Creative Writing and Critical Life

Entry requirements

A bachelor degree with a 2:1 (Hons) in English Literature or a related subject.

We accept a range of international equivalent qualifications. For more information contact the School of English admissions team.

Months of entry

September

Course content

This course combines creative writing with critical writing. You'll develop your creative writing in the context of advancing your critical skills and knowledge of English Studies. You'll also engage with a wide variety of literary genres as both a critical reader and a creative practitioner, with expert guidance from published creative writers and academic researchers.

This Masters degree enables you to reflect critically on and develop creative writing in the context of a broad range of literary genres and critical fields. Supported by teaching staff who are actively engaged in both critical and creative writing, you'll develop a theoretically informed understanding of the relation between different forms of critical and creative writing.

Throughout the course, you'll have opportunities to explore areas of personal interest and participate in workshops to hone your skills in diverse forms of writing.

You'll also produce an independent research project, through which you can specialise in creative or critical writing, or combine both, according to your interests.

Specialist resources

The University of Leeds Library is one of the UK's major academic research libraries. It has extensive holdings to support your studies, including English Literature Collections that have been designated of national and international importance.

Our Special Collections offer a huge range of rare books, manuscripts and art, as well as the archives of poets like Tony Harrison, Geoffrey Hill and Simon Armitage, and literary publications such as Stand and The London Magazine.

Take a 360 tour around our libraries:

Brotherton Library

Laidlaw Library

Edward Boyle Library

Other highlights include materials relating to novelists like Arthur Ransome, Angela Thirkell, Melvyn Bragg and Sophie Hannah, and critics like George Wilson-Knight and Bonamy Dobrée.

The School of English is also home to the University of Leeds Poetry Centre, which brings together the University’s strength and heritage in creative writing. It hosts regular poetry readings by visiting international poets and supports a poetry reading group.

Information for international students

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in any component. For other English qualifications, read English language equivalent qualifications.

International students who do not meet the English language requirements for this programme may be able to study our postgraduate pre-sessional English course, to help improve your English language level.

This pre-sessional course is designed with a progression route to your degree programme and you’ll learn academic English in the context of your subject area. To find out more, read Language for Arts and Humanities (6 weeks) and Language for Social Science and Arts: Arts and Humanities (10 weeks).

If you need to study for longer than 10 weeks, read more about our postgraduate pre-sessional English course.