Creative Writing

Entry requirements

MPhil: An upper second-class degree or international equivalent. Please note, acceptance will also depend on evidence of your readiness to pursue a research degree.

PhD: A master's qualification, or be working towards a master's qualification, or international equivalent. Applicants without a master's qualification may be considered on an exceptional basis, provided they hold a first-class undergraduate degree (or international equivalent). Applicants with a non-traditional background may be considered provided they can demonstrate substantial equivalent and relevant experience that has prepared them to undertake their proposed course of study.

Months of entry

January, September

Course content

MPhil: a standalone, one-year (full-time) research degree. Students will undertake their own research or creative project, concluding in the submission of a 25,000 word dissertation/project (normally 17-18k words of creative writing and 7-8k of critical writing). Students may have the option to audit units from our taught Masters courses if they are relevant to their research.

PhD: a research project undertaken across three years (full-time, plus a writing up period), culminating in an 80,000 word thesis/project (normally 50,000 words of creative work – often an extract from a longer project – and 30,000 words of a critical investigation). As well as having the option to audit taught units, there may be the potential for PhD students to teach units themselves from their second year of study onwards.

A PhD in English with Creative Writing consists of an original body of work - normally a novel, or a collection of poetry/short stories - with an accompanying critical element. The critical element will place the creative work in an informed and theorised analytical context.