Creative Writing

Entry requirements

We will consider all applicants with 2:2 or above, or equivalent international qualifications. For some courses, there may be additional requirements which can be found on our website.

Months of entry

October

Course content

Our challenging, practice-based course offers you a unique approach to the practice of writing, emphasising innovation and experimentation in your work. On our MA Creative Writing, you deepen your knowledge of literary tradition, exploring different modes and genres in order to develop your own creative and expressive written skills. You expand your use of creative writing techniques and improve your critical judgement of your own work.

Our course encourages you to develop your writing by stepping outside your comfort zone and discovering the different approaches to verbal art that are possible today. This will invigorate your own practice, whether you are writing psychogeography, plays, novels, stories or something else. You will choose from a variety of modules, covering topics such as: Development of a novel plan, from research and concept-development, to plotting, character, and structure Experimental language play of the Oulipo group across the short story, autobiography, cartoons, cookery and theatre Psychogeography, writing about walking, place, landscape, history and the psychic environment Poetic practice across experimental writing in poetry from the performative to the visual To help you hone your craft, we also host a Royal Literary Fund Fellow, professional writers on-hand to help you develop your writing on a one-to-one basis, and regularly host talks and readings by visiting writers. Essex has nurtured a long tradition of distinguished authors whose work has shaped literature as we know it today, from past giants such as the American poets Robert Lowell and Ted Berrigan, to contemporary writers such as mythographer and novelist Dame Marina Warner, and Booker Prize winner Ben Okri.

This course is also available on a part-time basis.

Information for international students

Entry requirements

You can find international entry requirements for most countries on our webpage www.essex.ac.uk/international. If your country is not listed, please contact Postgraduate Admissions at pgadmit@essex.ac.uk.

Pre-sessional English Language courses

If you need to improve your English language skills before joining your main degree course, we offer pre-sessional English courses on our campuses in partnership with Kaplan International Pathways. To learn more, please visit www.essex.ac.uk/international/pre-sessional

Funding

You can explore scholarship opportunities for your country at www.essex.ac.uk/international or view our university-wide scholarships at www.essex.ac.uk/scholarships.

Fees and funding

There are a wide range of funding options for postgraduate study, including scholarships, bursaries and alumni discounts. You can check your eligibility at https://www.essex.ac.uk/postgraduate/masters/fees-and-funding.