BA in English Literature with Creative Writing
Manchester, United Kingdom
BA
DURATION
3 years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
TUITION FEES
GBP 27,800 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* international students fee
Key Summary
About: Develop writing skills alongside literature past and present. Ranked sixth in the UK by QS World University Rankings 2024, this BA covers over 1,000 years of English writing, literary and cultural theory, and historical context. You’ll workshop fiction and poetry with adventurous poets, novelists, and science-fiction writers in Manchester, a UNESCO City of Literature.
Career Outcomes: You’ll gain critical analysis skills. Careers service gives subject support and two years' access. The university is the second most targeted university in the UK for graduate employers; graduates work at BBC, KPMG, Deloitte, Marks and Spencer, Aviva, Accenture, Barclays. Including publishing, journalism, education, marketing, communications, creative industries.
Develop your writing skills alongside the study of literature past and present.
Course overview
- Ranked sixth in the UK for English language and literature by the QS World University Rankings 2024.
- Explore the rich literary history and current creative scene of Manchester, recently designated UNESCO City of Literature.
- Study more than 1,000 years of writing in English, engaging with literary and cultural theory, studying texts in their historical contexts, and reflecting on different cultures and traditions.
- Develop creative writing skills in fiction and poetry through workshops led by some of the most adventurous poets, novelists, and science-fiction writers currently in the UK.
BA English Literature with Creative Writing is a small, specialised creative writing pathway within an English Literature degree, in which you will take 33% of your credits in creative writing in your second and third years.
The course covers the full range of English literature from Old English to the present day.
The creative writing component of the course focuses on fiction and poetry writing.
The course will introduce you to techniques of fiction and poetry writing, and develop your understanding of the craft of writing, the nature and necessity of revision, and the importance of being able to give and receive constructive feedback.
The creative writing component of the degree will be taught in small group workshops.
You will write your own poems and stories regularly, read relevant work from established writers, and respond to examples of contemporary poetry and fiction.
There will be in-class writing exercises and an introduction to workshopping.
You will become part of a thriving community of students, lecturers, and writers at The University of Manchester, based in the heart of a UNESCO City of Literature that has produced some of the world's greatest writers and has a thriving literature and arts scene, including major events like Manchester Literature Festival.
Special features
Placement year option
Apply your subject-specific knowledge in a real-world context through a placement year in your third year of study, enabling you to enhance your employment prospects, clarify your career goals, and build your external networks.
Study abroad
You can apply to spend one semester studying abroad during the second year of your degree.
Exchange partners are offered in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Literature events
Manchester Literature Festival holds literary events across Manchester throughout the year, many in partnership with the University.
The Centre for New Writing also hosts a regular public event series, Literature Live, which brings contemporary novelists and poets to the University to read and engage in conversation.
Meet like-minded students
You can get to know your fellow students outside of your course by joining the English Society.
Teaching and learning
You will be taught mainly through lectures and tutor-led sessions.
Tutorials will give you the opportunity to consider the same texts and topics as the lectures, but with a different approach.
Tutorial groups usually meet at least once a week, and numbers are kept as low as possible so that you can get to know one another and share your ideas.
Other course units (mainly those in your final year) are taught through a weekly seminar led by a specialist member of staff.
For some course units, you will join in group work and other forms of collaborative learning.
You'll also have access to our virtual learning environment and other digital resources to support your learning.
You will spend 9-12 hours a week in formal study sessions.
For every hour spent at University, you will be expected to complete a further two to three hours of independent study.
You will also need to study during the holiday periods.
The individual study component could be spent reading, producing written work, or revising for examinations.
A significant part of your study time will be spent reading, taking notes, preparing presentations and writing essays (which examine aspects of a subject in greater depth).
Coursework and assessment
You will be assessed using a variety of formats, including:
- written examinations;
- coursework essays;
- research reports;
- practical tests;
- learning logs;
- web contributions;
- oral presentations;
- final-year-long essay.
Your second-year work counts toward 33% of your final degree result.
Your third-year work accounts for the remaining 67%.
Course units for year 1
The course unit details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- Reading Literature
- Mapping the Medieval
- Theory and Text
- Literature and History
- English Literature Tutorials: Creative Writing
- Creative Writing
Course units for year 2
The course unit details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- American Literature and Social Criticism, 1900-Present
- Chaucer: Texts, Contexts, Conflicts
- Uncle Tom's Cabin as Global Media Event
- Shakespeare
- Gender, Sexuality and the Body: Theories and Histories
- Writing, Identity and Nation
- Medieval Metamorphoses
- Renaissance Literature
- Old English: Writing the Unreadable Past
- Satire and Sentiment: British Literature, 1660–1820
- Modernism
- Romanticism (1776 - 1832)
- Introduction to Screenwriting
- Victorian Rights: Victorian Wrongs
Course units for year 3
The course unit details given below are subject to change and are the latest example of the curriculum available on this course of study.
- Love American Style
- Occupy Everything
- Climate Change & Culture Wars
- American Hauntings
- James Baldwin in Context: Race, Sexuality and Activism
- Long Essay
- Long Essay
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Creative Writing: Fiction
- Culture and Conflict: Neoliberalism and Cultural Production
- Creative Writing: Poetry
- Irish Fiction Since 1990
- Radical Turns: Culture and Politics in the 1930s
- Crossing Over with Tilda Swinton: Feminist and Queer Readings of Cinema, Politics and Culture
- Apocalypse: Early Modern Imaginings
- Queer Forms: Objects and Animals in Eighteenth-Century Poetry
- Dreaming the Middle Ages
- Things that Talk: Nonhuman Voices in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture
- Culture and Politics in the Contemporary British Novel
- British Fiction and Empire in the Twentieth Century
- Sex, Disease and the Body: 1660-1760
- Romantic Venice
- Co-operation, Competition, and Happiness: Dangerous Ideas in Victorian Britain
- Crime and Contemporary Culture
- Global Victorians
- Vital Matters: Medieval Ecologies
- Humans and other Animals in Contemporary Literature
- Women’s Writing, Citizenship, and Political Radicalism
- Contemporary South Asian Literatures
- Imaginations of the Future: People, Earth and Power
- Interdisciplinary Literature and Theology: Empathy, Ethics, Liberation
- Confronting Marginality
- Creative Writing Final Project
All our courses have your future in mind- whether that's further study or starting a career.
Our degrees are designed to equip you with strong critical analysis skills, the ability to articulate knowledge of concepts and theories, and the ability to work and think independently, critically and creatively; each providing you with a set of versatile skills that arehighlydesired by a wide range of employers.
Our award-winning careers service provides a wealth of tools, advice, development opportunities, and industry links.
You'll have access to dedicated, subject-specific support throughout your studies and for up to two years after graduation.
Our undergraduate courses are also designed to provide an easy transition into postgraduate study, if desired.
We offer a wide range of specialist master's courses within the University and even offer fast-tracked enrolment to high-achieving undergraduate students.
Our students can take part in our Stellifyprogrammealongside their degrees, developing professional and leadership skills while contributing to their local and global communities through volunteering.
The University of Manchester is the second most targeted university in the UK for top graduate employers (High Fliers Research, 2024).
Our graduates have gone on to work in a variety of industries, including positionswiththe BBC, KPMG, Deloitte, Marks and Spencer, Aviva, Accenture, and Barclays.
We are looking for applicants who have the predicted A-level grades (or other qualifications) for the relevant degree programme and whose personal statement demonstrates an enthusiasm for the subject.
You will be considered in the first instance for the single Hons English Literature programme. If suitable, you will be made an offer for that programme and you will be asked to submit a Creative Writing portfolio.
Your portfolio will be read by staff at the Centre for New Writing who will be looking for work that is fresh, imaginative and clear.
If they decide to make you an offer, we will amend your offer at UCAS to reflect an offer for English Literature with Creative Writing. If they do not accept you after examining your portfolio, then your English Literature offer will still stand.