Creative Writing MA

About the Course

MA Creative Writing is designed for writers who want to express their creativity in a number of forms – novels, film scripts, poems, journalism – rather than specialise in only one.

The course is appealing to writers who wish to try out a number of areas before deciding which they are best at or those who already know their strongest form, but feel the need to gain expertise in other fields to fund their speciality. In addition, the course provides instruction on writing in the community, creative writing teaching and the organisation and funding of arts events.

Aims

The course aims to give you instruction and practice in a broad range not only of forms, but also of strategies and techniques within those forms.

We seek to create a supportive but constructively critical environment for circulating and evaluating students’ creative and journalistic work and to foster a broad span of creative and critical writing skills, including the ability to work independently on a long creative/critical project. Students are introduced to the latest theories of creativity and up-to-date thinking on literary and journalistic genres.

Ultimately, the programme aims to prepare you for

• a career as a creative or feature writer
• progression to doctorate-level creative writing or journalistic research
• employment in the creative industries or other areas of work where writing skills are a central requirement

Enquiries

Prospective full- or part-time students should contact:

• David Fulton, Course Convenor, email david.fulton@brunel.ac.uk
• Donna White, Postgraduate Administrator, email donna.white@brunel.ac.uk

Related Courses

• Creative Writing: The Novel MA

Special Features

MA Creating Writing students are taught by some of the most talented, original, exciting and experienced writers publishing in the industry today. Brunel’s creative writing staff have between them published over 80 books and have written for television, film and radio. The team includes writer and broadcaster Will Self and renowned performance poet, writer and broadcaster Benjamin Zephaniah.

The broad range of forms, techniques and strategies taught on the MA Creative Writing gives you the opportunity to experiment and discover which suits you best. If you are already specialising in a particular area of writing, it will underpin your expertise by equipping you with a varied knowledge of other methods.

Course Content

Programme structure

Full-time route

Term 1

• Elements of Writing: Fiction
• Creativity
  

Term 2

• Feature and Screen Writing 
• Creative Writing in Education and the Community

Term 3/Summer Vacation (until the end of September)

• Independent Writing Project

Part-time route

• Term 1: Elements of Writing: Fiction
• Term 2: Feature and Screen Writing
• Term 4: Creativity – Theories of Practice
• Term 5: Creative Writing in Education and the Community
• Term 6/Summer Holiday (until the end of September): Independent Writing Project

Module descriptions

Creativity (30 credits) explores the ways in which theory can illuminate what goes on in your mind and on the page when you are writing creatively or professionally and how that writing will be received by readers and by society at large.

Elements of Writing: Fiction (30 credits) investigates essential literary techniques, which are then discussed in seminars, revolving around exemplary novels, and practiced by means of workshopped exercises.

Feature and Screen Writing (30 credits) analyses the main strategies and conventions of feature and screen writing and then practices them with workshopped exercises. Students choose to taker either the feature or the screen writing strand.

Creative Writing in Education and the Community (30 credits) is a career-focused module, which considers the teaching of creative writing in schools, universities and community environments, arts administration and artistic support initiatives. It will therefore look at what methods are used in the teaching of creative (and professional) writing; at how community writers’ groups and reading groups operate; at how to organise literary festivals, poetry events, and writing competitions; at how to establish a career in the arts industry; at how project design works and artistic projects get to be funded.

Typical Dissertations

The opening chapters of a novel; a collection of short stories; a play; a film, TV or radio script; a volume of poems; a portfolio of articles; a memoir; travel writing; a manual.

Teaching and Learning

3-hour lectures, combining presentation and practice; workshops; seminars; presentations; project supervision; tutorials; independent learning and practice.

Assessment

You will need to gain 180 credits to complete the MA degree; you will therefore take all the four modules of Strand A (120 credits) and the project of Strand B (60 credits). Full-time students will take two taught modules in Term 1 and two in Term 2. Part-time students will generally take the morning module in Terms 1 and 2 of the first year, and the afternoon module in Terms 1 and 2 of Year 2, although, if circumstances require, this pattern can be reversed.

Careers

Authorship, creative writing teaching, arts administration, the media (journalism, advertising, publishing, television, radio, the internet).

Fees for 2013/14 entry

UK/EU students: £5,800 full-time; £2,900 part-time

International students: £13,500 full-time; £6,750 part-time

Read about funding opportunities available to postgraduate students

Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to an annual increase.

Entry Requirements

Applicants should have a 2.1 Honours degree from a UK university or equivalent from an overseas university for definite consideration. Applicants with a 2.2 degree or equivalent and a high standard of application including writing sample will be considered. To apply, complete the postgraduate application form and submit it with a sample of your fiction writing of between two and five thousand words which you feel demonstrates appropriate ability and commitment.

Applicants may be invited to an interview.

English Language Requirements

• IELTS: 7.5 (min 5.5 in all areas) 
• TOEFL Paper test: 637 (TWE 4)
• TOEFL Internet test: 110 (R18, L17, S20, W17)
• Pearson: 73 (59 in all subscores)
• BrunELT 75% (min 55% in all areas)

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accept a range of other language courses. We also have a range of Pre-sessional English language courses, for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English.