University of Hertfordshire
BA (Hons) English Language and Creative Writing

Hatfield, United Kingdom

DEGREE TYPE

DURATION

3 up to

4 years

LANGUAGES

English

PACE

Full time

APPLICATION DEADLINE

EARLIEST START DATE

STUDY FORMAT

On-Campus

Key Summary

About: This three-year BA (Hons) with optional placement or study abroad year in English Language and Creative Writing at the University of Hertfordshire covers phonetics, grammar, academic writing, creative genres and screenwriting. You’ll take workshop-based short story and poetry classes, complete a year-three creative or English language project, and can choose modules like clinical linguistics and child language. de Havilland campus has 24/7 Learning Resources Centers.

Career Outcomes: Graduates can work as writers, editors, journalists, copywriters, content creators, scriptwriters, publishers and ESL teachers; the course builds research, analysis, creative production, editing and presentation skills for communications, marketing and cultural industries.

"Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, examinations may be replaced by an alternative form of assessment during the academic year 2021/2022. Please refer to the Programme Specification on these pages for further details."

Why choose this course?

Do you have a story to tell, or have you always wanted to be a writer? Perhaps you want to learn how to be a critical reader or gain a greater understanding of the craft of writing? Through the B.A. English Language and Creative Writing, you’ll gain a better understanding of the English Language, as well as the process of writing so that you can find your voice, whether as a linguist, a poet, playwright, or novelist.

In the English Language, you’ll learn all about the building blocks of language. Where does it come from? Why is Worcester spelt one way, but pronounced so differently? You’ll also look into the scientific study of everything to do with language. We offer a stimulating and supportive environment in which you can explore your ideas and understand how to use language effectively. Our English Language lecturers have also published researchers who work in different areas of applied linguistics. Our creative writing modules are taught by lecturers who are themselves award-winning practitioners and who bridge the gap between creative and academic approaches to literature. They include our poetry lecturer Wayne Holloway-Smith, winner of the Poetry Society’s Geoffrey Dearmer Prize and Seamus Heaney Prize nominee. We’re also rated TEF Gold, making us one of the best universities for teaching and support.

What's the course about?

In your first year, you’ll explore the building blocks of language. You’ll learn the basics of phonetics, which is the study of speech sounds, grammar and you’ll work on your academic writing skills. For Creative Writing, you’ll learn how to become a writer, looking at building words in fiction genres and writing for the screen. There are a few optional modules for you to choose too, including language and mind and language in the media.

In your second year, you’ll continue looking at grammatical structures and phonetics. All other modules are optional. You’ll choose from a range of modules, from vocabulary to language in society. You can choose to learn how to write plays, learn the art of the poem and look at literature. You’ll even have the option to study a module on English language teaching to speakers of other languages.

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s absolutely fine too.

In your third year, you can undertake a Creative Writing project in either poetry or prose. This is the culmination of three years of writing studies. You can choose to do an English Language project as well, where you’ll independently research an area of linguistics of your choice. You’ll take a two-hour weekly short story writing workshop, where you produce your own writing and discuss this with your coursemates. Other modules include clinical linguistics, child language and meaning, and context.

Your main campus is de Havilland

You’ll share this campus with students from business, law, sport, education, and humanities subjects. The student housing is close to our Sports Village which includes a gym, swimming pool, and climbing wall. You can get breakfast, lunch, or dinner in our on-campus restaurant or bar (in the newly built Enterprise Hub) on days you don’t feel like cooking. You can also use the common room to play pool, video games or just to hang out with friends. Our Learning Resources Centres are open 24/7, which means you can study whenever suits you best. Want to pop over to the other campus? You can take the free shuttle bus or walk there in just 15 minutes.

This course includes the options of:

Work placement
Study abroad

What will I study?

Degree programmes are structured into levels, 4, 5, and 6. These correspond to your first, second, and third/final year of study. Below you can see what modules you’ll be studying in each.

Level 4

Becoming a Writer II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Communication, Interaction, Context II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Genre Fiction: Building Worlds II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Writing for the Screen II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Identity and Contemporary Writing II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Investigating Language II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Introduction to English Linguistics 1 II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Introduction to English Linguistics 2 II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Language and Mind II 15 Credits II Optional
Language in the Media II 15 Credits II Optional

Level 5

English Grammar II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Sounds of English II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Graduate Skills II 0 Credits II Compulsory
Learning and Teaching Language 2 II 15 Credits II Optional
Language and Species II 15 Credits II Optional
Language in Society II 15 Credits II Optional
Forensic Linguistics II 15 Credits II Optional
Language Competencies in Career Development II 15 Credits II Optional
History of the English Language II 15 Credits II Optional
Research Methods in English Language & Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
Writing for the Stage II 15 Credits II Optional
Language and Imagination: The Art of the Poem II 15 Credits II Optional
Writing for the Screen II 15 Credits II Optional
Learning and Teaching Language 1 II 15 Credits II Optional
Literature at Work II 15 Credits II Optional

Level 6

Tell It Slant: Writing and Reality II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Year Abroad II 0 Credits II Compulsory
Short Story Workshop II 15 Credits II Compulsory
Child Language & Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
Clinical Linguistics II 15 Credits II Optional
Language & Communication Project II 30 Credits II Optional
Language Processing II 15 Credits II Optional
Language & Communication Short Project II 15 Credits II Optional
Communication and Cultures II 15 Credits II Optional
Meaning and Context II 15 Credits II Optional
Chunky Language: Investigating Formulaic Sequences II 15 Credits II Optional
Gender in Language and Communication II 15 Credits II Optional
Global Englishes II 15 Credits II Optional
Creative Writing Project Poetry II 30 Credits II Optional
Creative Writing Project Prose II 30 Credits II Optional
Creative Writing Project Script II 30 Credits II Optional
Corpus-based Studies in English Language II 15 Credits II Optional

Study abroad

An opportunity for an amazing experience, which will help make you stand out from the crowd. With more and more companies working internationally, experience of living in another country can make a great impression on future employers.

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a sandwich year abroad. The University has partnerships with over 150 universities around the world, including the USA, Canada, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, and closer to home in Europe.

If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you’ll pay no tuition fee to the partner university and no tuition fee to us either. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.

Work placement

Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought-after professional skills.

Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.

If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.

What if I need support?

You’ll get a personal tutor to guide you through your course, all the way to graduation.

You might also want or need extra support during your time with us. Rest assured, no matter what you study, we’ve got you covered. For help with study skills, including referencing, essay writing, and presentations, you’ll have access to our academic support services. You can attend workshops, 1-to-1 sessions, and online tutorials. Both our Learning Resources Centres run drop-in study skills sessions. And the best thing is, it’s all free.