Get the best out of your creative and critical writing with award-winning writers and exciting guest workshops. This flexible degree allows you to create your own blend of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing to explore the world around you and find your creative voice.
Our English & Creative Writing courses are ranked in the top 20 in the UK overall by the Guardian University Guide 2022, and our Creative Writing courses are ranked 6th in the UK for teaching quality by The Times Good University Guide 2022.
Follow your interests by focusing on writing prose, plays, or poetry and publishing your work in our student anthology. The English Language side of the degree explores how language shapes identities and societies and is designed to provide specific tools for your own writing, giving you the power to re-shape self and society. You can also take English Literature modules to gain a deep understanding of a range of genres such as crime fiction, travel writing, postcolonial writing, and modern drama.
Study style
The course is assessed entirely by coursework and taught in interactive seminars, lectures and writing workshops – taught in small groups by published academics and professional authors. In lectures and seminars you’ll gain a detailed understanding of linguistic and literary techniques behind great writing. In workshops you’ll work with staff and other students to develop your own stories, plays, novels and poems.
As one of our writers, you’ll also have the opportunity to work closely with professionals from the Everyman Theatre, and see your work performed by actors in a staged reading. We’re a close-knit community and our students benefit from a high level of support, with one-to-one tutorials always available. Professors Arran Stibbe and Nigel McLoughlin have both received the top National Teaching Fellowship award for teaching excellence.