MA Contemporary Creative Writing

The Master of Arts in Contemporary Creative Writing at Northeastern University London equips students with the knowledge, craft skills and discipline needed to be a creative writer now. There are more routes to publication available than ever before. However, navigating the twenty-first century literary marketplace requires specialist skills and knowledge alongside artistic prowess.

From the moment they join our MA program, our students are considered writers and supported in achieving their personal and professional creative goals. Diverse contemporary authors and publication platforms are foregrounded, and contextualized by the study of significant shifts in the literary landscape over the last 25 years. This enables students to situate their creative practice in today’s marketplace, develop awareness of avenues for artistic expression, and gain professional skills suitable for the creative industries. All courses are led by published authors who are also experienced academics at the forefront of Creative Writing as a discipline.

This fully online MA aims to be flexible and inclusive, with full- and part-time study options. Writers evolve their creative practice in a supportive and structured online learning environment, suitable for a writing community including recent graduates, lifelong learners, returners to education, and writers with well-being or access needs.

Students will take courses that explore fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, scripts, and screenplays alongside each other and others that enable them to specialize in favored forms. A combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning tasks means writers can work in a way that accommodates their individual lifestyles. These include lively online forums, interactive learning activities, creative writing workshops, face-to-face webinars, and regular bespoke feedback from tutors on works-in-progress. Community is central: although working at a distance, students work closely with peers and tutors on developing craft, critical, and editing skills, preparing them to work professionally with editors, producers, agents, publishers, and publicists.

Writers can choose to enrich their online experience by attending Northeastern University London&rsquo's annual in-person Summer Writing Series at an additional cost. This option is open to all MA students but is not a required element of the program. Participants will be able to meet peers and tutors, write together, and attend a series of live literary events curated by the Creative Writing Faculty. Events may include author talks, creative industry Q&A;, guest lectures, professional role plays, and live workshops.

Our MA in Contemporary Creative Writing is an innovative, flexible program which aims to draw together writers from across the world. This enables diverse experiences, encounters, and perspectives to inform a truly global outlook on being a creative writer today.

Why study at Northeastern University London?

Northeastern University London offers a vibrant, collegiate community delivering broad and academically rigorous degree programmes, designed to equip graduates with the combination of skills and knowledge that are increasingly desired by organisations, employers and society.

As part of Northeastern University's global campus network, all students have access to Northeastern's vast online library. Undergraduate students have the option to spend a semester abroad studying at one of Northeastern University's US campuses, while NU London's alumni benefit from generous alumni scholarships to study for their master's degree at one of Northeastern's North American campuses.

Undergraduate degrees

Undergraduates enjoy an extraordinary level of flexibility in choosing subjects and courses to create a bespoke programme of studies for their degree, that is tailored to their academic interests and their future aspirations. They can choose to focus on a single academic discipline for their degree or to combine the main subject of study with one or a range of complementary subjects and interdisciplinary themes.

Subjects and thematic pathways include:

• Art History (Elective only)

• Business

• Computer Science

• Creative Writing (Elective only)

• Data Science

• Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

• Economics

• English

• History

• Law

• Philosophy

• Politics & International Relations

• Psychology

• Sociology (Elective only)

• STEM (Elective only)

• Sustainability (Elective only)

Masters degrees

The University's postgraduate programmes are cutting-edge courses exploring the intersection of the humanities and science. Studying at Northeastern Univeristy London is an enriching pursuit, both personally and professionally, and postgraduate students play an integral role in the ongoing development of the overall vibrant collegiate community.

Our master's programmes foster advanced skills in critical questioning, information gathering, synthesis and analysis, coding, and oral and written communication.

Exceptional teaching

Teaching at Northeastern University London comprises interactive lectures, seminars, and small group tutorials. Some of our courses are delivered through a high number of scheduled teaching or ‘contact’ hours, while others focus on smaller, more personalised, guided independent study, or hands-on or community-based projects. Most lectures and seminars will have around 20-30 student participants, while tutorials will typically have five or fewer students, and may sometimes be one-to-one. This personalised approach to teaching allows everyone to participate and thrive

Our standing

Since the University’s inception, it has developed a reputation for delivering an unrivalled university experience, consistently exceeding all Russell Group universities for overall student satisfaction in the UK's National Student Survey (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022).

Our graduates

NU London offers an intensive learning experience and immense opportunities for individual growth. Students who choose to study at the University develop into assured, well-rounded, eloquent individuals with a capacity for independent critical thought and intellectual debate, impressive research skills, a range of interests and passions, and an understanding of how to apply their studies to the world at large.

The University believes in teaching versatile skills and behaviours, relevant to a wide range of industries. The subjects offered embed skills that are transferable to an array of careers and jobs, including arts, technology, finance, law, journalism, publishing, civil service, and advertising.

Alumni have gone on to work for prestigious companies such as Accenture, BBC, Civil Service, Deutsche Bank, M&C Saatchi, PwC and Slaughter & May. Graduates have pursued further study at leading institutions, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, LSE, UCL, King’s College London, the University of Chicago, the New School in New York, and Northeastern University.