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Study Creative Writing, why & how to study

A degree in Creative Writing will develop your imagination and storytelling skills to help you find your voice.

What's Your Story question printed on an old typewriter

CONTENTS

  1. What’s Creative Writing?

  2. What Creative Writing degrees can you study?

  3. What do you need to get onto a Creative Writing degree?

  4. What topics does a Creative Writing degree cover?

  5. How will you be assessed?

  6. Why study Creative Writing?

  7. Are scholarships and bursaries available to students studying a Creative Writing degree?

  8. What are the postgraduate opportunities?

  9. Similar subjects to Creative Writing

  10. Have any questions?

What’s Creative Writing?

Creative Writing degrees cover all aspects of writing from fiction to non-fiction and poetry to scriptwriting. You’ll develop a portfolio of work and explore the many career options available to you.  

What Creative Writing degrees can you study?

Undergraduate degrees in Creative Writing can be combined with other subjects like literature, film and drama: 

Options may include an integrated foundation year or placement year in the UK or abroad.  

What do you need to get onto a Creative Writing degree?

Must have 

Entry requirements for a Creative Writing degree at a university range from 80–160 UCAS points. This could include: 

  • A Levels: AAA–CCE 
  • BTECs: DDD–MMP (may also require an English Literature A Level) 
  • Scottish Highers: AAAAB–BBBB (Advanced Highers: AAB–ABB)
  • International Baccalaureate: 38–26
  • Universities usually ask for English or English literature at A Level (or equivalent) and a sample of your own writing  

Good to have  

  • If you’re doing a combined degree, an A Level of equivalent in the additional subject  
  • Evidence of extensive reading and your influences
  • Evidence of your love of writing e.g., involvement with writing group, entering writing competition, going to author talks and literary festivals 
  • Relevant work experience or volunteering e.g., supporting communications for a charity, office work at a publisher, shadowing a copywriter
  • Portfolio of work, e.g., your own blog or contributing articles to magazines

What topics does a Creative Writing degree cover?

Typical modules for courses in this subject include:

  • Adventures in literature and the history of ideas
  • Composition and creative writing
  • Creative writing drama
  • Epic into novel
  • Future directions
  • Imagine this: prompts for creative writing
  • Writing for publication
  • Writing for short form media
  • Writing poetry and fiction

How will you be assessed?

Assessments are mainly coursework based, and may include the following methods:

  • Coursework
  • Essays
  • Portfolio
  • Presentation
  • Reflective writing
  • Exam
  • A dissertation is usually a final year option

Why study Creative Writing?

Career-specific skills: 

  • Skills in creative writing to the standards required by the industry – whether publishing, film and TV, or for web content online 
  • Editing, redrafting and proofreading 

Transferable skills: 

  • Communication 
  • Creative thinking and analysis 
  • Digital skills
  • Negotiation
  • Planning
  • Presentation
  • Prioritising and time management
  • Problem solving
  • Research and analysis
  • Self-discipline 

Professional accreditation  

While there are no general professional accreditations for creative writing degrees, there may be some associated with it, for example, the National Council for the Training of Journalists (NCTJ).  

Professional organisations  

There are many different professional organisations relating to the different genres of creative writing, here are some places to start:  

  • Publishers Association  
  • National Centre for Writing 
  • Society of Authors 
  • The Writer’s Guild of Great Britain  

Read more in our five reasons to study Creative Writing here.

Some universities offer creative writing students an arts scholarship, bursary or grant so it’s worth seeing if you are eligible, how to apply and what it covers e.g., materials, tuition fees or living costs. 

What do Creative Writing graduates earn?

Entry-level salaries start from around £16,000–£20,500 with many areas to go into. For example, an editorial assistant could start on £18,000–£23,000, increasing to an average of £37,000 for a managing editor and earn anything between £45,000–£65,000 as an editorial director.

Read more on what graduates do and earn here.  

What jobs can you get as a Creative Writing graduate?

There are lots of possible career paths, some obvious, some less so including:

  • Author
  • Brand consultant
  • Copywriter
  • Digital marketing executive
  • Editorial assistant
  • English teacher
  • Games writer
  • Journalist
  • Marketer
  • Press officer
  • Scriptwriter
  • Social media manager
  • Social worker
  • Travel writer
  • Web content manager
  • Writer in residence in prisons

What are the postgraduate opportunities?

Examples of postgraduate courses include:

  • Creative Writing PG/Dip/MA/MSt/MSc/MLitt/PhD
  • Crime and Thriller Writing MSt
  • Comedy Studies PhD
  • English Literary Studies with Creative Writing MA
  • Playwriting & Screenwriting MFA/MLitt

Similar subjects to Creative Writing

If you enjoy a good story, you might also consider:

Have any questions?

Ask our experts! You can email ask@thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk with your question about studying Creative Writing – we’ll be happy to hear from you.

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