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This Creative Writing: Writing the City Masters course is the first to focus entirely on the city of London. It will allow you to explore the city as subject matter from a range of perspectives and across all genres. It will also give you a theoretical and practical platform from which to develop your understanding, and become part of the London writing scene.
Taught by professional writers and researchers, the course offers plenty of opportunities to network with other writers, agents, TV producers and performance poets. You will be based in the University's headquarters building at 309 Regent Street, which means you will be writing about the city in the heart of London, with ready access to the capital's excellent academic, social and cultural opportunities, including the vibrant West End theatre scene.
If studying full-time, you will normally take three modules in Semester One and tree modules in Semester Two. You can begin in January or in September. Part-time students take two modules in each semester. The availability of option modules will depend on overall demand and staff availability, but you will normally be told which options are on offer at the beginning of your course. You can choose one 'free choice' option module from other Master courses at Westminster, subject to timetabling constraints and the approval of the project during the first semester an submit it after all other modules have been attempted.
To receive your Masters award, you will need to complete taught modules for a total of 120 credits, and the 60-credit Writing Project (giving a total of 180 credits). If you do not meet the requirements for a Masters award, you will be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma or a Postgraduate Certificate.
The workshop-based structure of the course will allow you to learn through interactive practice. Modules are taught by one two-hour or tree-hour seminar/workshop per week, depending on your subject. Teaching will also include visits to selected London institution to support certain aspects of writing, and you will be encourage to use various archives, theatres and galleries. Assessment methods include coursework portfolios (allowing you to experiment in a variety of genres, reflective logs, essays, and workshop leadership) as well as the 10-12,000-word writing project. There are no formal examinations.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
You can choose either one of the below option modules or a further core module.
Core modules
Option modules
The course will enable you to develop sophisticated critical and creative skills and a widely applicable knowledge base that can be adapted to various fields of creative practice and writing business.
This course is intended to move you to a new level in your career as a writer by developing your skills as a sophisticated critical practitioner, and your knowledge of literature about the city as well as the writing business.
You will be encouraged to network with other writers and identify useful opportunities for career development, partly through a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including writers’ events and talks.
The critical and practical skills you will acquire by the end of the course will make you a strong candidate in many areas, including arts management, copy editing, education, freelance writing, journalism, media, publishing, theatre and performance-based writing, and research and academia.
This Creative Writing: Writing the City Masters course is the first to focus entirely on the city of London. It will allow you to explore the city as subject matter from a range of perspectives and across all genres. It will also give you a theoretical and practical platform from which to develop your understanding, and become part of the London writing scene.
Taught by professional writers and researchers, the course offers plenty of opportunities to network with other writers, agents, TV producers and performance poets. You will be based in the University's headquarters building at 309 Regent Street, which means you will be writing about the city in the heart of London, with ready access to the capital's excellent academic, social and cultural opportunities, including the vibrant West End theatre scene.
If studying full-time, you will normally take three modules in Semester One and tree modules in Semester Two. You can begin in January or in September. Part-time students take two modules in each semester. The availability of option modules will depend on overall demand and staff availability, but you will normally be told which options are on offer at the beginning of your course. You can choose one 'free choice' option module from other Master courses at Westminster, subject to timetabling constraints and the approval of the project during the first semester an submit it after all other modules have been attempted.
To receive your Masters award, you will need to complete taught modules for a total of 120 credits, and the 60-credit Writing Project (giving a total of 180 credits). If you do not meet the requirements for a Masters award, you will be eligible for the award of a Postgraduate Diploma or a Postgraduate Certificate.
The workshop-based structure of the course will allow you to learn through interactive practice. Modules are taught by one two-hour or tree-hour seminar/workshop per week, depending on your subject. Teaching will also include visits to selected London institution to support certain aspects of writing, and you will be encourage to use various archives, theatres and galleries. Assessment methods include coursework portfolios (allowing you to experiment in a variety of genres, reflective logs, essays, and workshop leadership) as well as the 10-12,000-word writing project. There are no formal examinations.
The following modules are indicative of what you will study on this course.
You can choose either one of the below option modules or a further core module.
Core modules
Option modules
The course will enable you to develop sophisticated critical and creative skills and a widely applicable knowledge base that can be adapted to various fields of creative practice and writing business.
This course is intended to move you to a new level in your career as a writer by developing your skills as a sophisticated critical practitioner, and your knowledge of literature about the city as well as the writing business.
You will be encouraged to network with other writers and identify useful opportunities for career development, partly through a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including writers’ events and talks.
The critical and practical skills you will acquire by the end of the course will make you a strong candidate in many areas, including arts management, copy editing, education, freelance writing, journalism, media, publishing, theatre and performance-based writing, and research and academia.
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Creative Writing (Extended) at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
The MA in Creative Writing is a unique programme that offers integrated training in the writing of literary and media text. The MA in Creative Writing is taught by prize-winning writers of fiction, poetry and drama who provide core training and individual pathways in the major genres of contemporary literary and media writing. Modules on the Creative Writing programme are taught through workshop sessions, group work and one-to-one mentoring between students and a tutor. Courses include the writing of prose fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting and creative nonfiction. Writers and representatives from the arts world and the publishing industry are invited to address the MA Creative Writing group about creative work and publishing. We have strong links with Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre, which offers a lively programme of events throughout the year.
The Extended MA (EMA) in Creative Writing is a 240-credit postgraduate qualification that is equivalent to 120 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) and is thus a recognised Masters qualification throughout the European Union. The EMA is a standard UK MA plus an additional 60 credits (30 ECTS) and this additional coursework is undertaken in one semester at a partner institution overseas. The EMA is therefore not only an EU recognised postgraduate qualification it also adds a study abroad experience thus enhancing the qualification’s employability credentials.
- The MA in Creative Writing is taught by experienced writers and offers a wide range of writing genres including fiction, short story, poetry, drama, screenwriting and creative non-fiction.
- Drama writing is a particular strength, including the relatively new and unexplored field of Dramaturgy.
- Regular play readings and students' dramatic writing is often performed by professional actors in the Rough Diamonds mini-festival in the summer.
- Creative Writers have a close relationship with National Theatre Wales and also open-mic poetry events at local venues such as the Dylan Thomas Centre and Howl.
- There is scope for work experience with local publishers.
- The writing programme has an online journal, The Swansea Review, and students write for The Siren, a student-run online journal, and The Waterfront student newspaper.
- Creative Writing students have free membership of Literature Wales, the national literature promotion agency.
- Students are involved in the annual Writers’ Day at the Dylan Thomas Centre, where they meet editors, agents, publishers and writers to discuss the ins and outs of publication and the craft of writing.
- Students are part of a vibrant community of writers and artists – Swansea, the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, having a fair claim to being Wales’s city of culture.
- The programme has connection with and experience of the unique literary culture of Wales, home to possibly the oldest (but still vibrant) bardic tradition in Europe.
Modules on the MA in Creative Writing typically include:
• Writing Fiction
• Writing Poetry
• Genre: Writing for Stage
• Creative Non-Fiction and Travel Writing
• Nature Writing
• Screenwriting
• Writing Radio Drama
• The Art of Short Story
• Writing the Self
• International Dramaturgy
Students or Professionals interested in Creative and Professional Writing. Students interested in preparation for postgraduate research, MPhil or PhD.
- To offer students the chance to belong to a warmly supportive community of writers, passionate about their art.
- To give students the opportunity to discuss literary matters with agents, editors and publishers.
- To provide active participation in Swansea’s burgeoning literary scene and have students’ dramatic writing performed by professional actors at the Dylan Thomas Literature Centre.
- To offer research seminars presented by eminent creative writers and academics.
- To develop study and research skills in Creative Writing research and practice methodologies.
Career expectations are excellent for Creative Writing graduates. MA degree holders enter careers in professional and creative writing, publishing, education, global marketing and advertising, media, business, heritage and tourism, and performing arts. Some graduates go on to pursue further postgraduate study leading to a PhD and a career in Academia.
"Since graduating with an MA with Distinction in Creative Writing from Swansea University, I have published three collections of poetry, founded Grievous Jones Press, and begun lecturing in Creative Writing. In the near future I will finish my PhD in Creative Writing and have books forthcoming with Blackheath Books and Seren Books. The training, experience, and rigour of the Swansea MA in Creative Writing was invaluable for launching my career as a writer and publisher. Without the inspiration, guidance, and critique of the excellent faculty and peers, my own writing would not have grown and my flame for creation might have faltered."
David Oprava, Creative Writing, MA
Visit our website for more information on fees, scholarships, postgraduate loans and other funding options to study Creative Writing at Swansea University - 'Welsh University of the Year 2017' (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017).
The MA in Creative Writing is a unique programme that offers integrated training in the writing of literary and media text. The MA in Creative Writing is taught by prize-winning writers of fiction, poetry and drama who provide core training and individual pathways in the major genres of contemporary literary and media writing. Modules on the Creative Writing programme are taught through workshop sessions, group work and one-to-one mentoring between students and a tutor. Courses include the writing of prose fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting and creative nonfiction. Writers and representatives from the arts world and the publishing industry are invited to address the MA Creative Writing group about creative work and publishing. We have strong links with Swansea’s Dylan Thomas Centre, which offers a lively programme of events throughout the year.
- The MA in Creative Writing is taught by experienced writers and offers a wide range of writing genres including fiction, short story, poetry, drama, screenwriting and creative non-fiction.
- Drama writing is a particular strength, including the relatively new and unexplored field of Dramaturgy.
- Regular play readings and students' dramatic writing is often performed by professional actors in the Rough Diamonds mini-festival in the summer.
- Creative Writers have a close relationship with National Theatre Wales and also open-mic poetry events at local venues such as the Dylan Thomas Centre and Howl.
- There is scope for work experience with local publishers.
- The writing programme has an online journal, The Swansea Review, and students write for The Siren, a student-run online journal, and The Waterfront student newspaper.
- Creative Writing students have free membership of Literature Wales, the national literature promotion agency.
- Students are involved in the annual Writers’ Day at the Dylan Thomas Centre, where they meet editors, agents, publishers and writers to discuss the ins and outs of publication and the craft of writing.
- Students are part of a vibrant community of writers and artists – Swansea, the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, having a fair claim to being Wales’s city of culture.
- The programme has connection with and experience of the unique literary culture of Wales, home to possibly the oldest (but still vibrant) bardic tradition in Europe.
Modules on the MA in Creative Writing typically include:
• Writing Fiction
• Writing Poetry
• Genre: Writing for Stage
• Creative Non-Fiction and Travel Writing
• Nature Writing
• Screenwriting
• Writing Radio Drama
• The Art of Short Story
• Writing the Self
• International Dramaturgy
Students or Professionals interested in Creative and Professional Writing. Students interested in preparation for postgraduate research, MPhil or PhD.
- To offer students the chance to belong to a warmly supportive community of writers, passionate about their art.
- To give students the opportunity to discuss literary matters with agents, editors and publishers.
- To provide active participation in Swansea’s burgeoning literary scene and have students’ dramatic writing performed by professional actors at the Dylan Thomas Literature Centre.
- To offer research seminars presented by eminent creative writers and academics.
- To develop study and research skills in Creative Writing research and practice methodologies.
Career expectations are excellent for Creative Writing graduates. MA degree holders enter careers in professional and creative writing, publishing, education, global marketing and advertising, media, business, heritage and tourism, and performing arts. Some graduates go on to pursue further postgraduate study leading to a PhD and a career in Academia.
"Since graduating with an MA with Distinction in Creative Writing from Swansea University, I have published three collections of poetry, founded Grievous Jones Press, and begun lecturing in Creative Writing. In the near future I will finish my PhD in Creative Writing and have books forthcoming with Blackheath Books and Seren Books. The training, experience, and rigour of the Swansea MA in Creative Writing was invaluable for launching my career as a writer and publisher. Without the inspiration, guidance, and critique of the excellent faculty and peers, my own writing would not have grown and my flame for creation might have faltered."
David Oprava, Creative Writing, MA
This is an exciting, supportive and non-residency online course that offers you the opportunity to develop your writing practice at the times that work for you, wherever you are in the world.
We understand how difficult it can be to find the space and structure to develop your writing - this course makes it easy for you to adapt your weekly studies to your personal circumstances. This course is taught throughout by tutors who are both practicing creative writers and experienced teachers of creative writing at postgraduate level. The emphasis is on developing practical writing skills and techniques whilst gaining an understanding of your own work within a critical context and framework. The course consists of four 30-credit taught modules plus the Creative Writing Project (60 credit), which is the final portfolio of your creative writing. Each module offers you opportunities to experiment and develop your interests, whether these are in prose fiction, poetry, creative life writing, dramatic writing and screen writing or in using writing to work with people in personal and professional development and healthcare settings. For more information, take a look at our module descriptions. This course is available to all international applicants. Individual modules can be taken on a stand-alone basis.If you apply for this course, you must submit a portfolio of your creative writing of up to and no more than 2,000 words in any one or two forms or genres, for example poetry, prose fiction, life writing, screen writing. Please include this portfolio in your online application.
Course structure
Core modules
Modules offered may vary.
How you learn
The course is taught by distance learning. There is no requirement to attend classes at a set time. You can access the course space and complete the coursework at times that work best for you.
Each taught module will consist of eight weekly units. Each unit will usually consist of:
You will also receive help, support and feedback on your work directly from the tutor, both through the online course space and by email.
You don't need to be a technology expert to take this course. All you need is a PC, laptop or tablet to access the course materials and forum and share your writing with the tutors and your peers.
How you are assessed
Each taught 30-credit module is assessed against clear learning outcomes through written assignments, usually consisting of both creative work and some critical or reflective work. In addition to the taught modules, you produce a final project (60 credits) in your chosen form and genre.
MA Creative Writing graduates go on to a wide choice of professions and careers. Apart from the more obvious routes of publishing, editing and freelance writing, many work in the wider creative industries (television, journalism, new media) or in workplaces that require advanced writing skills in the workplace.
The practical and flexible design of the course means that it is also highly suited to teachers wishing to up-skill their portfolios in relation to the new Creative Writing A level; writers developing their teaching and workshopping skills to work in the community; and those using writing in therapy, healthcare and other professional settings.
If your job has a requirement to work on live briefs and projects with an imaginative or research element, you will also find the transferable skills offered by this MA a natural fit.
Although the course will help you if you want to develop a career using writing, many students take our MA to extend their skills for their own personal development and fulfilment.
The MA in Creative Writing and Education has been designed for writers of poetry, fiction and life-writing who are interested in education and learning. If you are keen to publish your own writing or you're looking to use your creative writing to help people learn or just developing your skills and knowledge then this programme could be right for you.
The MA in Creative Writing and Education offers you the chance to:
You may be given the opportunity to contribute to:
Who is the programme aimed at?
You might be a teacher who writes; a writer who works in education; a poet, a novelist, a short story writer or an author of autobiography who wants to learn more about the connections between creative writing and education.
The Spoken Word Education Training Programme is led by Jacob Sam-La Rose (Artistic Director). All Spoken Word Educators need to first apply to the MA in Creative Writing and Education programme and, if they are accepted, they will then be interviewed for the Spoken Word Education Training programme.
Full-time: you will complete 4 modules in one year plus a dissertation, amounting 180 credits – full details of the modules are in the Overview section below. This can mean committing yourself to attending evening seminars and lectures twice a week in the autumn and spring terms for 10 weeks, and a number of one-to-one tutorials for your dissertation.
Part-time: you can spread your modules for the course over two years. This could mean attending seminars/lectures once a week during the autumn and spring terms for the two years, and then spacing your dissertation tutorials over two terms.
Overview
You'll have the opportunity to develop your own creative writing practices and explore a range of educational approaches towards creative writing.
You'll work with practising and published creative writing lecturers and education lecturers in collaboration with professionals working in local cultural institutions.
You'll participate in creative and life writing workshops and research creative writing pedagogies in classrooms and educational settings.
You have to complete 180 credits points, made up from:
Practitioners who already have existing M-level credits may transfer these on to the MA.
Assessment
Assessment for the Workshop in Creative and Life Writing module is by the submission of a piece or pieces of creative or life-writing of 5,000 words plus a critical account of how you have structured and developed your work.
Assessment for the Educational Studies modules is by the submission of assignments.
You'll also be assessed on a project-based dissertation.
The programme will enable you to develop creative writing skills to a potentially publishable level, participate in local cultural events as writers, and develop advanced theoretical and critical skills in creative writing pedagogy.
The programme provides and enhances continuing professional development in creative writing for educators and teachers, opening up opportunities to work with local cultural institutions and schools, and enriching current professional practice.
Previous students have helped their careers by doing this MA, going on to work in business, arts organisations, theatre, Spoken Word and diverse educational settings. Previous students include Niall Bourke who won the 2015 Costa Short Story Award, Joshua Seighal shortlisted for the National Literacy Trust Award 2015 and a number of students have published their academic research in prestigious scholarly journals.
Feedback from the students is overwhelmingly positive, with many saying doing the MA has been a life-changing experience.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
Our programme will build your confidence and technical ability in composing creative prose and/or poetry, while deepening your critical awareness of the cultural, literary and theoretical history of text production.
Teaching is research-led, so you benefit from the individual expertise and passion of a vibrant, multidisciplinary group of published authors and academics, including our Poet in Residence and Distinguished Writer in Residence.
The MA Creative Writing programme will hone your research and writing skills to produce critically informed prose or poetry, and creative criticism. We will help you to locate your work in its literary and cultural context, and you will have the chance to reflect on your creative process and the finished work.
You will have access to a yearly calendar of events hosted at the University created to broaden your thinking, and develop your writing skills such as the Morag Morris Poetry Lecture, the annual Surrey New Writers’ Festival and the Surrey Poetry Festival.
The MA in Creative Writing provides a strong foundation to embark upon a career in writing, communications, publishing, marketing, advertising, journalism or teaching, or to undertake a PhD.
This programme is studied full-time over one academic year and part-time over two academic years. It consists of eight taught modules and an extended portfolio.
Example module listing
The following modules are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that not all modules described are compulsory and may be subject to teaching availability and/or student demand.
The MA Programme in Creative Writing will prepare graduates to undertake a PhD programme in the relevant field.
It will also provide students with the transferable skills of creative writing, critical thinking, textual analysis and communication that are attractive to a wide range of employers, from the cultural industries to marketing and advertising to tourism and leisure to the civil service and public/private partnerships.
It is designed to build confidence and technical ability in a variety of modes of imaginative writing, and to provide students with a clear-eyed grounding in contemporary and historical contexts of text production and circulation, including practical advice on the workings of the publishing industry.
Devoted to assisting students to understand and meet the challenges of producing high quality creative writing in poetry and prose, the programme also provides advanced understanding of the contexts, theoretical paradigms, methodologies and modes of interpretation that are vital in a full understanding of literary production.
The main aims are to:
As a Master’s level programme, it also aims to instil in students the capacity for carrying out independent research.
As a student on this Masters, you will benefit from the expertise of a vibrant, multidisciplinary group of published academics and authors.
You will have access to a number of conferences, seminars and workshops hosted throughout the year. These events cover a range of topics to broaden your thinking in the fields of literature, language and linguistics, cultural studies and creative writing.
Writers to have recently visited the University of Surrey include:
Novelists
Poets
Critics
Each year’s cultural activities begin with the Morag Morris Poetry Lecture on campus by a visiting speaker and feature readings by students at the Guildford School of Acting.
The annual Surrey New Writers’ Festival and Surrey Poetry Festival – both affiliated with the Creative Writing programmes at the University of Surrey – aim to engage with writing and creativity in dynamic ways, and involve readings, book signings, performances, panel discussions and more.
This graduate program is delivered by the University's Creative Writing team, all of whom are published authors and poets:
We often give our students the opportunity to acquire international experience during their degrees by taking advantage of our exchange agreements with overseas universities.
In addition to the hugely enjoyable and satisfying experience, time spent abroad adds a distinctive element to your CV.
The course begins by teaching key pedagogies for supporting academic writing for both study and professional writing purposes.
It also provides grounding in the theories and practices of how to set up and manage a writing centre, programme, or initiative. The course then offers in-depth learning about how to support postgraduates, academics, and researchers in writing for publication in English, and about how to develop students’ writing in the disciplines. Importantly, you will also learn how to research academic writing.
Students in the final term of the MA will write a dissertation or portfolio based on an individually chosen research project, to inform their professional development.
The course aims to give you the opportunity to:
The programme is delivered through a combination of online module materials, optional face-to-face teaching, and independent study, allowing you to fit your studies around other commitments. A wide variety of resources is made available via the online study platform, including: lecture notes, videos, specialist resources from the Centre for Academic Writing library collection, and discussion forums, as well as information on the academic writing research projects and findings produced by members of teaching staff.
Module lecturers will be available to address your questions and to offer guidance relating to your studies. As a student on this course, you will also be allocated a Personal Tutor, who will provide pastoral care and support.
Starting in September each year, the MA is designed to be studied over 2 years either by blended learning or distance learning.
At each stage of the programme, you will have the opportunity to attend a short, residential workshop (up to 5 days) to provide core learning. Although these workshops are optional, we strongly encourage attendance to underpin your learning, to meet your cohort and teachers, and to build your professional network. Workshops may be held at Coventry University’s main campus in Coventry, or in another location. (Please note: There is no additional teaching fee for the optional workshops. However, you will need to organise and pay for your own accommodation, food, and travel, including any visa costs). Students who are unable to attend the workshops can study independently using online materials.
The Master of Professional Writing (MPW) involves taking a core paper, designed specifically to enhance your workplace readiness, as well as elective papers which range across a variety of fields from creative writing to writing for promotional purposes and advertising, for digital media and for scholarly and professional publication.
If creative writing is your passion, then you will have the opportunity to specialise in this. The Creative Writing Thesis gives selected students the option of producing a manuscript of publishable quality – whether poetry, fiction or creative nonfiction – in a stimulating and supportive workshop environment of fellow writers, and supervised by award-winning authors. The selection of students for the Creative Writing Thesis is by assessment of a portfolio of poetry and prose, and a manuscript proposal outlining the creative project.
When studying towards the MPW you will be able to include a professional writing internship and be offered an on-campus writing mentor, who will provide professional advice and direct you towards writing opportunities.
The staff contributing to the Professional Writing programme have long-standing relationships with the broader writing community at a number of levels:
MPW graduates will have excellent transferrable skills in devising, producing and editing text. If you include a formal internship in your programme of study, or take up the option of informal professional mentoring, you will make connections in the professional writing community, and enhance your CV with relevant workplace experience.
Potential careers include editing, long-form researched journalism, policy analysis and policy writing, report writing, script writing, speech writing, teaching, website content editing, writing for digital and broadcast media, writing for stage and screen, writing for travel and tourism and writing for public relations and marketing.
Potential employers include biotechnology industries; cultural sector/arts organisations; energy provision sector; higher education sector; libraries and archives; local and district councils; manufacturing and technology; national government, NGOs; non-profit and philanthropic sector; primary industries; print and digital news media; publishing industry; telecommunications; theatre, film and broadcast media production houses; transport, tourism and travel.
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