Entry requirements

The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).

An interview will be required as part of the admissions process and will be conducted by at least two academic staff members remotely via MS Teams, Zoom, or face to face.

Applicants will be required to submit a personal statement and a research statement.
Please contact your proposed supervisor, where possible, to receive feedback and guidance on your research statement before submitting it. Learn how to prepare a research statement here.

Months of entry

January, April, October

Course content

From modernist and post-war women's writing to Caribbean and migrant fiction, our research interests span a wide range of areas aimed at understanding how literature affects wider society. We have a strong focus on maximizing both socio-cultural and academic impact of our work.

Creative Writing at Brunel is a leader in the field, which has for many years now ranked in the top 10% of Creative Writing degrees in the UK. We have some of Britain’s most celebrated, talented, original, and experienced writers actively publishing in the industry today, including Benjamin Zephaniah, Will Self, Bernardine Evaristo, Christopher Fox, Geoff King, Fiona Templeton and many more, having published over 80 powerfully diverse books between them and written for all the national newspapers. Our particular areas of strength include modern and contemporary literature, Shakespeare, Renaissance studies, Victorian literature and culture, and world literature in English.

Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.

Learn more about research in this area.

The writers at Brunel are all actively publishing and specialists in many areas of writing including:

  • all aspects of modern literary fiction
  • all aspects of contemporary commercial fiction
  • poetry, including for performance
  • women's and multicultural writing
  • horror and thriller writing
  • all aspects of fantasy fiction
  • post-colonial fiction
  • children's/ YA fiction
  • non-fiction
  • screenwriting
  • screen adaptation
  • comedy writing
  • writing for radio
  • writing for opera
  • autobiographical writing
  • female genital mutilation in Africa and the UK
  • the Fusion of creative writing and dramatherapy
  • creative writing for therapeutic purposes
  • autobiographical writing
  • female genital mutilation in Africa and the UK
  • the fusion of creative writing and dramatherapy
  • creative writing for therapeutic purposes

Information for international students

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 7.5 (min 7.0 in all areas)
  • Pearson: 73 (64 in all subscores)
  • BrunELT: 73% (68% in all areas)
  • TOEFL: 108 (min 20)

Fees and funding

Brunel offers a number of funding options to research students that help cover the cost of their tuition fees, contribute to living expenses or both. Recently the UK Government made available the Doctoral Student Loans of up to £25,000 for UK and EU students and there is some funding available through the Research Councils. Many of our international students benefit from funding provided by their governments or employers. Brunel alumni enjoy tuition fee discounts of 15%.

Qualification, course duration and attendance options

  • MPhil
    part time
    24 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    full time
    12 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
  • PhD
    full time
    36 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
    part time
    72 months
    • Campus-based learningis available for this qualification

Course contact details

Name
Enquiries
Email
enquiries@brunel.ac.uk
Phone
+44 (0)1895 265599