Our Creative Writing BA course has been designed to inspire high levels of creativity, initiative and originality in the design, production, interpretation and analysis of creative writing along with a chance to develop interdisciplinary projects.
You will be taught the key genres of creative writing by some of the most talented and original writers working today. Between them, they’ve published over 100 books, produced countless scripts for TV, radio and film, and won umpteen awards. The teaching team includes renowned authors like Bernardine Evaristo, Hannah Lowe and Max Kinnings.
From week one you’ll write and interact with your peer group of creative writers. You will share ideas and give constructive feedback to others on their creative work.
In your first year you’ll gain a solid grounding in how to write fiction, drama and poetry, and study world literature. You can choose a variety of subjects in your second year such as journalism and screenwriting. In your final year, the Creative Industries module helps you consider your career options and shape your future. Your final year Special Project will allow you to specialise in your chosen field and choose from a wealth of specialist options.
We invite many successful authors to give guest talks covering different aspects of creative writing. Industry expert speakers include book publishers, screenwriters, poets and broadcasters. You have the advantage of Brunel’s close location to London, the literary capital of the UK. You’ll benefit from trips to the British Library, Shakespeare’s Globe and West End theatres.
Our BA in creative writing can be studied full-time over three years, four years with a placement year, or part-time over six years.
We encourage the placement year option. This time helps you to further prepare for the world of work and you’ll have a year’s worth of invaluable professional experience when you graduate. If you decide to go on a creative writing placement year, you could find yourself working at magazine publishers, film production companies, or even the London Screenwriters’ Festival. Some placements lead to jobs on graduation.
You’ll have the opportunity to get your work published before you graduate. At least one anthology of creative work is produced each year, curated and edited by our creative writing students. We run many literary events including performance showcases, film screenings, and a student-led e-magazine, so there will be many ways for you to share your creative work.
Enrollment Cycles
September 2024
Entry Requirements
UK entry requirements
GCE A-level BBC.
BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma DMM in any subject.
BTEC Level 3 Diploma DM in any subject, with an A-Level at grade C.
BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma M in any subject, with A-Levels grade BB .
International Baccalaureate Diploma 29 points.
Obtain a minimum of 112 UCAS tariff points in the Access to HE Diploma with 45 credits at Level 3.
A minimum of five GCSEs are required, including GCSE Mathematics grade C or grade 4 and GCSE English Language grade C or grade 4 or GCSE English Literature grade B or grade 5.
EU and International entry requirements
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
IELTS: 6.5 (min 5.5 in all areas)
Pearson: 59 (59 in all subscores)
BrunELT: 63% (min 55% in all areas)
TOEFL: 92 (min R18, L17, S20, W17)
In the first year you will start building a portfolio of your creative writing. You will follow your interests in the second year and master the craft of creative writing in your final year. English is studied in all three years. Your final year major project is an in-depth study of a creative writing topic of your choice.
Please see programme specification for the specific optional module combination choices that are available.
This course can be studied 3 years full-time, 4 years full-time with placement or 4.5-6 years part-time, starting in September.
Year 1 Compulsory
EN1602 - World Literature, World Literacies
CW170 Creative Writing Practice
EN1705 - The Creative Process
Year 2 Optional
EN2016 - Writing Journalism
EN2017 - Writing the Short Story
EN2019 Screenwriting
EN2603 - Writing Contemporary Poetry
EN2606 - Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy
CW2601 - Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes
CW2600 - Life Writing
EN2001 Nineteenth-Century Novel
EN2002 Shakespeare Text and Performance
EN2607 - The Women’s Movement: 20th Century and Contemporary Writing
EN2011 - Post-Colonial Writing
EN2014 - Modernism
EN2021 - Romanticism and Revolution
EN2610 - Contemporary British and Irish Fiction
EN2605 - Genre Fiction
Year 3 Compulsory
EN3000 Creative Writing Special Project
EN3613 - The Creative Industries
Optional
EN3028 - Writing Modern Fiction
EN3029 - Writing Comedy
CW3600 - Writing Film and Television
EN3612 - Writing Poetry for Performance
AH3600 - Psychogeography
EN3022 - Victorian Literature and Culture
EN3032 - Jane Austen and Her Novels
EN3609 - Post-War and Late Twentieth-Century Literature, 1945-2001
EN3605 - Modern and Contemporary Lesbian Literature
EN3617 - Violence
EN3039 - The Muslim World in Early Modern English Literature
EN3619 - Chaucer to Shakespeare
EN3618 - Reading for Writers / Writing for Readers
