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Degree

• BA (Honours) Arts and Humanities (Creative Writing)

  This is one of several specialist routes available in our BA (Honours) Arts and Humanities (R14). The degree starts by developing your understanding of the world we live in through a variety of perspectives, periods and subjects – including creative writing. You’ll then take two specialist creative writing modules, exploring a range of approaches to writing. You will develop your writing skills in several genres including fiction; poetry; life writing; and scriptwriting for film, radio and stage. Through being supported to develop your own pieces of writing, and by engagement with the module materials, you will develop important skills in complex argument and critical commentary.

  Alongside your study of creative writing, you can also study a second specialism from art history, classical studies, English language, history, modern languages, music, philosophy and religious studies. This will entitle you to include both subjects in the name of your degree, or complete your degree with modules chosen from a wide range of options.

• BA (Honours) English Literature and Creative Writing

  This degree course offers a stimulating and wide-ranging introduction to English literature and creative writing. You’ll have the opportunity to study and interpret literature from different historical periods and diverse cultural settings – including translations – and to develop your writing skills in several genres including fiction; poetry; life writing; and scriptwriting for film, radio and stage. 

Level 1

• Discovering the arts and humanities (A111)

  Do you want to know more about how people have expressed themselves through the ages and around the world? If so, this module is for you. Studying the arts and humanities helps us to learn about what people thought and felt throughout history, as well as how the things they created influence the world we live in today. The module is built around three themes: 'reputations', 'traditions' and 'crossing boundaries'. It invites you to discover people, events, practices, ideas and works of art from three thousand years ago to the present day. No qualifications or previous study experience are needed, and there is lots of support available to help you succeed if this is your first module at university level.

• Cultures (A112)

  How are cultures produced and encountered, and why does it matter? These questions are examined in this module through the key themes of place, power, literary ‘classics’, and journeys. You'll learn about contemporary cultures and relationships between cultures throughout history, discover how and why cultural identities emerge, and explore how they are expressed using texts, images and objects. After exploring a range of case studies from classical studies, art history, English literature, and creative writing, you'll investigate these themes with specific reference to your choice of one of these subject areas..

Level 2

• Creative writing (A215)

  This module takes a student-centred approach to creative writing, offering a range of strategies to help you develop as a writer. The emphasis is highly practical, with exercises and activities designed to ignite and sustain the writing impulse. The five-part module starts by showing ways of using your memory and experience and building a daily discipline. This is followed by demonstration and practice of the three most popular forms – writing fiction, writing poetry, and life writing (biography and autobiography). The concluding part aims to demystify the world of agents and publishers, teaching you how to revise and present your work to a professional standard.

Diploma

• Diploma of Higher Education in Arts and Humanities

  This diploma of higher education encompasses a wide range of fascinating disciplines including art history, classical studies, creative writing, English language, English literature, French, German, history, music, philosophy, religious studies and Spanish. As you work through the course, you’ll develop your cultural literacy and deepen your understanding of the past – while sharpening your critical awareness and skills of debate and analysis.  

Level 3

• Advanced creative writing (A363)

  Advanced creative writing develops your writing ability by widening your generic range and developing your knowledge of style. The module works on the forms introduced in the OU level 2 module Creative writing (A215) – fiction, poetry and life writing – and supplements these with dramatic writing, showing you how to write for stage, radio and film. You’ll explore how these scriptwriting skills might enhance your prose style, improve your writing across the range of forms, and further develop your individual style and voice. The module offers guidance on professional layouts for the dramatic media, and is a natural progression from Creative writing (A215).

Postgraduate Modules

• MA Creative Writing part 1 (A802)

  Building on skills learned at undergraduate level or as a practising writer, this module helps to harness your individual strengths, helping you to generate and develop ideas. You will build a disciplined practice of writing in a genre of your choice (fiction, poetry, scriptwriting or creative non-fiction), while also experimenting with at least one other genre. You will develop a practical focus, come to read as a writer, encounter texts from various cultural settings, while refining your analytical and editorial skills. You will learn about professional writing practice, and hone your writing skills through sharing, reading and critiquing work-in-progress.

• MA Creative Writing part 2 (A803)

  This module is the second part of the MA in Creative Writing. You will build on skills that you have acquired in part 1, whilst at the same time being challenged to develop those skills further in your primary genre specialism.

  Throughout this module you will specialise in one of four writing genres: fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction or script. The module is organised into four teaching blocks and a further section of independent study where you will develop your ideas into a sustained piece of creative writing produced to a professional level.

Masters

• MA in Creative Writing

  This qualification is an exciting opportunity to develop your skills as a writer in fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction and scriptwriting for film, radio and the stage. You will be able to write in a genre of your choice and experiment with at least one other through practical and inspiring activities. You will hone your writing practice through sharing, reading and critiquing work in progress, and will work towards producing a substantial piece of your own creative writing to a professional standard.