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English with Creative Writing with a Foundation Year

Entry requirements


A level

C,D,D-D,D,D

We recognise the EPQ as an excellent indicator of success. If you are predicted a grade B or above in the EPQ, you will receive an offer with a one grade reduction, to include your EPQ with a grade B.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

We require a minimum of 5 passes at Grade A*-C, including Welsh/English Language

UCAS Tariff

72-80

Swansea University recognises the Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate as equivalent to one full A-Level.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time including foundation year | 2024

Subjects

English literature

English studies

This four-year English and Creative Writing degree will teach you a range of writing skills to equip you for a career as a writer, including novels, plays, poetry, film scripts, and non-fiction. You will explore a range of styles and genres, as well as studying the history, traditions, and theory of English Literature. Explore over a thousand years of literature from the early medieval period to the present day, while also delving into some provocative questions that writing can unveil around gender, culture and more. This course covers both national and global literature including Renaissance and Gothic genres, 19th century literature and contemporary fiction. You can also select modules around creative and professional writing. You can tailor the degree to your own interests, learning how to write novels, poetry, short stories and non-fiction, how to write for the stage, screen and broadcast, writing as a career and exploring styles and genres. The first year of the course will be spent as a Foundation Year, during which you will explore the humanities and social sciences. This is ideal if you need a little extra support after further education or if you are returning to study after a gap in education. You will then progress onto the full degree programme. Swansea is the birthplace of Dylan Thomas, widely regarded by many literary scholars as one of the twentieth century's most influential lyrical poets, and amongst the finest of all time. The university’s links to the legacy of Dylan Thomas remain with our annual Dylan Thomas Prize for Literature and through research carried out in our Centre for Research into the English Literature and Language of Wales (CREW). Throughout this course you will also have the opportunity to get involved in projects with the Dylan Thomas Centre and the National Theatre Wales. Set in parkland overlooking Swansea Bay on the edge of the breath-taking Gower Peninsula, the university's location provides an excellent place to study. Students can enjoy both a thriving city and beautiful beaches and coastlines. Outside of their studies, our students benefit from our lively English Student Society, which organises a range of literary, social, and cultural events.
Our degree programmes aim to support students prepare for their future world of work. You will access support and guidance through the university’s Careers Service and Work Placement Team and all students have access to events, workshops, and employer talks, including an annual conference for students in June to support final year students with the transition into employment or further study. On this degree programme, you can further enhance your student experience with the option to study abroad for a semester in countries such as Hong Kong, China, Singapore, North America, or Canada. English Literature and Creative Writing at Swansea is ranked top 10 for Overall Satisfaction (NSS 2022) and top 20 in the UK (Guardian University Guide 2023).
Graduates go on to enter careers in a wide range of sectors including education, media, writing and screen production and public administration. Please visit our course page for more information. https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/english-literature-creative-writing/ba-english-literature-creative-writing-foundation-year/

Modules

Your first year will include a mixture of compulsory and optional modules, with examples of compulsory modules from recent years including:
• Monsters, Theories, Transformations
• English Essentials
• The Stage Play World

Your second and third years will comprise entirely optional modules from a large range of subject areas. Examples of optional modules in recent years have included:
• Contentious Shakespeare
• Revolution of the Word: Modernism
• Contemporary Wars and Conflicts
• Welsh Gothic / Gothic Wales
• Other Tongues: Multilingualism in English Language Literature

Your final year will include an optional independent dissertation project.
For the full programme structure and module breakdown, please visit our webpage at: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/english-literature-creative-writing/ba-english-literature-creative-writing

Assessment methods

We offer a variety of assessment methods within our programmes. In addition to traditional examinations and essays, examples of alternative assessment include:

• Presentations
• Group Work
• Original Writing

Throughout your undergraduate English Literature and Creative Writing degree, you will develop excellent research and analytical skills and learn to present your ideas effectively both verbally and in writing. For full breakdown of course structure and assessment please visit our course page: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/undergraduate/courses/culture-communication/english-literature-creative-writing/ba-english-literature-creative-writing or get in touch with us at [email protected]

The Uni


Course location:

Singleton Park Campus

Department:

College of Arts and Humanities

Read full university profile

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.

87%
English literature
93%
English studies

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.

Literature in english

Teaching and learning

88%
Staff make the subject interesting
97%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
78%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

74%
Library resources
89%
IT resources
93%
Course specific equipment and facilities
77%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

97%
UK students
3%
International students
27%
Male students
73%
Female students
92%
2:1 or above
18%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

93%
Staff make the subject interesting
100%
Staff are good at explaining things
93%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
93%
IT resources
93%
Course specific equipment and facilities
73%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

89%
UK students
11%
International students
28%
Male students
72%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
17%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

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.

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.

£16,500
low
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other administrative occupations

English studies (non-specific)

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.

£16,500
low
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
38%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
12%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Other administrative occupations

English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

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.

£15k

£15k

£20k

£20k

£27k

£27k

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.

English studies (non-specific)

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£15k

£15k

£20k

£20k

£27k

£27k

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.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
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English Literature with Creative Writing with a Year Abroad
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UCAS Points: 120
Lower entry requirements
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English with Foundation Year
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 32-48
Nearby University
Cardiff University | Cardiff
English Literature and Creative Writing
BA (Hons) 3 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120-128
Same University
Swansea University | Swansea
English Literature with Creative Writing with a Year in Industry
BA (Hons) 4 Years Full-time including foundation year 2024
UCAS Points: 120

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here