Creative Writing and English Literature (including foundation year)
Entry requirements
GCSE/National 4/National 5
English Language at grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)
UCAS Tariff
About this course
This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.
**Why study this course?**
Our Creative Writing and English Literature (including foundation year) BA degree is the perfect preparation for undergraduate study and a career in the creative industries if you don’t have the necessary requirements to enter the three-year degree. On completion of this course, you’ll graduate with the same title and qualification as students who started on the three-year course.
On this four-year course, you’ll learn the skills that will form the foundation for academic study, while providing you with techniques and theoretical knowledge used by creative writers and publishers.
**More about this course**
Our undergraduate course with a foundation year combines the disciplines of creative writing and literature. You’ll get the unique opportunity to develop your own distinct creative writing style, while gaining an understanding of literary history and major genres in poetry, drama and prose.
Our staff will offer exceptional support throughout your degree to ensure that you settle into university life and succeed academically. When you join the university, you’ll be assigned an academic mentor and tutor who will offer one-to-one support and be your first port of call if you need any help. There will also be opportunities to take advantage of workshops that will enhance your academic and employability skills.
The foundation year, or Year 0, is designed to prepare you for the challenge of studying at undergraduate level. You’ll share this year with students from other disciplines, which will provide you with the unique opportunity to network with students from other courses and learn about their academic interests. During this year, you’ll focus on developing critical thinking, academic writing and research skills by exploring the themes of society, media, current affairs and other topics. Your tutors will help you develop your ability to engage in academic debate and critically assess arguments, which will be vital for further study at undergraduate level.
The foundation year is also excellent preparation for study of the English literature and creative writing, as you will take a specialised module. On this module you’ll read and examine key creative texts written about London in the past and present, develop your own writing voice through journal observations and engage in creative writing tasks in and out of class.
Your final three years will focus on creative writing techniques and engage you in the comprehensive study of literary material, themes and genres. Learn more about the Creative Writing and English Literature BA by visiting our UCAS page or our website.
Modules
Example Year 0 modules include:
Critical Thinking
Interventions for Change
Media, Crime and 'Race'
Reflecting on Self and Society
Researching Discrimination
Researching Inequality (core)
Social Issues in Context: Text to Essay
Example Year 1 modules include:
Poetic Form and Genre
Romantics to Victorians
Theatre and Performance: History and Craft
Writer's World
Example Year 2 modules include:
Victorians to Moderns
Writing and Editing Fiction and Non-fiction
Publishing and the Book: Then and Now
The Writer's Craft
Example Year 3 modules include:
Modern's to Contemporaries
Project
Why Literature Matters
Publishing and the Book
The Writer's Craft 2
Assessment methods
You’ll be assessed through a variety of assessments. These may include portfolios of reflective writing, essays, reports, presentations and exams.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Holloway
School of Art, Architecture and Design
What students say
We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.
How do students rate their degree experience?
The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Creative writing
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Literature in english
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
After graduation
The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.
Creative writing
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
The jobs market for this subject - which includes creative writing and scriptwriting courses - is not currently one of the strongest, so unemployment rates are currently looking quite high overall, with salaries on the lower side. But nevertheless, most graduates get jobs quickly. Graduates often go into careers as authors and writers and are also found in other roles where the ability to write well is prized, such as journalism, translation, teaching and advertising and in web content. Be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common is common in the arts, as are what is termed 'portfolio careers', having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - although graduates from this subject were a little more likely than many other creative arts graduates to be in conventional full time permanent contracts, so that might be worth bearing in mind.
Literature in english
What are graduates doing after six months?
This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.
Top job areas of graduates
What about your long term prospects?
Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.
Creative writing
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£21k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
Literature in english
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£18k
£21k
Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.
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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).
This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.
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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.
You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.
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Post-six month graduation stats:
This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.
It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.
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Graduate field commentary:
The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show
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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?
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