Creative Writing BA (Hons)

Overview

If you’re an aspiring writer, there’s no better place to hone your craft than the home of literary greats, Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

On this BA (Hons) Creative Writing degree course, you’ll learn to write across various mediums. From stories to scripts and plays to poetry, you’ll develop your writing voice and improve your technique under the guidance of professional novelists, poets and playwrights.

The course develops your talent and prepares you for a career in writing. You’ll learn the skills to succeed in many creative and professional industries, from print and online media to film and television, as well as public relations, advertising and teaching.

What you'll experience

Careers and opportunities

You’ll graduate from this Creative Writing degree course with the knowledge, skills and market awareness to succeed wherever your writing takes you, in whatever industry you choose.

With the ability to take on roles in a variety of professional and creative sectors, previous graduates have gone on to become copywriters, journalists, theatre managers and editorial assistants in areas such as:

• creative writing (prose, poetry, script)
• advertising and marketing
• arts and events management
• local and community broadcasting
• teaching

You could also go on to postgraduate study or research.

You'll get help and support from our Careers and Employability service in finding your first role and for 5 years after you graduate.

What you'll study on this BA (Hons) Creative Writing course

Each unit on this course is worth a certain number of credits.

In each year, you need to study units worth a total of 120 credits. For example, 4 units worth 20 credits and 1 unit worth 40 credits.

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies.

Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional units may not run every year. If a unit doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative unit.

Placement year

After your second year, you can spend a year putting your writing skills into practice on an optional placement. This gives you valuable workplace skills and builds your CV.

Previous students have worked in:

• Red Apple Creative's audio book production team
• Debenhams' editorial team
• Dolby's field marketing team

Interested in running your own business on your placement year instead? You can start up and run your own company for a year as an alternative to a work-based placement. You'll work with fellow students to build and launch a successful venture.

However you spend the year, we’ll give you plenty of support and mentoring to make sure you’re getting the most out of your placement.

Work experience and career planning

To give you the best chance of securing a great job when you graduate, our Careers and Employability service can help you find relevant work experience during your course.

We can help you identify placements, internships, voluntary roles and freelancing opportunities that will complement your studies and add to your portfolio.

Learning support

As well as support by faculty teaching staff and your personal tutor, you can use the University’s Academic Skills Unit (ASK).

ASK provides one-to-one support in areas such as:

• academic writing
• note taking
• time management
• critical thinking
• presentation skills
• referencing
• working in groups
• revision, memory and exam techniques

If you have a mental or physical disability, the Additional Support and Disability Centre (ASDAC) can give you help, support and advice so you can reach your potential.

Teaching

Teaching methods on this course include:

• lectures
• workshops
• seminars
• one-to-one tutorials

How you'll spend your time

Each academic year is divided into 2 teaching blocks and 2 assessment periods:

• September to December – teaching block 1
• January – assessment period 1
• January to mid-May – teaching block 2 (includes Easter break)
• Mid-May to early June – assessment period 2

Most teaching takes place during the day, Monday to Friday. There’s no teaching on Wednesday afternoons.

How you're assessed

You’ll be assessed through:

• short stories
• a novel in progress
• a screenplay
• a collection of poems
• a magazine pitch
• public relations campaign
• reports
• a research portfolio
• examinations
• dissertation/project

You’ll be able to test your skills and knowledge informally before you do assessments that count towards your final mark.

You can get feedback on all practice and formal assessments so you can improve in the future.

The way you’re assessed may depend on the units you select. As a guide, students on this course last year were typically assessed as follows:

• Year 1 students: 100% by coursework
• Year 2 students: 12% by written exams, 5% by practical exams and 83% by coursework
• Year 3 students: 100% by coursework

Entry requirements​

​Course costs

Tuition fees (2019 start)

• UK/EU/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £9,250 per year (may be subject to annual increase)
• International students – £13,900 per year (subject to annual increase)

Tuition fees terms and conditions

Additional course costs

These course-related costs aren’t included in the tuition fees. So you’ll need to budget for them when you plan your spending.

Apply

Admissions terms and conditions

When you accept an offer to study at the University of Portsmouth, you also agree to our terms and conditions as well as the University’s policies, rules and regulations. You should read and consider these before you apply.