MA, PG Cert, PG Dip Creative Writing

Introduction

Our Masters course in Creative Writing will give you the opportunity to improve your writing by practising and sharing it with a close group of fellow writers, including specialist lecturers who are published authors. You’ll study the most acclaimed writers of the past 200 years and discover the techniques they used to make their work stand out. We’ll give you opportunities to practise your technique in areas such as characterisation, structure and pacing, and experiment with different forms of writing.

Whether you want to refine an existing piece of work or experiment with new forms of writing, you’ll receive advice and support from a team of published writers, who include our Royal Literary Fund Fellows. You’ll use what you’ve learned to create samples of writing to share with lecturers and your fellow students. This will allow you to receive a wide range of responses to your work as well as learn to critically evaluate the work of others. As a postgraduate Creative Writing student at ARU you’ll have access to talks, masterclasses, and networking opportunities with agents, publishers and established writers. These include many events organised by our Centre for Science Fiction and Fantasy. Taught in Cambridge and offered full- or part-time, this Masters degree is a great way to study a subject you love and perhaps transform your career.

How you'll be assessed

You will show your progress on the course through a mix of essays, your own writing samples, and critical reflections on your work. The major project at the end of the course will allow you to submit up to 15,000 words of your own writing project, including a critical commentary.

Careers

Our MA Creative Writing will help you prepare for a career as a creative writer or in related areas such as publishing and the media. It will also give you critical and analytical skills valued by many employers.

If you studied for the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma initially, you can choose to complete further modules and top-up to a full Masters degree. You will gain Intermediate awards: PG Cert, PG Dip

Students need a good honours degree (or equivalent), normally in a related subject. Applicants with professional experience are also encouraged to apply.