cardiff university creative writing

English Literature and Creative Writing (BA)

Subject area: english language and literature.

• UCAS code: QW11
• Next intake: September 2024
• Duration: 3 years
• Mode: Full time

Why study this course

Spend a semester abroad

Adventure into a new culture; open your mind to new ideas and experiences in life and learning.

Tailored to you

With primarily optional modules you have freedom to choose a personalised degree.

Industry experience

Gain skills, confidence and connections through a variety of literary and cultural internships.

Learn from the best

Benefit from research-led content; learn from world-renowned literary scholars and authors.

Our BA English Literature and Creative Writing programme allows you to study all periods of literature in English, from the Anglo-Saxon period to the twenty-first century, together with training in Creative Writing. We cover all genres, from contemporary and historical fiction to poetry, drama, film and music.

The Creative Writing element of the programme provides you with the opportunity to progress from introductory modules on reading and writing creatively to specialised work within specific forms and genres such as fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and scriptwriting, culminating in the production of an extended collection of creative work.

Throughout the programme you will be encouraged to stretch yourself intellectually and imaginatively by exploring literature as both a practitioner and a critic. Our approach will help you develop an understanding of the creative process, as well as enhancing your knowledge of genre, literary history, and the varied and dynamic academic field which is English Literature.

You will focus on becoming a careful, attentive, and informed reader and writer, sensitive to the nuances of language and style and able to produce polished and sophisticated creative work, as well as to articulate your responses to texts in writing which is precise, stylish, and effective. 

You join a friendly and supportive environment with an international reputation for both teaching and research. Our talented Creative Writing team regularly scoop national and international awards, and collectively share experience in theatre, television and film. Our public platforms Cardiff BookTalk and Cardiff Poetry Experiment are popular and hugely engaging.

• Telephone +44 (0)29 2087 4243
• Marker Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU

Entry requirements

We accept a combination of A-levels and other qualifications, as well as equivalent international qualifications subject to entry requirements. Typical offers are as follows:

AAB-ABB. Must include Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

Our grade range covers our standard offer and contextual offer. We carefully consider the circumstances in which you've been studying (your contextual data) upon application.

• Eligible students will be given an offer at the lower end of the advertised grade range.
• Where there is no grade range advertised and/or where there are selection processes in place (like an interview) you may receive additional points in the selection process or be guaranteed interview/consideration.

Learn about eligible courses and how contextual data is applied.

International Baccalaureate

34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance.

Baccalaureate Wales

From September 2023, there will be a new qualification called the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (level 3). This qualification will replace the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate). The qualification will continue to be accepted in lieu of one A-Level (at the grades listed above), excluding any specified subjects.

Chevron right Other essential requirements

You must have or be working towards: - English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Student visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements. We do not accept Critical Thinking, General Studies, Citizenship Studies, or other similar equivalent subjects. We will accept a combination of BTEC subjects, A-levels, and other qualifications, subject to the course specific grade and subject requirements.

Chevron right English language requirements

Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)

At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic

At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III

II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits. III: at least a Pass in all components.

Other accepted qualifications

Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications .

Chevron right Criminal convictions

You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.

If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:

• access to computers or devices that can store images
• use of internet and communication tools/devices
• freedom of movement
• contact with people related to Cardiff University.

Other qualifications from inside the UK

DD in a BTEC Diploma in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and grade B in A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.

Qualifications from outside the UK

Please see our admissions policies for more information about the application process.

Tuition fees for 2024 entry

Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.

Learn how we decide your fee status

Fees for home status

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.

Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss national, your tuition fees for 2024/25 be in line with the overseas fees for international students, unless you qualify for home fee status. UKCISA have provided information about Brexit and tuition fees .

Fees for island status

Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man .

Fees for overseas status

Learn more about our tuition fees

Financial support

Financial support may be available to individuals who meet certain criteria. For more information visit our funding section. Please note that these sources of financial support are limited and therefore not everyone who meets the criteria are guaranteed to receive the support.

Additional costs

Accommodation.

We have a range of residences to suit your needs and budget. Find out more on our accommodation pages .

Living costs

We're based in one of the UK's most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff .

Course structure

This is a full-time undergraduate degree that takes three years to complete. You will study modules worth a total of 360 credits split evenly over the three years.

You must pass each academic year before proceeding to the next stage of your studies.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2024/2025 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2024.

Year one is a foundation year, designed to equip you with the skills and practice for advanced study and to give you an overview that will enable you to make informed choices from the modules available in years two and three while laying down the foundations of your engagement with Creative Writing.

You will take three core modules and three optional modules. These will provide you with a solid base for the next two years of your degree by offering the opportunity to develop your critical and creative skills through reading, analysing and producing imaginative work across a wide array of different genres.

In year two you select from a range of period-, genre- or theme-based modules in which you will build on the foundation year, reading a selection of texts in their historical and cultural contexts.

You also continue your studies of Creative Writing within a variety of forms and genres, including fiction, poetry and scriptwriting.

In your final year you will choose from a range of more specialised modules, allowing you to pursue interests developed in the previous two years. You will engage with current issues in research and scholarship, enabling you further to develop analytical and presentation skills that employers will value, as well as equipping you for postgraduate study.

You also undertake a portfolio dissertation in Creative Writing that complements your work in the English Literature modules and allows you to produce an extended piece of writing in a specialist genre. The dissertation also allows you to develop research and project management skills.

The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.

Module information

Learning and assessment

You will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars, with all modules including seminar or small-group teaching. In Creative Writing the small-group teaching takes the form of workshops based on peer review of student writing.

Teaching stresses the importance of the way texts interact with their contexts, and each module is designed to encourage you to focus on a number of specific texts and to prepare carefully a considered answer to specific topics dealt with in the module, while the workshops in Creative Writing ask you to engage with the critical creative process through evaluative discussion of peer writing.

Learning activities will vary from module to module as appropriate, but may include such activities as: interactive lectures, seminar discussions of prepared texts/topics, student individual or group presentations, small-group work within seminars, peer review in workshops, translation classes, formative writing exercises, journal entries, and film viewings.

You are expected to do the reading and other relevant preparation to enable you to participate fully in these activities. You are encouraged to explore the resources of the library as appropriate. For the workshops, peer work is previously circulated and you are expected to bring prepared comments as part of the exchange of ideas informing the sessions.

How will I be supported?

You will be assigned a personal tutor and will meet him/her for regular academic progress meetings (one per semester). There is a form to fill in before each Academic Progress meeting which is designed to help you reflect on the written feedback and the reasons for the marks you have received from the previous round of assessment. You will discuss this feedback and your reflections on it with your personal tutor.

In addition, all staff have weekly office hours during teaching weeks and you may make appointments to see your personal tutor or module leaders on a one-to-one basis about any issues. Staff may also be contacted by email.

Key information for each module will be available on our Virtual Learning Environment, Learning Central, together with appropriate additional learning resources, such as lecture notes and slides.

The University offers a range of services including the Careers Service, the Counselling Service, the Disability and Dyslexia Service, the Student Support Service, and excellent libraries and resource centres.

Written feedback is provided on both formative and summative assessment and you are encouraged to discuss your ideas with module tutors in seminars and, where appropriate, on a one-to-one basis in office hours.

Your achievement and progress are also discussed in regular progress meetings with personal tutors.

How will I be assessed?

All English Literature modules offer you the opportunity to undertake unassessed formative work appropriate to the module. Most modules are assessed by essay and/or examination, but some include other forms of assessment such as journal entries, a portfolio, or presentations.

Creative Writing modules are assessed by short portfolios of creative work that include a critical commentary. The assessment strategy is structured to lead you from formative thinking throughout the module towards the production of an informed critical/creative response.

Your final year project consists of a substantial, independently-researched and original portfolio of creative work, produced under the guidance of a member of staff, in the field of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, playwriting, or screenwriting. The portfolio includes a critical commentary on the work produced.

What skills will I practise and develop?

Knowledge and understanding

• Awareness of different literary periods, movements and genres and of the variety of English literature.
• Understanding of the importance of historical and cultural contexts.
• Ability to sustain a critical argument that is responsive to the workings of language and literary styles.
• Awareness of the bibliographic conventions of the discipline and their role in communicating information.
• Knowledge of the critical issues and/or debates surrounding or raised by texts.
• Understanding of the shaping effects of historical and cultural circumstances on the production and meaning of texts.
• Knowledge of appropriate critical vocabulary and terminology.
• An awareness of editorial approaches and processes.
• Understanding, through reading and your own practice, of the key elements of different forms of writing.
• Ability to produce original literary work in a variety of forms and genres.
• An awareness of tone, register, structure, genre and audience in your own writing.

Intellectual skills

• Ability to handle complex ideas with clarity.
• Ability to analyse and interpret material drawn from a diversity of literary periods.
• Ability to apply high level critical skills of close analysis to literary texts.
• Ability to select and organise material purposefully and cogently.
• Ability to use the views of others in the development and enhancement of practice; formulate considered practical responses to the critical judgements of others, while developing a generous yet rigorous critical scrutiny in peer review and workshop activities.

Professional Practical Skills

• Advanced communication skills (written and oral).
• Ability to give an efficient critical evaluation of documents in various styles.
• Ability to give oral and written feedback on others’ work.
• Ability to access, use and evaluate electronic data.
• Ability to interact effectively with others, in team or group work situations.

Transferable skills

• Plan, organize, and deliver work to a deadline.
• Initiate and take responsibility for independent projects.
• Respond creatively and imaginatively to research tasks.

Careers and placements

Career prospects.

Our graduates commonly go on to pursue careers in freelance writing, academia, teaching, publishing, arts management and administration, public relations and journalism.

Many employers welcome graduates with high-level literacy skills. Together with such skills, our students develop the kind of insights into the creative process that are valued by business, from design to sales.

Imaginative writing transfers readily into advertising and tourism as well as advertising companies. As a graduate of our School you will have a portfolio of creative writing to demonstrate to potential employers.

Our graduates find employment in HR, the book trade, professional areas such as librarianship but also local government and other areas of public life concerned with communication.

We have an established portfolio of internships with Wales-based literary/cultural magazines for which students can apply. 

You may also apply for exchanges with the range of University partners through the University’s Global Opportunities Centre.

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International

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Get in touch

Contact us for help with any questions you have

How to apply

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Creative and Critical Writing (PhD)

Cardiff university, different course options.

• Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Creative Writing Literary Criticism

Course type

The PhD Programme in Creative and Critical Writing is for students and writers wishing to complete a substantial creative work of marketable quality. Our own MA in Creative Writing provides an ideal basis for students wishing to undertake a PhD.

The PhD programme at Cardiff caters to individuals keen to join a thriving community of writers—from novelists and memoirists to poets and scriptwriters—all of whom share the common purpose of immersing themselves in the composition of a substantial piece of creative research.

The programme includes a compulsory critical element in which students relate the creative work they produce to its wider critical and cultural contexts and evaluate the conceptual and theoretical contribution the work represents.

Programme aims

• The PhD programme is designed to enable students to put together an original piece of creative work—a novel, collection of poems or short stories, a play, film script, or work of creative non-fiction—together with a reflective critical commentary.
• The programme offers knowledge and expertise to take you on to a role in Higher Education, or employment requiring high-level skills in research or advanced subject knowledge.
• The programme recruits a diverse range of Home/EU and International students who want to engage in a research environment characterised by world-leading research expertise in all aspects of creative writing.

Distinctive features

• The PhD programme offers a monthly seminar series specific to Creative Writing research students.
• The School makes funding available each year for PGR students who wish to attend conferences / undertake library or archive visits in order to assist with their PhD studies.
• PhD students are encouraged to attend the annual writers’ retreat at Gregynog Hall, a country house with a distinguished artistic heritage that is set in glorious countryside in mid-Wales.
• PhD students are also encouraged to publish and advice can be sought from Creative Writing staff, all of whom are published authors.
• We offer teaching opportunities on the undergraduate degree and PhD students can undertake the School’s unique “Learning to Teach” programme, accredited by the Higher Education Academy.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

For tuition fees for this course, please visit our website.

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

For Entry requirements for this course, please visit our website.

MA/PGDip Creative Writing

University of roehampton, phd english and creative writing, creative writing (welsh medium) ma, bangor university, creative writing (english medium) ma, creative and critical writing phd.

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