BA (Hons) in Creative Writing

• Study the craft of writing through a multi-genre approach
  • Move progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, enhanced by a workshop environment
  • Immerse yourself in an independent creative project in your final year
  • Attend the University of Winchester Writers' Festival – an opportunity to meet authors, publishers and agents

The goal of our Creative Writing course at Winchester is simple: we want you to become the best writer you can be. To help you achieve this our department of passionate and supportive lecturers runs a practice-based programme with workshops designed to encourage you to evolve as a writer in new and individual ways.

As one of the most successful creative writing programmes of its kind in the UK, you are encouraged to see all types of writing in relation to wider literary, cultural and professional contexts. Whether you are crafting novels, poems or scripts our widely published academics help you to demonstrate a high level of technical skill, an aptitude for self-expression, and a commitment to hard work and personal development.

The course seeks to move you progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, working on all genres of writing in the first year, and then allowing you to specialise in Years 2 and 3. Your work develops in a workshop environment bolstered by positive critical encouragement and direction throughout. Additional guidance is given on audience (for example, editor, agent or publisher) where appropriate.

In Year 2 , the focus becomes more specific with a choice of modules that concentrate on elements of different genres such as writing for children, media writing, poetry, song and play, film and TV script.

In Year 3 , the modules look increasingly at the relationships between writing and the world beyond the University, exploring publishing, producing, community audiences, writing and teaching. There is also an opportunity to work on an extended creative project in your chosen genre with one-to-one supervision from an expert in this field.

The course arms you with some fantastic transferable skills, such as confident and compelling storytelling, critical thinking and articulate expression. These abilities are valued in a variety of employment contexts including arts and entertainment as well as business and commerce.

The University of Winchester empowers students to reach their full potential and make a difference in the world. Set in Winchester, a beautiful, quintessential English city with a rich heritage and vibrant contemporary culture, the university’s friendly and compact campuses give students the benefit of city and campus living. We are well situated with excellent transport links allowing you to reach London or the coast in an hour, and Southampton Airport is just a 10-minute train journey away.

The university offers a selection of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees that are taught across our five faculties:

• Faculty of Business and Digital Technologies: A modern, forward-thinking faculty offering a range of disciples including Accounting, Economics, Business Management, Computer Science and Marketing.
• Faculty of Education and the Arts: Has a long and established history of providing high-quality degrees, and is home to the Institute of Education, Department of Education and Childhood Studies, Department of Performing Arts, and School of Media and Film.
• Faculty of Health and Wellbeing: Outstanding degrees that are committed to progressing health and well-being for all life. The faculty includes Nursing, Physiotherapy, Social Work, Animal Welfare and Sports degrees.
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences: Passionate about what makes us human, we offer research-led teaching and outstanding support in Anthropology; Archaeology; History; Psychology; Social Sciences including Politics and Geography; Philosophy; English and Creative Writing.
• Faculty of Law, Crime and Justice: Bringing together the department of Law and the department of Policing, Criminology and Forensics, the faculty uses an interdisciplinary approach to offer a dynamic range of degrees that offer the use of specialist facilities.