| Program start date | Application deadline |
| 2024-09-01 | - |
| 2025-09-01 | - |
Program Overview
The Creative Writing and Journalism BA (Hons) program at the University of Chester fosters writing skills and critical thinking in both creative writing and journalism. Students develop expertise in poetry, fiction, scriptwriting, and journalistic techniques, including news writing, photography, and video production. The program emphasizes industry relevance, offering opportunities for work-based learning, overseas experiences, and connections with eminent authors and journalists.
Program Outline
Degree Overview:
The Creative Writing and Journalism BA (Hons) program aims to help students develop their writing skills and understand the principles of good writing. The program provides the opportunity to learn about writing poetry, drama, and fiction, and to write critically. There is a strong focus on contemporary literature, and the Department has connections with eminent authors, allowing students to place their Creative Writing studies in an exciting wider context. The program offers guidance on how to get published, so students can share their writing with others. The Journalism course emphasizes the development of relevant skills needed for a fast-moving industry, with a focus on adapting to changing environments. Students learn news research and writing, photography, video, and audio production techniques, including podcasting. The program also focuses on digital and technical skills, and all of the faculty have extensive experience in journalism.
Outline:
Year 1
Creative Writing
- Writing Poetry: Finding Your Voice (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module introduces students to the basic techniques of writing poetry and poetry criticism. It explores the essential concept of "poetry" through a close examination of key texts, both old and new. Students are encouraged to develop their own poetic writing skills and to share their work in group discussions and workshops.
- Writing Fiction: How to Craft a Story (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module introduces students to the basic techniques of prose writing. Students learn about plot, voicing, characterization, irony, beginnings and endings, through the examination of exemplary shorter fictional texts. The module emphasizes the relationship between critical understanding and creative practice.
- Scriptwriting (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module introduces students to dramatic storytelling and the craft of writing scripts for a range of mediums, including stage, screen, and radio. The module covers narrative, plot structure, character development, and theme. Students develop basic scriptwriting, treatment writing, and pitch skills.
Journalism
- Introduction to Journalism (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module introduces students to a variety of journalistic practices and provides an understanding of the current context of the journalism industry. Students learn about soft skills, such as note-taking and listening, as well as core skills, such as interviewing. They also produce material for a group publication and learn about basic pedagogic competencies, such as referencing and internet and library research.
- Journalism Regulation (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module provides an introduction to the key aspects of law and ethics for journalists. Students learn about the principle legal and ethical frameworks and processes that affect journalists in their professional practice, including court reporting, contempt, defamation, privacy, journalism/media ethics, and regulatory codes.
- How to be a Journalist: Essentials (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module focuses on hard news writing, mobile journalism (MOJO), journalistic social media use, and feature-writing. Students are introduced to basic photography, audio-visual skills, design, social media, and multimedia content management. The module supports students' subject interests (e.g., music, sport).
Year 2
Creative Writing
- Children’s Literature: Genres, Forms, Functions (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module introduces students to various forms of children's literature across a range of genres. Students explore the connections between genre, form, audience, and ideological functions in children's literature.
- Flash Fiction (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module provides a detailed understanding of flash fiction. Students analyze a wide range of flashes and present their own flash fiction in seminars/workshops.
- Poetry: Other Voices, Other Forms (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module provides a detailed practical understanding of the range of narrative voices and forms available to poets. Students are encouraged to move beyond the confessional mode to employ a variety of narrative voices and to try out a range of poetic forms.
- Professional Writing and Publishing (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module equips aspiring writers with knowledge that will help them get their work published and potentially earn income as a writer. The module also provides insight into the publishing industry and develops professional writing skills.
- English at Work (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module offers students the opportunity to reflect on their transferable employability skills and to apply them in a relevant workplace context.
- Experiential Overseas Learning (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module involves preparation for an overseas learning experience. Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours.
- Year abroad study exchange (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module involves preparation for study abroad at one of the University of Chester's partner universities. Students will undertake study at a partner university, taking a series of modules that equal a full-time study load.
- Introduction to TESOL/TEFL (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module is designed for Modern Language or English Language students intending to spend a year abroad or considering teaching English as a Foreign Language.
- Experiential Project (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module allows students to spend several weeks working on one major project in a professional, "simulated real world" working environment.
- Enhancing your Employability through Work Based Learning (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module aims to enhance students' prospects of gaining graduate level employment through engagement with a University approved work placement.
Journalism
- Experiential Overseas Learning (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module involves preparation for an overseas learning experience. Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours.
- Year abroad study exchange (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module involves preparation for study abroad at one of the University of Chester's partner universities. Students will undertake study at a partner university, taking a series of modules that equal a full-time study load.
- Experiential Project (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module allows students to spend several weeks working on one major project in a professional, "simulated real world" working environment.
- Journalism - The Long View (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module examines the historical development of journalism and locates this within the wider social, economic, and political context.
- The Politics of Social Media (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module explores the impact of social media on the political process and on mainstream journalism.
- Specialist Journalism (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module further develops expertise in researching, generating, and communicating news.
- Journalism Production: Theory & Practice (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module focuses on developing the multimedia skills needed in a contemporary newsroom.
- Research Methods for Journalists (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module provides an overview of academic research methods in the field of media, communication, and journalism studies.
- Enhancing your Employability through Work Based Learning (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module aims to enhance students' prospects of gaining graduate level employment through engagement with a University approved work placement.
Year 3
Creative Writing
- Science Fiction (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module involves the analysis of a range of science fiction texts.
- Crime, Deviance and Subversion (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module offers students the opportunity to apply the critical skills acquired studying literature to explore how and why writers represent, question, and problematize concepts of crime, deviance, and subversion in their work.
- Young Adult Fiction (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module introduces students to a range of twenty-first-century young adult fiction.
- The Writing Project (Major Compulsory - Equal Optional - Minor N/A): This module enables students to pursue and complete a selected extended writing project.
- The Script (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module focuses on aspects of writing for performance, such as structure, characterization, dialogue, and staging.
- Developing Professional Practice (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor N/A): This module creates the opportunity for students to reflect on their existing skillset and hone their professional competencies and skills in readiness for careers in the creative industries.
Journalism
- Negotiated Study (double) (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor N/A): This self-directed module allows students to initiate and develop their own major project ideas appropriate to their discipline of study.
- Dissertation (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor N/A): This module gives the student the opportunity to research in depth and write at length about a topic of their own choice.
- Current Affairs and Conflict Journalism (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module takes a contemporary approach to the analysis of current affairs reporting and other forms of political communication during times of conflict.
- Magazine Publishing (Major Compulsory - Equal Compulsory - Minor Compulsory): This module extends the student's experience of journalistic practice.
- Journalism in a Post-Truth World (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module examines and critically evaluates the ethics of journalism in the context of a fragmented media marketplace.
- Sustainable Journalism (Major Optional - Equal Optional - Minor Optional): This module allows students to look afresh at the "crisis" in public communication and journalism, and requires them to implement feasible sustainable solutions.
Assessment:
Assessment varies from module to module: students compile portfolios of creative writing; write critical and self-reflective prose; and also do a range of other kinds of assessed work. There are no formal written exams. If students choose Journalism as their major subject, they will also have the opportunity to undertake a dissertation or major creative project.
Teaching:
The program is taught in seminars and workshops with newsroom-style classrooms for Journalism. Teaching includes guest speakers working in journalism, opportunities to report on live events (e.g., matches, games, live performances, music gigs, court visits), and other activities specific to the student's chosen journalistic specialism.
Careers:
Creative Writing graduates typically follow careers in such areas as journalism, editing, teaching, copywriting, marketing, arts administration, librarianship, broadcasting, and public relations. Many follow up their degree with postgraduate study. Journalism students have gone on to work for journalistic organizations, including news agencies, online and print news publishers. Some have taken a freelance approach, forging careers in niche aspects of journalism. Others have embarked on careers in PR, copywriting, and more.
Other:
This course is designed around in-person study. There may be some online learning activities. The program offers an innovative Work Based Learning module where students spend five weeks working for a host organization. The program also offers an Experiential Overseas Learning module with short-term placements around the world. Students also have the opportunity to study abroad for a full academic year at one of the University of Chester's bilateral exchange partners or through ISEP (International Student Exchange Programs). The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service that provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences, including practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications, and mock interviews.
Tuition Fees and Payment Information:
Home Students
Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2024/25 are £9,250 a year, or £1,540 per 20-credit module for part-time study. The University may increase these fees at the start of each subsequent year of your course in line with inflation at that time, as measured by the Retail Price Index. These fee levels and increases are subject to any necessary government, and other regulatory, approvals. Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.
International/EU Students
The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2024/25 are £13,950. This fee is set for each year of study. All undergraduate students are eligible for international and merit-based scholarships which are applicable to each year of study. For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section. Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.
Additional Costs
Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees. If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.
