• Our Admissions Policy

Visit us and see for yourself

Talk to our tutors and find out about our courses and facilities at our next open day or join a campus tour.

Our prospectus

All of our courses in one place - download now or order a hard copy.

We're here to help

Any questions about a course or studying at UWL? We're here to help - call us on 0800 036 8888 (option 2, Monday – Friday 10am-4pm) or email us on [email protected].

You can apply online at any time by following the link below.

Our application form will ask you for some information about what you want to study, your previous qualifications or experience, and how we can contact you.

You can apply to us in two ways:

• on the UCAS website  you will need our institution code (W05) and the UCAS course code (at the top of this page)
• directly on our website – follow the ‘apply now’ link below

Want to ask us a question first? Our dedicated international students’ team would love to hear from you. 

• Ask the International Recruitment Team a question  
• learn more about international student applications
• find out more about why you should study in London at the Career University.

Related courses

Ba (hons) english and media and communications.

BA (Hons) English and Film

BA (Hons) Journalism

BA (Hons) Content, Media and Film Production

Search for courses

Find out more about the work our students produce and view some of their recent work by visiting our Film, Media and Communication ARTSFEST page.

Student life at UWL

• Seven reasons to study with us
• Accommodation
• Student support
• Our campus and sites

Important notes for applicants

* Modern universities  - defined as higher education institutions that were granted university status in, and subsequent to, 1992.

** The National Student Survey 2022 and 2023 -   Based on an average of all 27 questions. Excludes specialist institutions.

Testimonials - our students or former students provided all of our testimonials - often a student from the course but sometimes another student. For example, the testimonial often comes from another UWL student when the course is new.

Optional modules - where optional modules are offered they will run subject to staff availability and viable student numbers opting to take the module.

Videos - all videos on our course pages were accurate at the time of filming. In some cases a new Course Leader has joined the University since the video was filmed.

Availability of placements - if you choose a course with placement/internship route we would like to advise you that if a placement/internship opportunity does not arise when you are expected to undertake the placement then the University will automatically transfer you to the non-internship route, this is to ensure you are still successful in being awarded a degree.

020 3376 7945

• [email protected]

Learn the skills you need to succeed with our industry recognised courses.

Our courses were developed by industry experts - learn from the professionals.

Discuss your options with our experienced team to find the right course for you.

Our experienced team can answer any questions you have about our courses, general enquiries and payment options. Simply complete this form and we will contact you as soon as possible.

Our philosophy at the British Academy of Creative Writing is to make high-quality education accessible to all by empowering people to do what they love. Through the power of online and blended learning, our students are able to harness their creativity and practically apply it to succeed in their chosen careers.

Pursue your ambition - because the future is today!

Common misconceptions about creative writing

We highlight the benefits of developing your creative writing skills

Building your first story from scratch

Finding your unique voice: Strategies for distinctive storytelling

Our successful students celebrate their recent achievements

The British Academy of Creative Writing is a leading provider of accredited, industry recognised creative writing qualifications in UK.

0161 5246 537

0121 3121 661

0131 3221 081

0289 6943 706

029 2271 2268

0117 463 5237

British Academy of Creative Writing ©2024

• home study Courses
• Certificate
• Postgraduate Diploma
• live online Courses
• classroom Courses
• Accreditation
• Work Placement
• Enrol Online
• Terms & Conditions
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy

Request Brochure

Forgotten password.

To recover your student number or password please enter your email address below and we will send it to you.

• International

BA (Hons) Creative Writing and English Literature

Course options

Key Details

Why you should choose us

In the UK for Creative Writing

The Complete University Guide 2024

The Guardian University Guide 2023

The Times/Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023

Course Overview

The writer's world has never been more diverse, exciting, and collaborative than it is today. UEA – which became the first UK university to teach creative writing over 50 years ago – has played a major role in shaping this world. Since then, countless writers have emerged from our seminars and workshops and made a lasting impact on the field of contemporary literature. Are you ready to join them?   

As a student of Creative Writing and English Literature, you'll hone your writing skills while exploring literatures from a host of genres, countries, and periods. You’ll take the same creative writing workshops as our English Literature with Creative Writing students. In addition, you'll dive into modules that will take your writing practice out of the classroom and into the working writer's world. Through seminars, workshops, and placements, you'll develop skills across disciplines and media, in community engagement, and in publishing and presenting your own work. In other words, you’ll be primed to enter a writer's world that is collaborative, thrillingly diverse, and endlessly exciting

‘To write is to practice, with particular intensity and attentiveness, the art of reading.’ So wrote Susan Sontag. In a similar way, at UEA we believe that good readers make good writers. It’s for this reason that we combine the study of Creative Writing with the study of Literature at all levels of our degree programmes. In this way, your creative and literary training go hand-in-hand. 

In addition to the creative writing workshops offered by our pioneering and world-famous English Literature with Creative Writing degree, this course offers you a suite of modules designed to help you enter the working writer's world once you graduate. You’ll become familiar with collaborative practice, working with makers and thinkers in other disciplines. On our innovative creative non-fiction module, you’ll experience writing in real-world contexts and learn how to make that world your subject. As your degree reaches its climax, you’ll learn how to produce, publish and perform your work to a professional standard.  

All along, you’ll be studying at a university rich in famous alumni, including Booker Prize winners Ian McEwan and Anne Enright, Forward Prize winner Mona Arshi, and Nobel Prize winner Sir Kazuo Ishiguro. You’ll draw inspiration from this lineage, while working closely with our many practicing novelists, scriptwriters, poets in seminars and workshops. 

In your study of English literature, you’ll discover a wealth of writers from the classical past right up to poets and novelists writing now. You might explore diverse literary traditions from across the globe, and you’ll tackle a heady mix of genres, which currently range from the gothic to contemporary fiction, crime writing to children’s literature, early modern women’s writing to modern Japanese fiction.  

Whichever modules you choose to study, you’ll be taught by our world-leading writers and critics. UEA’s School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing is famous for innovation in teaching and for cutting-edge research – that’s why in the most recent Times Higher Education Analysis (REF2021), UEA was ranked 19th in the UK for the quality of its research in English Language and Literature. 

When you’re not in the classroom, you’ll be able to explore the glories of Norwich, an extraordinary place in which to be a writer. Not only is it jaw-droppingly beautiful; it’s also England’s first UNESCO City of Literature – awarded in recognition of the city’s vivid literary heritage and vibrant contemporary writing scene – and home to the National Centre for Writing . You’ll immerse yourself in this community, perhaps sharing your work with a packed audience of students and professional writers at our UEA Live: New Writing series, or attending literary festival events with internationally renowned figures.  

We say that UEA is the place where literature lives – when you join the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing , you’ll join a unique and supportive community of critics, writers, and drama practitioners, who bring literature to life every day.  It’s a pretty good place to be, and you can find out more about the activities in our School by following us on Instagram . 

Placement Year and Study Abroad

You have the option to apply to study abroad for one semester of your second year. Study abroad is a wonderfully enriching life experience – you will develop confidence and adaptability, and will have the chance to deepen your understanding of writing while learning about another culture. At UEA, you’ll be surrounded by the many students we welcome from around the world to study with us.  

For further details, visit the  Study Abroad section  of our website.  

Study and Modules

During your first year, you’ll take three bespoke Creative Writing modules, in which you’ll develop your range of skills as a writer. The first semester is all about cultivating your craft, testing out the possibilities of different forms and techniques, pushing your boundaries as a writer, and using writing exercises to help you generate material. In the second semester, you will experiment with avant-garde techniques and engage with genre, while developing the ability to critically reflect on your own creative practice. 

You’ll also explore writing as a collaborative practice, working with UEA students from other disciplines – which might include media, or medicine, or environmental science – to broaden your scope as a writer, working on new forms for new audiences. At the same time, you’ll improve your skills as a close reader of literary texts and begin to get to grips with the span of English Literature in core literature-based modules. This is the start of the exciting interplay between reading and writing which you’ll draw upon throughout your degree. 

Compulsory Modules

Creative writing: beginnings, creative writing: experiments with genre, new forms: writing in collaboration, reading literature in history, reading now, slow reading.

Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.

Teaching and Learning

Teaching 

Nurtured by our world-leading creative writing tutors (in seminars of around 15 people), you'll start to get to grips with creative writing's fundamentals, including strategies for creating character, writing dialogue, determining mood, and maintaining atmosphere. You'll be mentored as you collaborate with students in other disciplines – your first taste of the contemporary working writer's world. Lectures on literature will surprise you with new ideas, and seminar discussions led by your tutor will shape your thinking about what you've read that week. You'll meet your academic adviser who'll support you through your whole degree with everything from choice of modules to launching your career.  

Independent Learning 

You’ll spend time on your own writing and your collaborative projects. You'll throw yourself into the whirlwind of extra-curricular creative writing events and activities. You'll read some extraordinary books, with a framework of guided tasks to help you get the most out of them, and discover a wealth of new resources in the library. By the end of this year, you'll be equipped with the fundamental skills necessary for your creative and literary journey. 

Assessment  

Throughout your degree, all modules in Creative Writing and in English Literature have no exams – we believe that the best way to express your thoughts about literature and to show off your creative development is through carefully crafted pieces of written coursework. On the creative side, you'll start by writing your own prose and poetry, developing fundamental skills in drafting, keeping a writer's notebook, and submitting to deadlines, before embarking on more experimental exercises. You'll produce work collaboratively  and reflect on the collaboration process, developing a critical awareness of your creative practice. In your studies of literature, you'll develop renewed enthusiasm for writing academic essays, and express your thinking in a diverse variety of forms, from reviews to personal reflective writing.  

Feedback 

You'll receive feedback on your writing (creative and critical) from your tutors (e.g. in one-to-one tutorials) and your peers. Feedback on assessed work will be returned within 20 working days (after it has been carefully marked and moderated). As your first year does not count toward your overall degree result, it's a great time to experiment and take risks.  

You’ll begin to focus your creative writing on particular forms, choosing from prose, poetry, and scriptwriting modules. You’ll share your writing with your peers and with a published author in our creative writing workshops, receiving feedback and learning how to give constructive criticism to your peers, too. You might also take a module in creative non-fiction, which will develop your skills in life writing and hybrid forms, working both in the classroom and through a short placement that will give you direct experience of writing in the world.  

As a literary critic, you will be able to choose from all the available literature modules, gaining a grounding in a variety of literary periods and traditions. You might also choose to experiment with our innovative creative-critical modules, where the reading and writing of literature go hand-in-hand. Over the course of this year, you’ll take a module on Shakespeare or an historical period of English literature from before 1789.

Optional A Modules

Victorian writing, european literature, critical theory and practice, contemporary fiction, literature studies semester abroad (spring), medieval writing: quest, fable and romance (pre-1789), shakespeare (pre-1789), romantic transformations: 1740-1830, early modern writing 1600-1740: the making of english literature (pre-1789), optional b modules, reading and writing in elizabethan england (pre-1789), making it public: publishing, audience, & creative enterprise, literature and philosophy, reading and writing contemporary poetry, the writing of history, transatlantic literatures, the writing of journalism (aut), the short story (aut), lgbt and beyond: sexual cultures, queer identities, and the politics of desire, arts and humanities placement module, optional c modules, writing in the world: placements, podcasts, creative nonfiction, scriptwriting: tv/film, creative writing: prose fiction (spr), scriptwriting: stage/audio, creative writing: prose fiction (aut), creative writing: poetry (aut), scriptwriting: screen and stage.

Teaching  

Your creative work will now be taken to the next level through the 'workshopping' process (pioneered in the UK by UEA), where you'll get feedback on your writing from your peers under the direction of one of our creative writing tutors, and learn the art of offering constructive critique to your fellow writers. You might bring your writing into the wider world through a placement with an organisation or community group, supported by our creative writing team. Lectures and seminars will immerse you in particular eras of literature, and you may also take seminars in more vocational subjects like journalism or publishing (using our state-of-the-art Media Suite).  

Independent Learning  

You'll deepen your confidence in the craft of creative writing, gain real-world experience of the demands and exhilarating rewards of collaborating with others, continue to enrich your writing through the study of literature, and finish the year with a real sense of how your degree might open out into future careers.

You'll continue to submit 100%  coursework for all your creative writing and literature modules. Your creative writing will flourish as you produce more substantial pieces of prose (a 1250-word short story or longer 2000-word narrative), portfolios of poetry, or scripts for stage or screen (20-30 minutes in length), and write reflective pieces to understand better your own creative processes. Your writing will be energised by encounters with real-life subjects as you experience the writer’s world first-hand, and you'll write reflectively about the ethics and complexities of drawing on real life subjects. You'll continue to hone your critical essay writing, and you might experiment with 'creative criticism', for instance by writing a short story which reveals your critical understanding of that form.  

Feedback  

You'll continue to have the support and feedback of all your tutors, and your creative work will be deepened by your immersion in the workshop environment, where you receive feedback from your peers and learn to give feedback on their work, an enormously valuable skill in many careers.

.  

In your final-year creative writing modules you will focus intensively on your own practice. You’ll take a workshop, modelled on our world-famous Creative Writing MA. This will give you the chance to further develop your work in a particular form: prose, poetry, or scriptwriting. You’ll also have the chance to write a creative writing dissertation, in which you produce a substantial piece of poetry, prose or script, with one-to-one support from a tutor. Or you can choose a module in which you will be able to publish your own book  and develop skills in performing your own work for an audience. On the literature side, you’ll choose from a dazzling array of specialist modules organised into two option ranges – currently we offer topics covering everything from the global Middle Ages to contemporary children’s literature. 

CREATIVE WRITING: PROSE

Creative writing dissertation (aut), writing television drama, publication, production, performance, creative writing dissertation (spr), creative writing: scriptwriting, creative writing: prose (aut), shakespeare's dramatic worlds (pre-1789), the business of books (pre-1789), literature dissertation: post-1789 (spr), women's writing in early-modern britain: the emergence of female authorship (pre-1789), reading modern japanese fiction: translation and canonisation, literature dissertation: post-1789 (aut), nervous narratives, literature dissertation: (pre-1789) (aut), monsters, marvels and creative medieval heritage (pre-1789), the birth of the gothic: romance, revolution, empire, banned books, literature dissertation: (pre-1789) (spr), ghosts, haunting and spectrality, the art of murder, children's literature, imaginary endings: british fiction and the apocalypse, mythos: rewriting the classics (pre-1789), feminist writing, culture and performance, the art of emotion: literature, writing and feeling.

Your immersion in the writer's world culminates as you're mentored through the intensive editorial and revision process needed to ensure your work meets industry standards for publication or performance. You might take a three-hour workshop led by a member of our creative writing team, or choose to work one-on-one with a creative writing tutor to produce a substantial creative dissertation. Either way, you’ll be writing with confidence and a real sense of your writerly identity. Alongside this, you'll have the chance to explore cutting-edge literary topics in real depth, in three-hour seminars taught by specialists passionate about their subject.   

You'll work with increasing confidence and independence as a literary critic, and you'll have the option to bring together all your experience as a creative writer to complete the year (and the degree) with a tangible product of everything you've been learning – your own book and recorded performance piece.

You'll continue to be assessed by 100%  coursework. You'll have the option to take a module in which you turn your work into a book and performance piece that meets industry standards, and which is a full reflection of the writer you have become. You can also choose to participate in another workshop or to embark on a creative dissertation (6000 words writing / 2000 words reflection), the culmination of your achievements as a writer. Alongside your creative work, you'll have the chance to produce in-depth explorations of literature (3500-5000 words), and if you wish, you might continue to experiment with the forms in which you express your ideas about literary texts, writing Shakespearean sonnets or experimenting with the new boundary-defying genre of ‘auto-fiction’. 

You will continue to receive in-depth written and oral feedback, from both tutors and peers, in both workshops and one-on-one supervisions. All the feedback you've received will enable you to graduate with highly developed transferable skills in writing across a host of forms and for an array of audiences, together with an ability to give sensitive but incisive critique of others' work. 

Entry Requirements

A Level - ABB (subject specific requirements apply)

BTEC L3 Extended Diploma - DDM (subject specific requirements apply)

UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.  

You are required to have Mathematics and English Language at a minimum of Grade C or Grade 4 or above at GCSE.

Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):  

IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) 

We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review  our English Language Equivalencies  for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement. 

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date. 

If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study:  

Pre-sessional English at INTO UEA   

Academic English at INTO UEA   

Most applicants will not be called for an interview and a decision will be made via UCAS Track. However, for some applicants an interview will be requested. Where an interview is required the Admissions Service will contact you directly to arrange a time.  

We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year.  We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.  

This course is open to UK and International applicants. The annual intake is in September each year.    

Additional Information or Requirements

Extended Diploma: DDD plus A in English Literature including English Literature or one of the subjects listed: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.

Diploma: DD plus A in English Literature or one of the subjects listed: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.

Extended Certificate: D plus AA to include one of the subjects listed: English Literature, English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.

Special Entry Requirements

Candidates who are shortlisted will be asked to provide a sample of their creative writing:  we ask for around 5-7 pages of work, which can be on any subject and in any genre of the candidate's choice. Most choose to send poetry, prose, or a mixture of the two.

If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our  Foundation Year programmes such as - 

https://www.uea.ac.uk/course/undergraduate/ba-english-literature-with-a-foundation-year

We welcome and value a wide range of alternative qualifications.  If you have a qualification which is not listed here, or are taking a combination of qualifications, please contact us via Admissions Enquiries . 

International Requirements

We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. View our International Students pages for specific information about your country. 

INTO University of East Anglia 

If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree: 

International Foundation in Business, Economics, Society and Culture (for Year 1 entry to UEA) 

International Foundation in Humanities and Law (for Year 1 entry to UEA)

Admissions Policy

Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.  

Fees and Funding

Tuition Fees   

View our information for Tuition Fees .  

Scholarships and Bursaries  

We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates. 

Course Related Costs

Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs. 

How to Apply

Apply for this course through the  Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS) , using UCAS Hub.  

UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom. 

Your application does not have to be completed all at once.  Register or sign in to UCAS  to get started.  

Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges. 

The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is  E14 . 

View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information: 

How to apply through UCAS  

Employability

After the course.

You will be a first-rate writer and an advanced critical thinker with an independent cast of mind; you’ll know how to manage your time, how to work collaboratively, and how to operate as a writer in the world of work. With the support of our Careers Service throughout your degree, you’ll have honed your CV and sought out internships. You’ll have attended Working with Words, an annual event in which you get to meet UEA alumni working in the creative industries. You might have got involved with the UEA Publishing Project, or its student arm,   Egg Box , or undertaken independent research in UEA’s British Archive of Contemporary Writing . In an increasingly text-based world, these skills and experiences are highly valued by employers.    

You could go on to work as a prose fiction or non-fiction writer, poet or scriptwriter, or go into many careers in arts, media, publishing, politics, charities and NGOs, teaching, or the commercial sector.  You’ll also be well placed to study for a postgraduate degree, including one of our world-famous Creative Writing MAs. Regardless of the direction you choose, you will be superbly placed to start writing your own story. 

A degree at UEA will prepare you for a wide variety of careers. We've been ranked 1st for Job Prospects by StudentCrowd in 2022.

Examples of careers you could enter include:  

Freelance writer   

Scriptwriter  

Publishing   

Community and Arts-related Projects 

Marketing  

Communication and PR  

Discover more on our Careers webpages . 

Related Courses

Ba (hons) english literature.

UEA is the place where literature lives – from ancient epic storytelling to contemporary bestsellers, and from different countries and traditions around the globe. Whether you love twenty-first centur...

BA (Hons) American Literature with Creative Writing

Hone your writing craft and explore the literary tradition of the world’s most influential culture in Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature. Develop your distinctive voice, and study America’s greatest...

BA (Hons) English and American Literature

On this BA in English and American Literature, you’ll study the wealth of literature from both countries, examine the interchanges between the two, and explore the many fascinating aspects in which th...

BA (Hons) English Literature and Philosophy

Ponder the big questions through the overlapping, interweaving disciplines of literature and philosophy. You’ll explore a variety of literary forms and genres from across the world and throughout time...

BA (Hons) English Literature and Drama

Immerse yourself in the practices of reading, writing and performance on this interdisciplinary English literature and drama degree. You’ll gain a thorough academic grounding in prose, poetry, and dra...

BA (Hons) Drama and Creative Writing

Unite creative writing and performance in this exhilarating and immersive course at UEA. You’ll study a wealth of writing for theatre, cinema, television, and radio, and hone your dramatic writing cra...

Creative Writing and English Literature starting September 2024 for 3 years

• Facebook Profile

Learning English with Oxford

The latest language learning tips, resources, and content from oxford university press., creative writing in english.

• by Oxford University Press ELT
• Posted on September 8, 2022 May 24, 2023

Creative writing starts with reading – this is the source. You’ve got to read A LOT. This will show you what’s possible and how it’s done. It will also give you ideas. A great way to start reading more is by using Oxford Reading Club – here you can find hundreds of graded readers which are right for your level. The more you read, the more you’ll see different styles, mix them up, and then write in a way which is completely new and completely you .

Every creative idea has possibilities . It could become a brilliant story, poem, play, or song lyric. It doesn’t matter. What’s important is to get it down on paper or on screen. Don’t let it just stay in your head. After you’ve written down the idea, you can decide how good it is and what form it might take. Then you can start to write it!

3. BEGINNING

Most creative writing is about telling a story of some kind. Every story has three parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you’re having trouble getting started, try writing from the middle of the story, or even the end. You might discover it’s a better approach. Wherever you start, your first line really needs to ‘hook’ the reader’s attention and make them want to continue. Look at these three examples:

• There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife ( The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman)
• It was a bright, cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen . ( 1984 by George Orwell)
• On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel. ( Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell)

Where does your story happen? Some people think you should write about places you know really well. But you can also do research and use your imagination. Maybe the setting is one place – that dark, little wood at the end of your garden or schoolyard – or several places which are connected: Chinese megacities, for example. Or maybe it’s somewhere fantastic that no human has ever seen: inside the blood, on the surface of Saturn, or in a parallel world where teachers are students and robots are gods. What does it look like? How does it smell? What sounds are there? If you can describe it in detail, you’ll create that place for your reader.

This is where your creative writing can sometimes slow down. It’s natural – you’ve made a start, but you still haven’t reached the end. Stop … and try writing out the whole idea in just one sentence. Does it make sense? Is that the story, poem, or play which you’re actually writing? If it feels like your writing is losing speed or getting boring, introduce something quick and surprising. For example a gun, a ticking time bomb, a truck with no brakes, or a talking cat.

6. CHARACTERS

Creative writing is written by people (you), for people (your readers), and about people (your characters). Dealing with life’s challenges is what makes us interesting, and it’s exactly the same for the characters in a story, poem, or play. What do they want – and why can’t they get it? You also want to make your characters convincing. If you can’t invent someone completely new, try combining a few real people. Take the name of one person, the looks and voice of a second person; then add the house and car of a third person. See what kind of character appears!

By this time, you could have built up speed and be racing downhill. But don’t rush the end! Ask yourself what’s changed and – more importantly – what your characters have learnt. Before you write or type the final full stop, check the logic of the story up to this point. Does it all make sense? If so, make sure the end is definitely an end. Here are three famous examples:

• Out of the ash I rise with my red hair And I eat men like air. ( Lady Lazarus by Sylvia Plath)
• Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him—and it was still hot . ( Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak)
• The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well. ( Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling)

Do you want to improve your story writing in English ? Check out our latest blog to get all the tips you need to improve your story-writing skills.  

Andrew Dilger is a Managing Editor at Oxford University Press. He has been involved in English language teaching as a teacher, trainer, and editor for over a quarter of a century. He is passionate about the power of reading and claims to have read something every day of his life since he first went to school.

Share this:

Author: Oxford University Press ELT

Every year we help millions of people around the world to learn English. As a department of the University of Oxford, we further the University’s objective of excellence in education by publishing proven and tested language learning books, eBooks, learning materials, and educational technologies. View all posts by Oxford University Press ELT

I don’t think you could definitely publish my article in Oxford University Press, could you?

EXTREMELY USEFUL!!!!!!!!!! THANX

• Pingback: How to improve your storytelling in English - Learning English with Oxford

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Discover more from learning english with oxford.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience.

University of Reading Cookie Policy

We use cookies on reading.ac.uk to improve your experience. Find out more about our cookie policy . By continuing to use our site you accept these terms, and are happy for us to use cookies to improve your browsing experience.

Continue using the University of Reading website

Subjects A-B

• Agriculture
• Ancient History
• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Architecture
• Biochemistry
• Biological Sciences
• Biomedical Engineering
• Biomedical Sciences
• Bioveterinary Sciences
• Building and Surveying
• Business and Management

Subjects C-E

• Classics and Classical Studies
• Climate Science
• Computer Science
• Construction Management
• Consumer Behaviour and Marketing
• Creative Writing
• Criminology
• Engineering
• English Language and Applied Linguistics
• English Literature
• Environment

Subjects F-G

• Film & Television
• Foundation programmes
• Graphic Communication and Design

Subjects H-M

• International Development
• International Foundation Programme (IFP)
• International Relations
• Languages and Cultures
• Linguistics
• Mathematics
• Medical Sciences
• Meteorology and Climate
• Microbiology
• Museum Studies

Subjects N-T

• Pharmacology
• Physician Associate Studies
• Politics and International Relations
• Real Estate and Planning
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Surveying and Construction
• Theatre & Performance

Subjects U-Z

• Wildlife Conservation

Subjects A-C

• Business (Post-Experience)
• Business and Management (Pre-Experience)
• Classics and Ancient History
• Construction Management and Engineering
• Consumer Behaviour
• Creative Enterprise

Subjects D-G

• Data Science
• Energy and Environmental Engineering
• Environmental Sciences
• Film, Theatre and Television
• Food and Nutritional Sciences
• Geography and Environmental Science
• Graphic Design

Subjects H-P

• Information Management and Digital Business
• Information Technology
• International Development and Applied Economics
• Physician Associate
• Project Management
• Public Policy

Subjects Q-Z

• Social Policy
• Strategic Studies
• Teacher training
• Typography and Graphic Communication
• War and Peace Studies
• Architectural Engineering

We are in the process of finalising our postgraduate taught courses for 2025/26 entry. In the meantime, you can view our 2024/25 courses.

BA English Literature with Creative Writing

• UCAS code Q3W8
• A level offer BBB
• Year of entry 2025/26
• Course duration Full Time:  3 Years

Explore literature from all angles with our BA English Literature with Creative Writing course.

English literature and creative writing are a perfect combination at degree level:

• In your literature modules, you will be introduced to important, exciting, diverse writers from across the centuries and the globe.
• In creative writing, you will explore literary creativity from the inside: creating characters, shaping poems, and drawing on your imagination.

The two sides of the degree complement and challenge each other. The great writers from the past and present who you study will inspire and influence your writing. Meanwhile, creating your own work will help you understand technique and form in ways that will sharpen your analysis of literary texts.   

You will learn from active, prize-winning authors from our Department of English Literature . These academics have years of experience with the practical aspects of writing, and they will closely read and advise you on your work.  94% of students in the Department of English Literature said our teaching staff were good or very good at explaining things (National Student Survey, 2023).

Our academics have also published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary American fiction, and they will help you to develop your own literary enthusiasms. 

English literature

In English literature , you will examine well-known authors and genres, such as tragedy and gothic literature, Shakespeare and Plath . You may also encounter  topics such as children's literature, publishing and the history of literature. Our academics have published research on everything from medieval poetry to contemporary American fiction.

As you progress through your degree, your module choices become more diverse and specialised. Topics of study can range from archival work to the politics of literature. Everyone in the English Department, from new lecturers to professors, teaches at every level of the degree: this gives you the benefit of our expertise and makes you part of the conversation about our research and its impact outside the classroom. We place a strong emphasis on small-group learning within a friendly and supportive environment. In your first and second years, you will have a mix of lectures and seminars. 

You will develop advanced skills in literary analysis. For example, you will:

• explore the different ways that literary texts respond to their cultural context.
• trace the development of English-language poetry over time and across the globe.
• examine how literary texts accrue new meanings in the process of interpretation.

Creative writing

In Creative writing, you will be introduced to all the major forms, including: 

• creative-non-fiction.  

In your second year you can specialise in the areas you feel most excited by. In your third year, you’ll participate in our masterclasses. These are advanced modules in your chosen literary form, where you will read and discuss very recently published texts, identify and write about the themes that are currently popular and fresh,  and be encouraged to pursue publication yourself as part of the module assessment. You can also write at a greater length by choosing to do a creative writing dissertation.

We are committed to teaching through the workshop model. These small group sessions are the heart of Reading’s writing community: guided by one of our lecturers, you and your fellow students will gain confidence as your share your writing and help each other improve.  

You will also have the opportunity to publish your work – and gain experience in editing and publishing – by participating in our online creative magazine .

Find out more about our creative writing studies, including information about our academics, on our Department’s creative writing webpage .  

Your learning environment  

We place a strong emphasis on small-group learning within a friendly and supportive environment.

In your first and second years, you will attend a mix of larger-scale lectures as well as seminars of no more than 14 people. In your third year, all of your studies will take place in seminars taught by research-active experts.

Our team of poets, fiction and non-fiction writers provide detailed and thorough feedback on your written work within 15 working days. This is crucial to your development as a writer, whether you intend a career in creative or professional writing.

Learn more about what to expect during your studies on our Department’s How you’ll learn webpage .

For more information, please visit the Department of English Literature website .

Throughout your degree you will be thinking about the career choices that will enable you to thrive after graduation. We will help you develop the skills and experience you need to launch that career.

Our innovative  placement scheme gives you the chance to undertake an academic placement in commerce, industry or the arts. You can also take a placement module on languages and literature in heritage, in education, and in the media. 

Study abroad

In your second year, you can spend a semester studying abroad at one of our partner institutions in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and USA.  You can also choose to do your degree over four years, and spend your third year studying abroad.  

Entry requirements A Level BBB

Select Reading as your firm choice on UCAS and we'll guarantee you a place even if you don't quite meet your offer. For details, see our firm choice scheme .

 Our typical offers are expressed in terms of A level, BTEC and International Baccalaureate requirements. However, we also accept many other qualifications.

Typical offer

BBB, including grade B in A level English Literature or related subject.

Related subjects include: English Language, English Language and Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies, Creative Writing.

International Baccalaureate

30 points overall including 5 at higher level in English Literature or related subject.

Extended Project Qualification

In recognition of the excellent preparation that the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) provides to students for University study, we can now include achievement in the EPQ as part of a formal offer.

BTEC Extended Diploma

DDM (Modules taken must be comparable to subject specific requirement)

English language requirements

IELTS 7.0, with no component below 6.0

For information on other English language qualifications, please visit our international student pages .

Alternative entry requirements for International and EU students

For country specific entry requirements  look at entry requirements by country .

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

• Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Compulsory modules

Introduction to Creative Writing

Develop your skills in creative writing across a range of genres. You will develop an understanding of how to compose, criticise, revise, and polish your work through workshop discussions and the completion of a critical essay.  

Poetry in English

From the Renaissance to the present, uncover the history of poetry as you explore key genres related to love, politics, pastoral, elegy, satire, the sonnet, the ode, and the dramatic monologue. You’ll study poems drawn from the wider English-speaking world including Ireland, the Caribbean and North America, encountering the diversity of voices found in gender and sexuality.  

Prose: Writing Identities

Explore a range of literary prose, both fiction and non-fiction, from the eighteenth-century to the present day. You’ll consider these texts from a variety of critical perspectives to understand how they respond to various cultures, socio-political issues and aesthetics, with particular attention to the construction of identities such as ‘race’, gender and class.   

Introduction to Drama

Discover the genre of drama as you explore a historical range of texts from the early modern periods. You’ll focus on four plays as you explore comedy, tragedy, form, structure, and the elements of change and continuity found within the genre.  

Optional modules

Modern American Culture and Counterculture

Discover American countercultures in work, from 1950s Beat poetry to fiction responding to the Black Lives Matter movement. You’ll study the perspectives of African-American, Native American and white American creatives in a variety of genres: poetry, short stories, YA fiction, science fiction, drama, songs, films, war reportage and the graphic novel.  

Become acquainted with English literature’s material dimension and how writers, both past and present, have depicted the library as a symbol. As you study, you'll interpret poems, novels and plays, and investigate books and other archival documents as physical objects.  

Thinking Translation: History and Theory

Learn about the current thinking on translation by exploring some specific case studies. The historical approach to translation will allow you to develop a critical awareness of the role played by: genres, readership, institutional influences, market constraints, gender attitudes and discourses, purpose. In seminars, you will explore the challenges facing translators when dealing with literary, scientific, philosophical and political texts. 

What Is Comparative Literature?

Learn about the major critical and theoretical issues in the study of Comparative Literature, as well as the important methodologies for studying literature in a comparative context. Approach a cluster of texts from different cultural and historical traditions, you'll be be encouraged to reflect on the practices and consequences of reading transnationally.

These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods. Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them. You can also  register your details  with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.

Optional modules 

Myth, Legend and Romance: Medieval Storytelling

Explore storytelling in medieval England as you take in the fantastical tales of ancient heroes, drama that blends comedy and religious devotion, and magic and supernatural beings. You’ll consider the stark contrast of narrative structure, character development and language use by medieval writers in contrast to our own.  

Creative Writing: The Short Story

Explore the process of the creative cycle, from reading literature to writing it. You’ll engage critically with a range of short stories as you encounter key debates about the form and write your own short fiction in response. 

Contemporary Fiction

Study a selection of fiction from the 1980s to the present day, exploring the formal, thematic and cultural diversity of Anglophone fiction produced in this period. You’ll consider these texts within a number of social, political and historical contexts, such as multiculturalism, feminism and globalisation.  

Victorian Literature

Victorian literature consists of a period where authors began to consider people’s place in the world with God, the workings of the mind, and the role of class and gender in the construction of identity. You’ll engage with these ideas as you consider some of the greatest works of the period – from Dickens and Hardy to Tennyson and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.   

Creative Writing: Creative Non-Fiction

Study memoirs, essays, blog posts, long-form journalism, biography and auto-fiction as you explore the exciting and ever-evolving contemporary genre. As you study these texts, you’ll write your own piece of creative non-fiction and support others with creative feedback.  

Modernism in Poetry and Fiction

Examine the concepts of modernity, modernism, and the history of early twentieth-century poetry and fiction. You’ll explore experimentation and innovation in poetic and narrative form, and their relation to wider social upheaval and cultural movements in the period.  

Creative Writing: Poetry

Engage critically with a range of poems and key debates around form. You’ll write your own poetry in response, experimenting with the possibilities within the genre as you and your peers share constructive feedback.  

Writing in the Public Sphere

Study literature designed to prompt social and political change as you examine speeches, pamphlets, tracts and political posters from the early modern period to the present. Consider how such literature shapes debates on race, class, religion, nationality and women’s rights across Britain and Ireland.  

Enlightenment Revolution and Romanticism

Study the political revolutions that shook British society to its core during Age of Enlightenment (c.1680-1790): England’s bloodless ‘Glorious Revolution’ of 1688; the colonial revolution of American independence; and the French Revolution of 1789.

The Business of Books

You’ll cover the history and development of modern trade publishing and have focused sessions on some of its key players, including publishers and literary agents. Through a combination of theoretical, methodological, and hands-on teaching sessions and workshops, you’ll study the role and function of books in historical and institutional contexts including libraries, bookshops, publishing houses, and board rooms. 

Early Modern Literature

Discover the rich and fascinating literary culture of the early modern or Renaissance period. You'll explore the ways that English literature was shaped by, and helped to re-shape, English culture in the years between the Reformation and the Civil Wars.

Writing America: Perspectives on the Nation

Examine the construction of American national identity in American literature from a range of different perspectives. You’ll study a diversity of American voices and central themes including myths of the frontier, Manifest Destiny, personal and political liberty, and the construction of race, gender and sexuality.

Critical Thinking 

Approach familiar ideas and issues from unfamiliar angles that prompt you to re-examine the unspoken grounds on which common-sense ways of thinking are based. You’ll take part in exciting and rewarding discussions on issues of language, power, and identity, ideology, gender, and race.

Dissertation

Complete a substantial work of literary-critical argument based on sustained independent research under the guidance of a supervisor. Engage in depth with a topic of particular interest as you develop the skillset accumulated during your first two years of study.  

Creative Writing Dissertation

Develop a sustained piece of independent writing such as a short story, a play, a screen play or a collection of verse. You’ll work closely with a peer community of creative writers to self-organise and conduct workshops as you develop your advanced research and writing skills.  

Utopia and Dystopia in English and American Literature

Discover the idea of utopia in western literature from its philosophical, satirical origins in the 16th century to the ecological utopias of the twentieth century. As you study, you’ll consider the inter-relation between utopias and dystopias.   

Lyric Voices, 1340-1650

Explore lyric poetry from the Middle Ages and the renaissance. You’ll look at the presentation of themes such as love and longing, grief, and the fear of death, and compare the ways in which authors make use of literary conventions to present such themes.  

British Black and Asian Voices: 1948 to the Present

Examine a range of British texts (poetry, drama, novels, short stories, films) by writers of Black and Asian descent. You’ll read theoretical and historical material as you examine issues of cultural capital, national identity, and minority communities.    

Creative Writing Masterclass – Poetry

Develop and design a short collection of poems with a view to submit to print or an online magazine. Engage with weekly workshops as you elaborate your style and voice, alongside focusing on emerging voices and subject matter.  

The Writer’s Workshop: Studying Manuscripts

Gain a practical and theoretical introduction to modern literary manuscripts and textual scholarships. You’ll be given the unique opportunity of drawing on the resources of the extensive range of material held at the University’s Special Collections, including drafts, letters and notebooks.  

Creative Writing Masterclass: Prose

Deepen your understanding of narrative techniques and sharpen your ability to write prose. You’ll use a range of short stories, narrative non-fiction and novel extracts as a springboard, advancing your knowledge on matters such as structure, characterisation, dialogue and quality.   

Literature and Mental Health

Discover how literature engaged with mental health in the first half of the twentieth century, a crucial turning point in psychology. You’ll consider the de-stigmatisation of mental health in the wake of World War I, the disciplines of psychiatry and psychology that emerged from it, and how literature engages with trauma, anxiety and obsession.  

From Romance to Fantasy

Explore the role played by fantastical or wondrous elements in English literature from the middle ages to the present day. Focus on a range of key narrative structures (such as the quest), persistent motifs such as magical objects, and influential modes, such as the gothic. 

Shakespeare on Film

Explore the ways that Shakespeare’s plays have been changed and developed in cinema, and the ways early modern drama has been interpreted and appropriated by filmmakers in the twentieth- and twenty-first centuries. You’ll learn the basics of film theory and gain an understanding of the cultural contexts which have led to these adaptations.

James Joyce

Trace the literary development of one of the most important and influential writers of the twentieth century through an intensive study of Joyce's experimental and influential novel Ulysses, and get an introduction to what is arguably the most challenging and wonderful book of the Twentieth Century, Finnegans Wake.  

Literature and Healing  

Explore how storytelling is central to healing practices – both in terms of the narrative medicine produces, and also in the way we articulate wellness and illness through stories. You will read medical and nursing memoirs, illness narratives, plague fiction, and texts discussing writing as therapy.

Medieval Other worlds

Learn how magic and the supernatural play an important role in medieval English literature. You’ll explore romances where questing knights arrive in uncanny fairy kingdoms or where King Arthur travels to Avalon. You’ll discover the ways authors use other worlds to explore serious themes such as desire, death, gender and political authority.

Writing Women: Nineteenth Century Poetry

Explore writing primarily by (but also about) women in the nineteenth century, including Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh. Ask how women found a voice in a predominantly patriarchal society, what subjects were deemed suitable for female poets, and how such poets overcame the limitations of expectation.

The Bloody Stage: Revenge and Death in Renaissance Drama

Explore the representation of revenge and death in revenge tragedies performed on the Renaissance stage. Analyse the staging of death scenes and whether there are differences in the ways that men and women die on stage. 

Environment, Ecology and Literature

Investigate British writing about ecology, the environment, and rural life, from the Romantic Period (c.1800) to the present day. Study classic texts on the theory and science of climate change, sustainability, 'the wild', regenerative agriculture, and biodiversity. Hands-on work with The Museum of English Rural Life's object collections will help you consider the connections material culture provides with our receding rural heritage.  

Modern and Contemporary British Poetry

Study key trends in poetries engagement with changing circumstances in England, Wales, and Scotland in the twentieth century and beyond. Consider issues including the aftermaths of modernism, gender and poetry, British poetry and post-war retrenchment, the 'poetry wars' of the 1970s and the perpetuation of 'Movement' ideals down to the present.

Global Literatures: Translation as Theme and Theory

Study the literature of cross-cultural encounter. Examine the issues of translation and communication both within texts and as theoretical concepts. You’ll study texts from around the world, published between 1980 and the present day.

Margaret Atwood

Discuss dystopia, speculative fiction, the uncanny, ideology, postmodernity and questions of language and narration, engaging with Margaret Atwood's novels The Edible Woman, The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, The Blind Assassin and The Testaments via close analysis and critical/theoretical readings of the texts. 

Placing Jane Austen

Examine the movements of Austen's characters through rooms and houses, the patterns of their dances in assembly halls, the paths of their journeys through town and country. Investigate how these movements sometimes represent changes of heart or class, of mind or fortune and hpw they are always significant for the carefully drawn lines of her narratives.

Decadence and Degeneration: Literature of the 1890s

Engage with iconic texts in English literature, including Stoker's Dracula, Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde, and Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, while exploring what's meant by these terms 'decadence' and 'degeneration', calling, amongst many other things, on portrayals of 1890s' foppishness, Darwinian models of evolution, the emergent New Woman phenomenon, the Wilde trial, and the portrayal of prostitution.

Children's Literature

Explore issues surrounding children’s literature and its criticism. Questions and analyse critical assumptions and formulations around authorship, memory, observation, readership, and identity.

New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,250 *

New international students: £25,250

*UK/Republic of Ireland fee changes

UK/Republic of Ireland undergraduate tuition fees are regulated by the UK government. These fees are subject to parliamentary approval and any decision on raising the tuition fees cap for new UK students would require the formal approval of both Houses of Parliament before it becomes law.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government’s guidance for EU students .

Additional costs

Some courses will require additional payments for field trips and extra resources. You will also need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

​Flexible courses (price per 10 credit module)

​UK/Republic of Ireland students: £750

A degree in English Literature with Creative Writing means you will enter the job market with highly-developed research and communication skills.

You will know how to access reliable information on any topic and present your findings in clear and persuasive language. These are valuable skills in today’s economy, where information and communication skills are vital. You will also have the critical and cultural awareness necessary for working in the public sector and the media.

Some of our students decide to continue their studies at postgraduate level; others have successful careers in fields as diverse as law, business administration, web design, teaching, and journalism. In the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21, 95% of our leavers are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation (Based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2023, Graduate Outcomes Survey 2020/21; includes first degree English Literature responders).

Past graduates have gone on to work for employers such as:

• The Telegraph
• Oxford University Press
• Waterstones
• Cisco Systems
• local authorities and schools.

Find out more information on our Department’s Careers webpage .

Ready for more?

• Undergraduate open days
• Order a prospectus
• Subject areas
• Why study at Manchester Met?
• Chat to our current students
• How to apply
• Schools and colleges
• Parents and guardians
• Mature students
• Online learning
• Admissions policies and procedures
• Virtual tour
• Postgraduate open days
• Join us in January 2024
• Find a postgraduate course
• Professional development
• Research study
• Information for employers
• Funding and the levy
• Employer case studies
• Apprenticeship information for students
• Student case studies
• Apprenticeship Research Unit
• How to apply for accommodation
• Living in halls
• Your contract
• Rent a private property
• Course enquiries Ask us a question
• Find your country
• Before you apply
• When you have an offer
• Apply for your visa
• Exchange to Manchester Metropolitan
• Join us in January 2025
• Study abroad
• Becoming a partner
• Innovation Work with world-leading academics
• Leadership and growth Get training and support from specialists
• Talent, recruitment and development Connect with our students. Develop your people
• Conferences and events Hire our spaces, technology and facilities
• Championing creative excellence
• Driving economic growth
• Leading sustainability
• Tackling inequalities
• Transforming health
• Case studies
• Research Excellence Framework
• Engaging the public with our research
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
• Our commitment to researchers
• Why study a doctoral degree
• Choose Manchester Met
• PhDs and Doctoral Degrees
• Research degree subjects
• Postgraduate research fees
• Scholarships
• Doctoral College
• News and events
• Academic partnerships
• Ethics and Governance
• Responsible metrics
• Internationalisation
• Board of Governors
• Vice-Chancellor
• University Executive Group
• Faculty of Arts and Humanities
• Faculty of Business and Law
• Faculty of Health and Education
• Faculty of Science and Engineering
• Institute for Children's Futures
• Institute of Sport
• Professional Services
• Honorary graduates
• Environment
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• Close Search mmu.ac.uk Search
• Undergraduate
• Postgraduate
• Apprenticeships
• Become a degree apprentice
• Accommodation
• Course enquiries
• International
• Study at Manchester Met
• International partnerships
• Business and employers
• Leadership and growth
• Talent, recruitment and development
• Conferences and events
• Our research
• Research Integrity
• Our strategy
• Economic growth
• Current students
• Faculty home
• Doctoral study
• Manchester Poetry Library
• Manchester Writing School
• Postgraduate courses
• Undergraduate courses
• The Language Centre
• Uniwide languages
• Doctoral studies
• Manchester Fashion Institute
• Manchester School of Architecture
• Manchester School of Art
• School of Digital Arts
• Study experience
• Arts and Humanities Engagement And Dialogue programme (AHEAD)
• Postgraduate Arts and Humanities centre
• Research groups
• Research projects
• Humanities and Social Sciences
• Departments
• History, Politics and Philosophy
• Languages, Information and Communications

Department of English

Education and research in English literature, creative writing, film and media studies.

About the department

Experts in our field.

We’re a world-class English department based in a UNESCO City of Literature.

Our large and vibrant community includes more than 70 internationally renowned writers and critics.    

We’re home to the Manchester Writing School , one of the UK’s oldest and largest communities of university creative writers. Its creative director is Professor Dame Carol Ann Duffy DBE, UK Poet Laureate from 2009 to 2019.

Our connections 

We work with a wide range of industry partners locally, in the creative and culturally rich city of Manchester, and globally.

We helped Manchester win its bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Our staff and students collaborate closely with the city’s network of publishers, libraries and other literary organisations.

Our public Poetry Library is a unique resource for staff and students in any discipline who want to use poetry as part of their work.

The Power of Words: Manchester Writing School

Our disciplines, english literature.

We study literature and culture in all its forms, from the Renaissance to the present day, considering how it responds to and shapes the world.

Creative writing

We study and practise the art and craft of writing in a wide range of established and new forms, from prose fiction, screenwriting and poetry, to digital art, spoken word and writing for computer games. 

Film and media studies

We study cinematic and media forms, from the established to the emergent, and from TV to games.

We explore the complexities of the rapidly changing publishing industry in the UK and internationally, examining trends, innovations, opportunities and challenges.

Our people and courses

Our people: Department of English

Discover the experts who work in the department.

Take a look at our current vacancies.

Study with us

• Short courses

Our department, University and city have gone from strength to strength over the past decade. We’ve built a reputation for research that impacts society and culture beyond academia. Our courses champion the roles our disciplines and graduates play in addressing global challenges and making fairer societies.

Our research strengths

Top ten for research power.

8th out of 92 in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.

Gothic studies and poetry

Established strengths in gothic studies and poetry.

Game and place studies

Growing strengths in game studies, and the creative and critical exploration of place.

Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies

Centre for Place Writing

Manchester Games Centre

The Long Nineteenth-Century Network

Screen Studies Network

Centre for Migration and Postcolonial Studies (MAPS)

Contact information, connect with us.

• Facebook Department of English on Facebook
• Twitter Department of English on Twitter
• Instagram Department of English on Instagram

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > 5 writing exercises you should try to improve your creativity

5 writing exercises you should try to improve your creativity

As we continue to develop our writing skills, occasionally we need to reacquaint ourselves with a creative boost. That’s where these five creative writing exercises can come in: they are designed to loosen up the blocks that might get in the way of our creative process. See what you can do to overcome the fear of the blank page with these fun ideas for getting the creative juices flowing.

What are creative writing exercises?

Sometimes, we can be stymied by our writing process: it is easy to fall into the all-or-nothing mentality that demands that we write a masterpiece right from the start. That’s why a creative writing exercise is a useful tool. They’re meant for writers to brainstorm and ideate potential new ideas for projects. Whether the ideas and words that we generate lead to something publishable is not the end goal: instead, they’re meant to provoke the improvisational skills that can lead to fun new ideas.

Get the most out of your documents with Word

Elevate your writing and collaborate with others - anywhere, anytime

Creative exercises to improve writing skills

Here are some ways to begin putting pen to paper:

Freewriting

Freewriting is the easiest creative writing exercise that can help with creative blocks. Simply write down anything that comes to your mind, without any attention paid to structure, form, or even grammar and spelling mistakes.

For example, if you’re working from a coffee shop, write based on what you notice around you: the potent smell of the barista’s latest batch of coffee… the furrowed eyebrows of the local students hard at work on their assignments.

Or, if you’re in your home office , perhaps you can observe the light that pours from your window in the morning hours as you start your 9 to 5. Or reminisce about the dusty, ill-used pens and paper clips sitting in the back of your desk drawer.

Do this for 10-15 minutes per session, uninterrupted: the Pomodoro technique can help with this.

Story starter prompts

Use an otherwise mundane phrase or sentence to kickstart a writing session and create a short story or character description. Try these sentences as story starters:

• The old man had a look of frustration.
• It felt like my husband had woken up angry.
• “Open a window,” Lucinda said, “it’s mighty hot in here.”

Letter to your younger self

This exercise asks the question: what would you say to your teenage self? Or a version of you 5, 10, or 20 years younger? In this exercise, you can recast your life in a different light and offer advice, reassurance, or reexperience a special moment again. Maybe you can write from a perspective of optimism: now that you are successful, for example, you can be excited to share your accomplishments. This highly personal exercise can help you tap into all manners of emotions that can then go into character development.

Take two characters from your work, or a book that you love and rewrite their experiences and plot points while switching their points of view. Perhaps one character knows something more than the other, or another character’s perspective and thoughts have been unwritten. Switching these POVs can help you see how a storyline shifts, taking on different tones and emotional beats.

Flash fiction

Flash fiction is a type of short fiction that is 500 words or less. The objective of this exercise is to craft a narrative or a character portrait all within a highly limited constraint. Flash fiction differs from freewriting in that you write with focus, aiming towards a fully-formed story that can include plot, conflict, and a character portrait. Writing flash fiction seems deceptively easy, but it can be a challenge—which is why literary magazines and writing contests often have opportunities to publish and award great flash fiction.

If you’re looking for more ways to tap into your creativity, check out more writing tips here .

Get started with Microsoft 365

It’s the Office you know, plus the tools to help you work better together, so you can get more done—anytime, anywhere.

Topics in this article

More articles like this one.

When to use 'while' vs. 'whilst'

“While” and “whilst” are usually interchangeable, but not always. See how they differ and learn how to use them effectively.

What is touch typing (and why is it important)?

Learn about the benefits of touch typing and how it can help you type faster and more accurately.

Is it “per say” or ‘per se’?

Address the misspelling of ‘per se’ to effectively communicate the intrinsic quality of something. Learn why it is commonly misspelled and how to use it correctly in your writing.

Elicit vs. illicit: What’s the difference?

Learn the difference between illicit vs. elicit, two homophones that sound alike but mean different things, and write without confusion.

Everything you need to achieve more in less time

Get powerful productivity and security apps with Microsoft 365

Explore Other Categories

Skip to Main Landmark (Press Enter)

Spartan Alert

Pride and poetry, according to emilia phillips.

Posted on June 25, 2024

On a dreary Thursday night in February, a group gathered at Scuppernong Books in downtown Greensboro for a reading of a new collection of poetry by Emilia Phillips . Phillips had just released their fifth collection of poetry, entitled “Nonbinary Bird of Paradise,” but this was no typical book reading.  

Phillips gathered UNCG students and alumni to read original works and selected text that inspired their latest poems. All in attendance raved about how the reading was a celebration of voices and art and the flow of inspiration. For Phillips, all of this is intertwined.  

An Artist Spreads Their Wings  

A UNCG professor since 2017, Phillips is an associate professor of creative writing where they teach poetry workshops and serve as core poetry faculty for the Masters of Fine Art in Creative Writing . Phillips also has cross-appointments in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and English departments teaching the Queer Poetry and Poetics class and the Women’s Health and Bodies class to undergraduates.  

Being a poet, a teacher, and a voice for the LGBTQIA+ community is all part of the creative process for Phillips. “I can’t teach poetry unless I’m writing it and vice versa,” she says. “My constant dialogue with students informs my work.”  

“Nonbinary Bird of Paradise” is a prime example of Phillips’ exploratory style of poetry, but this latest collection focuses on gender and the ways cultural, religious and mythological narratives support heterosexuality as “the norm”. 

In “Nonbinary Bird of Paradise,” Phillips’ challenge of compulsory heterosexuality cuts right to the chase. The first section includes twelve poems in the voice of Eve from the Bible. It imagines if Eve wasn’t born straight and was never desiring of Adam but had no other choices of partners. 

“My writing is definitely informed by my own worldview, experience, gender journey and sexuality,” says Phillips, who was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “I couldn’t have written the Eve sequence without getting to a certain point of my own reflections and self-work, but I was nervous when the book came out because it does deal so explicitly with sex and gender and sexuality.”  

The poem that inspired the book’s title is also extremely personal. “It’s a love poem for my partner,” Phillips explains. “I imagined if I was a bird of paradise, how would I woo my partner without the fancy plumage.”  

Phillips admits that most of their poetry is part autobiographical and part creative, but its fiction label opens doors for creative freedom, a principle they encourage in the classroom as well.   

Birds of a Feather Writing Together  

Phillips’ classes provide a safe space for building art and students appreciate the sense of community they find at UNCG’s English department. 

“Emilia prioritizes community not only in the classroom but outside of it too,” second-year MFA student Liz Bruce explains. “We are constantly sharing resources and opportunities and celebrating each other.” 

Recent MFA graduate Kay Zeiss is a private practice therapist working with adults who have experienced trauma. They are particularly dialed into using writing to process trauma. Self-identifying as genderqueer and nonbinary, Zeiss was particularly interested in working under Phillips’ mentorship and thrived in the department. 

“My goal isn’t to become this famous writer,” Zeiss confesses. “I just hope my writing can be of service to someone. Folks are really interested in being able to articulate their experience and find language for something that they didn’t have before. There’s a community and compassion there that I want to help facilitate.” 

Attracting creative minds like this to UNCG is exactly what Phillips had in mind when they joined the English department in 2017. Establishing a close-knit community within a larger campus community, which serves minorities and has historically been a safe place for LGBTQIA+ youth, provided the perfect environment for Phillips’ poetry to take root. 

“Having representation in the classroom and also having representation in my work out in the world is very important to me,” Phillips says. 

Artistic Reflections   

This high regard for representation and community made it natural for Phillips to invite students to share inspirational text at their book reading. “My students are among the most important people in my life,” they said. “Including them made it really festive.”  

“I’ve been to multiple readings at Scuppernong and this one was definitely different in that there was a huge crowd of people there to celebrate,” said Bruce, who read “[Poem about Naomi; unsent]” by Rachel Mennies at Phillips’ book reading. 

Zeiss read an original poem publicly for the first time at Phillips’ reading. “Hymnal to Transqueer Futures” reflects on grief following the death of Nex Benedict and ponders hope for the future of nonbinary and transqueer children. Zeiss dedicated it to Maddie Poole, another writer in attendance.  “I was so honored to be a part of this group,” they said. “It was very tender and sweet to have other people in the MFA program that I care about in this line-up of incredible poets. Reading my poem felt like an offering to the community.”  

Bruce, and others who participated in the event, felt similarly grateful to be a part of Phillips’ unveiling of “Nonbinary Bird of Paradise.” 

“Because of Emilia’s decision to platform multiple voices and multiple authors, they recognize that writing isn’t created in a vacuum,” Bruce says. “It was a celebration of the community as much as the book, because the community influenced the making of the book in so many ways.” 

UNCG has nothing but pride for communities like Emilia Phillips’ that bring art into the world to spur curiosity and impart understanding. We celebrate this during Pride month, as we do throughout the year. 

Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications.   Photography courtesy of Felipe Troncoso  

Find Your Poetic Justice.

Trending stories.

New UNCG Vice Chancellor for Research Wins NCBiotech Award

July 2, 2024

Dr. Sherine Obare received the 2024 NCBiotech Academic Development Excellence Award for her impactful work in life sciences.

Service Knows No Limits for Army Reservist and UNCG Alumna

Since piloting helicopters for the North Carolina National Guard, Captain Lindsey Jefferies Jones ’18 learned the intricacies of lea...

UNCG’s Student Teacher of the Year Speaks of Growth and Gratitude

July 1, 2024

Melanie Sellers ’24 spent more than a decade as a certified registered nurse before pursuing a career change with UNCG's School of E...

• Print Friendly