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Creative Writing MA

UK

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What will I learn?

The course

This course allows you to develop your work as a writer to a professional level, going beyond the personal to write with an engaged sense of literary culture, its social role and contemporary practices. The MA is designed for students with an established writing practice who are intending to develop their creative writing beyond first-degree level. It is also designed for those students wishing to proceed to MPhil or PhD. This MA is taught in Bedford Square in Central London, in the heart of literary Bloomsbury, putting you within walking distance of publishing houses, bookshops, major UK libraries and all of the other cultural attractions of Central London.

You will take one of four distinct pathways:

  • Fiction
  • Literary Non-Fiction
  • Poetry
  • Poetic Practice

While the pathways share a similar structure, they are taught separately so as to ensure you can work to a consistently high level. Please see the Course structure section below for more details on each of these.

The MA ranks among the top creative-writing courses in the country and is taught by leading writers whose work encompasses a wide range of approaches and styles.

Teaching & assessment

You will work in small groups and with extensive individual attention. We are looking for people who will flourish from working intensively within a rigorous and experimental but supportive environment. In addition to workshops, you will take modules in Supplementary Discourses and Reading as a Writer, seminars designed to enhance your understanding of your own practice as well as the broader literary context in which you will be situating your work.

You will submit creative and critical coursework, and will undertake a final practical project and dissertation on practice.

In the summer term, you will receive individual supervision and will be offered a programme of events and masterclasses introducing you to leading writers, editors and agents who can advise on next steps. Enhancing the experience, there are regular readings and talks given by students, staff and visiting writers.

Your future career

A significant number of our Creative Writing students have become published authors or found work in publishing, the media and agencies.

We have an impressive record for placing graduates in academic jobs.

This course will give you a distinctive, creative edge in careers such as publishing, teaching, writing and journalism, administration and marketing.

Which department am I in?

English

Study options

Full Time (1 year)

Tuition fees
£21,700.00 (23,64,350) per year
There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course.

This is a fixed fee

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please

Start date

Expected September 2025

Venue

Central London

11 Bedford Square,

London,

WC1B 3RF, SOUTHERN ENGLAND, England

Entry requirements

For international students

2:2 UK or equivalent degree in single or combined honours English. Applicant will be required to provide a writing sample, prose of up to 5,000 words or at least 12 pages of poetry reflecting their chosen pathway: Fiction, New Prose Narratives, Poetry, Poetic Practice. Students need to have IELTS: 7.0 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5; TOEFL iBT: 97 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

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About Royal Holloway

International students can enjoy a diverse community at Royal Holloway where over 130 countries are represented.

  • Based in Egham, Surrey, 19 miles from central London
  • One of the world’s most beautiful campuses
  • Scholarships specifically for international students
  • English language and pathway programmes available