Creative and Critical Writing

Entry requirements

A first class or a good second-class degree. In many cases PhD applicants have studied to MA level, though this is not compulsory. Students without an MA are required to follow the research training module offered by the school.

We are able to accept some students on a distance-learning basis, but they should have already acquired the skills taught in the introductory seminars, or should make arrangements to attend equivalent seminars at another institution, at their own expense.

Potential students should submit a writing sample of approximately 3,000 words with their application in the case of prose fiction, or a sample of ten poems.

Months of entry

Anytime

Course content

If you take this Creative and Critical Writing PhD or MPhil course you will experience:

• One-to-one teaching and supervision by established writers and academics.
• The opportunity to develop your own specific interests, working in the genre and style of your choice.
• The flexibility to study on a full or part-time basis.
• The opportunity to develop an awareness of your own writing and writing processes through combining creative and critical work, preparing you for a future career in writing or as an academic.

The Creative and Critical writing course provides you with the opportunity to work over an extended period on a collection of short stories, a novel or a collection of poems under the individual supervision of a writer actively publishing in your field. Your creative work will be accompanied by a critical commentary; researching this element will ensure that you are well read in your chosen field and have a good knowledge of current trends in writing. The thesis, comprising both the creative and critical components, is expected to have a word count of about 100,000 words (for prose).

You will be joining a vibrant postgraduate community and a School with significant experience in teaching creative writing at postgraduate level. A number of staff members are published and award-winning authors, and are involved in a variety of editing and judging activities; Zoe Skoulding, Alys Conran and Fiona Cameron.

The School benefits from the presence of the poet Professor Carol Rumens as a visiting professor and the frequent visits of honorary professor Philip Pullman, who offers both readings and workshops.

Our students are successful. A number of recent or existing postgraduate students have successfully published collections of poems or short stories that have arisen from their studies here at Bangor. These include John Tanner, Zoe Skoulding, and Nessa O’Mahoney. Others have published stories including Terri Lee Hackman, Zoe Perrenoud, and Lisa Blower (who won the 2009 Guardian Short Story Competition) or individual poems and other forms of writing.

The environment in Bangor couldn’t be better for studying creative writing, situated as it is between the mountains and the sea. It is a place where creativity, is the norm rather than the exception.

Information for international students

Students whose first language is not English are expected to have achieved an IELTS score of at least 6.5 with no element below 6.0.