BA (Hons) Degree in Creative and Professional Writing

The BA (Hons) in English with Creative Writing offered within the School of English is a ‘major/minor’ degree in which, over three years, two thirds will be in the area of English and one third in the area of creative writing. More information on the course structure for this degree can be found on the School of English web pages. The School of English, one of the oldest Schools in the University, is very highly regarded for its academic excellence.   

The BA (Hons) Creative and Professional Writing offered within the School of Education is focussed on developing skills for professional practitioners in the writing industries. A range of workshop based modules develop students' creativity and professional editing skills as well as their understanding of modern publishing markets.

The course is available on a full- and part-time basis and attracts students of very varied ages and backgrounds. 

Sessions are taught in the day and in the evening. There may also be Saturday day schools. There is a programme of writer visits and seminars so that students meet and work with practitioners from the industry.

The course aims to ensure that you develop your abilities and potential as a creative and professional writer. The course therefore offers you the opportunity to experience and practise a wide range of contemporary media, and to experiment with and to apply to your writing advanced techniques and approaches.  

The structure and scope of the course will allow you to develop a conceptual understanding of the writing process that will enable you to devise and sustain creative projects, to generate questions, to solve problems, to construct arguments and to communicate these in both verbal and written forms.

Other special features of this course include:

• No examinations are taken.
• Innovative forms of assessment, including portfolios.
• Predominantly workshop-based learning.

The method of course delivery provides regular and consistent tutor/student contact but, as your knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues in creative and professional writing grow, you will increasingly manage and take responsibility for your own creative development. You will, therefore, be encouraged to carry out your own research, and to organise and present your own ideas. The practical and professionally focused nature of the course aims to extend your linguistic abilities so that you will be able to communicate effectively using a range of written and spoken means. The course is also designed to promote your ability to analyse critically and at a high level the work of other writers and to relate this analysis to your own creative development. To facilitate the aims of this course, all the tutors are practising writers and specialist teachers of creative and professional writing. Finally, there is a programme of writers’ visits and visits from those who work in the writing industry.

As a result of your studying this course you will develop and enhance your learning, knowledge and communication skills. Involvement in group sessions will develop your team-building, decision-making and problem-solving skills. Your individual work will improve your skills and ability to carry out sustained research and to develop your own ideas. Your analysis of your own and other writers’ work will enhance your skills to assess all forms of writing critically, employing a sophisticated evaluative vocabulary. By managing and taking responsibility for your own creative development, you will augment your time and self-disciplinary skills and, thus, your skills to become a fully independent learner.

The following are some areas of work where the skills you learn on the course would be of direct relevance:

• The publishing industry (books, journals, magazines, in-house journals and magazines). 
• The advertising and PR industries (copy-writing, copy-editing, developmental editing). 
• Agency and freelance work (freelance editing and non-fiction writing, translation adaptations, developmental editing, web development, one-off advertising and PR campaigns). 
• Communications work generally (in-house communications departments, press and PR offices). 
• Community work (outreach schemes, prisons, therapeutic programmes, writers in residence, school and library writing schemes). 
• Teaching. 
• Progression to postgraduate courses.

Part time access is an important feature of the degree. The part-time route attracts those already working in the writing industries who wish to enhance their professional practice with a qualification at this level. This route is also suitable for those who wish to study alongside work and family commitments.

Students studying the course part-time can choose to take modules in the evenings, or one full day a week, and part-time and full-time students are taught together.