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Creative Writing

Entry requirements


We welcome applications from students who are completing an Access to Higher Education Diploma. We normally look for applicants to have studied a course that is in a similar subject and offers are usually made in line with our published tariff point range.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE in English Language at grade 4 or C, or higher.

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-120

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Creative writing

- Study the craft of writing through a multi-genre approach

- Move progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, enhanced by a workshop environment

- Immerse yourself in an independent creative project in your final year

- Creative Writing at Winchester achieved more than 90% overall satisfaction as rated by final-year undergraduate students in the 2017 National Student Survey

- Attend the University of Winchester Writers' Festival and Winchester Reading Series – an opportunity to meet authors, publishers and agents

- Our campus is friendly and compact with a community feel, offering first-class, sustainable facilities for learning and teaching.

The goal of our Creative Writing course at Winchester is simple: we want you to become the best writer you can be. To help you achieve this our department of passionate and supportive lecturers runs a practice-based programme with workshops designed to encourage you to evolve as a writer in new and individual ways.

As one of the most successful creative writing programmes of its kind in the UK, you are encouraged to see all types of writing in relation to wider literary, cultural and professional contexts. Whether you are crafting novels, poems or scripts our widely published academics help you to demonstrate a high level of technical skill, an aptitude for self expression, and a commitment to hard work and personal development.

The course seeks to move you progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, working on all genres of writing in the first year, and then allowing you to specialise in Years 2 and 3. Your work develops in a workshop environment bolstered by positive critical encouragement and direction throughout. Additional guidance is given on audience (for example, editor, agent or publisher) where appropriate.

In Year 2, the focus becomes more specific with a choice of modules that concentrate on elements of different genres such as writing for children, media writing, poetry, song and play, film and TV script.

In Year 3, the modules look increasingly at the relationships between writing and the world beyond the University, exploring publishing, producing, community audiences, writing and teaching. There is also an opportunity to work on an extended creative project in your chosen genre with one-to-one supervision from an expert in this field.

The course arms you with some fantastic transferable skills, such as confident and compelling storytelling, critical thinking and articulate expression. These abilities are valued in a variety of employment contexts including arts and entertainment as well as business and commerce.

Modules

For detailed information on modules you will be studying please click on the 'View course details' link at the top of this summary box.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£16,700
per year
International
£16,700
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Winchester

Department:

Department of English, Creative Writing and American Studies

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.

84%
Creative writing

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

74%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
80%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
86%
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

59%
Library resources
76%
IT resources
76%
Course specific equipment and facilities
66%
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?

90%
UK students
10%
International students
28%
Male students
72%
Female students
74%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
C
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.

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.

£16,000
med
Average annual salary
87%
low
Employed or in further education
46%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
14%
Other elementary services occupations
12%
Other administrative occupations

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.

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.

£16k

£16k

£20k

£20k

£22k

£22k

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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This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the 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