MA or PGDip or PGCert in Creative Writing

Program Overview

The MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University empowers aspiring writers to hone their craft under the guidance of renowned authors. The program equips graduates with skills for careers in writing, as well as industries that value critical thinking and creativity.

Program Outline

Degree Overview:

The MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University aims to help students hone their writing craft to a professional level, regardless of their experience. The program focuses on providing a supportive environment for writers to develop their skills and gain insights from published experts. The program is taught by acclaimed professional writers who have been published worldwide. Students will benefit from the guidance of creative writing fellows and visiting lecturers, including Patience Agbabi, Sally Bayley, and Steven Hall. The program emphasizes developing a strong understanding of craft and its application across various literary genres and forms. The MA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes offers flexible awards allowing students to complete a Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) or Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert) if they choose not to pursue the full MA.

Outline:

The program's structure includes:

• The Writing Studio (Compulsory Module):
This core module aims to push students beyond their comfort zones and encourage critical thinking about their writing practices. It emphasizes exploration and experimentation, fostering a willingness to challenge conventional approaches.
• Optional Modules:
• Bringing a Story to Life:
This module delves into the techniques used by successful authors to achieve their aims, exploring narrative construction through elements like plotting, pacing, perspective, and structure.
• Writing Poetry Now:
This module examines contemporary poetry in terms of function and form, with a focus on students' own writing alongside the study of both contemporary and traditional poets.
• Writing the Lives of Others:
This module explores various forms of life writing, including autobiography, biography, hagiography, diaries, and fictional recreations of real lives.
• Writing Voice:
This module focuses on exploring methods for creative writing in relation to voice, analyzing works by contemporary authors across different forms (poems, novels, short stories) to inspire students to experiment with different voices in their own work.
• Independent Study:
This module provides students with the opportunity to design their own course of study, focusing on an area of writing that particularly interests them.

Assessment:

Students are assessed through:

• Portfolios of creative writing:
These portfolios include accompanying critical essays, providing regular feedback and strengthening students' self-assessment skills.
• A final Writing Project:
This final project is a substantial piece of creative writing in the chosen form and genre.

Teaching:

The program employs a variety of teaching and learning methods, including:

• Collaborative seminars
• Presentations and shared readings
• Group workshops
• Visiting notable speakers
• One-to-one supervision
• Research
• Writing and rewriting
The teaching staff includes experienced writers and creative writing fellows who offer guidance and mentorship.

Careers:

The MA in Creative Writing equips students with the skills necessary for careers in various fields, including:

• PR, marketing, and communications
• NGOs and charities
• Research
• Teaching
• Higher education
• Publishing
• Media and journalism
While the program aims to produce successful writers, it also recognizes that many graduates utilize their skills in other industries, where critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and research are highly valued.

Other:

• The program boasts a strong research emphasis, with all teaching staff recognized experts in their field who contribute to the published canon of work.
• The Oxford Brookes Poetry Centre provides a platform for discussion, research, and community engagement in poetry, sponsoring readings by poets and hosting regular seminars.
• Research supervision is offered in various areas, including:
• English 20th-century poetry
• Irish writing
• Modernist drama
• Witchcraft in the 19th century
• John Clare and eco-criticism
• Sir Walter Scott
• Ben Jonson
• Shakespeare
• Theatre and science
• Utopia
• Contemporary literature
• Thomas More
• Modernist poetry
• Stylistics
• Creativity
• Franz Kafka
• Victorian religion
• Literature and war

Tuition fees for the MA in Creative Writing are as follows: 2023 / 24 Home (UK) full time: £8,700 (Masters); £7,700 (Diploma); £4,350 (Certificate) Home (UK) part time: £4,350 International full time: £15,800 2024 / 25 Home (UK) full time: £9,150 (Masters); £8,150 (Diploma); £4,575 (Certificate) Home (UK) part time: £4,575 International full time: £16,950 Fees quoted are for the first year only. If you are studying a course that lasts longer than one year, your fees will increase each year. The following factors will be taken into account by the University when it is setting the annual fees: inflationary measures such as the retail price indices, projected increases in University costs, changes in the level of funding received from Government sources, admissions statistics and access considerations including the availability of student support. How and when to pay Tuition fee instalments for the semester are due by the Monday of week 1 of each semester. If the leaving date is after week 4, full fees for the semester are payable.