BA (Hons) Creative Writing
Southsea, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 up to 4 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
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STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Key Summary
Scholarships
Explore scholarship opportunities to help fund your studies
Introduction
Charles Dickens was born here, Sherlock Holmes was created here, H.G. Wells travelled in his ‘time machine', and many tourists wander our timeless shores inked with seaside tales. If there could be an ideal birthplace for your creative writing career, let it be Portsmouth.
Every lecture, seminar, and event on our Creative Writing degree course will inspire you to develop your writing voice across various media, from stories and poetry to plays and screenplays. Learn about the theory behind the art of writing and discover the history of storytelling and narrative, guided by a team of industry and research experts spanning writing, media and performance. You can also broaden your writing experience by studying abroad and attending an optional professional placement.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the versatile writing skills to take you to any career destination within the creative and communication fields.
Course highlights
- Take part in Portsmouth’s annual Comic Con for the latest developments in creative writing and literature, popular culture, fan communities, and technology – course lecturers and students are panellists
- Build your writing portfolio by contributing to our course blog, The Eldon Review, local news zine Star & Crescent, and our Student Union newspaper, The Galleon
- Collaborate with staff on innovative research projects to enhance your practice, such as Ink: Well, Lifewriting for Well-Being, and Pens of the Earth.
- Get insight into the current writing scene by attending guest lectures from industry professionals – past ones include Andy McNab, Francesca Beard, and Suzi Feay.
- Gain valuable professional experience by taking an optional placement
- Spend a year or a semester studying abroad to discover another culture and way of learning
- Learn a new language with our extra-curricular Institute-Wide Language Programme to improve your abilities and earn credits
Gallery
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
Curriculum
Modules
Year 1
Core modules this year include:
- Creative Reviews and Features – 20 credits
- Professional Writing – 20 credits
- Telling Tales – 20 credits
- Tips, Tricks, Techniques – 20 credits
- True Stories – 20 credits
- Writing for the Film and Tv Industries – 20 credits
There are no optional modules this year.
Year 2
Core modules this year include:
- Creative Writing and Critical Thinking – 20 credits
- Finding Form - Fiction – 20 credits
- Finding Form - Nonfiction – 20 credits
Optional modules this year include:
- Comic Book Industries – 20 credits
- Creative Writing for Comedy – 20 credits
- Creative Writing for Film – 20 credits
- Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice – 20 credits
- Finding Form - Speculative Fiction – 20 credits
- Finding Form - Writing for Performance – 20 credits
- Investigative Journalism – 20 credits
- Modern Foreign Language (Institution-wide Language Programme) – 20 credits
- Playwriting and Text for Performance – 20 credits
- Press and Public Relations – 20 credits
- Professional Experience – 20 credits
- Specialist Journalism – 20 credits
- Student Enterprise – 20 credits
- Transmedia Narratives and Strategies – 20 credits
Placement year (optional)
In this course, you can do an optional work placement year between your 2nd and 3rd years to get valuable experience working in the industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your situation and ambitions.
Options this year include:
- CCI Placement Plus - Full Year – 40 credits
- CCI Self-employed Placement - Full Year – 40 credits
- CCI Work Placement - Full Year – 40 credits
- Film, Media and Communication Study Abroad - Full Year – 120 credits
- Film, Media and Communication Study Abroad - Half Year – 60 credits
Year 3
The core module this year is:
- Creative Writing Dissertation – 40 credits
Optional modules this year include:
- Cultures of Consumption – 20 credits
- Fact and Fiction – 20 credits
- Fan Fiction – 20 credits
- Global Journalism and Human Rights – 20 credits
- Media Fan Cultures – 20 credits
- Representing Science in the Media – 20 credits
- Researching Animation – 20 credits
- Studying Comedy – 20 credits
- Travel Writing – 20 credits
- Writing Project (with Publishing) – 20 credits
- Writing and Producing Magazines – 20 credits
Placement year (optional)
Between your second and third years, you can complete an optional work placement to gain professional experience and enhance your skills. It's also a great incentive for employers once you graduate.
You can work for a company, organisation or agency, or you can go self-employed and start your own business with fellow students or by yourself.
Whatever you decide – or even if you just want some employability advice – our exclusive Creative Careers team can support you every step of the way.
Career Opportunities
Writing is one of the oldest forms of communication and has evolved and transformed over the ages. It thrives more than ever in our modern world, where traditional and digital communication coexists, with its outlets continuing to expand. Spoken communication – such as storytelling, teaching, and poetry – is also rising.
After graduating from our Creative Writing degree course, you’ll be poised for numerous roles that rely on the powers of communication and the written word.
You can also continue your studies at the postgraduate level and venture into research.
Graduate areas
Areas graduates from our Creative Writing courses have worked in include:
- creative writing (prose, poetry, script)
- advertising and marketing
- arts and events management
- local and community broadcasting
- teaching
- stand-up comedy
- travel industry
Graduate roles
Roles graduates from our Creative Writing courses have gone on include:
- novelist
- poet
- playwright
- teacher
- copywriter
- journalist
- theatre manager
- editorial assistant
Ongoing careers support
Get experience while you study, with support to find part-time jobs, volunteering opportunities, and work experience. You can also venture into freelancing or set up and run your own business with help from the University Startup Team.
Towards the end of your degree and up to five years after graduation, you’ll receive one-to-one support from our Graduate Recruitment Consultancy to help you find your perfect role.
Creative Careers
Our in-faculty Creative Careers team has extensive recruitment experience and knows the creative sector well, making it easier for students to find placements within the creative industries.
They can guide you through every step of the application process, including:
- Searching for the ideal job through their database of vacancies
- Giving tips on how to write an interesting CV that will catch employers' attention, no matter the role
- Organising mock interviews, so you can hone your technique and familiarise yourself with the recruitment environment
- Writing your startup business proposal – if you're going down the self-employment route
- The team will continue to give you support throughout your placement year.