MA in Creative Writing
Manchester Metropolitan University
Key Information
Campus location
Manchester, United Kingdom
Languages
English
Study format
Distance Learning, On-Campus
Duration
1 - 2 year
Pace
Full time, Part time
Tuition fees
GBP 16,500 / per year *
Application deadline
Request info
Earliest start date
Aug 2024
* UK and Channel Island students: £8,500 per year | EU and non-EU International students: £16,500 per year
Introduction
At the heart of the Manchester Writing School are our master's programmes in Creative Writing, available to study on campus in Manchester and also from anywhere in the world via online distance learning.
In our Master of Arts (MA) Creative Writing programme, you will explore and practice techniques and styles of modern and contemporary writing and apply these through the development of your own creative work. You will undertake a taught element blending writing workshop with reading units and an elective, and then complete your studies through submission of an extended piece of writing from a proposed full-length book or script.
You will specialise in one of the following routes: novels (including Short Fiction), Poetry, Writing for Children & Young Adults, Scriptwriting (for stage, screen or radio) or Creative Non-Fiction.
The MA is available to complete in one year full-time or two years part-time. The Novel, Poetry and Scriptwriting routes are available to study on campus (full-time or part-time) or online (part-time only). The Writing for Children and Creative Non-Fiction routes are online (part-time) only. We have intakes to the programme in September and January each year.
You can also choose to pursue our MFA Creative Writing master's.
Features and benefits
- One of the most successful programmes of its kind in the UK today – with more than 100 students and graduates publishing their first books in the past ten years.
- An extensive calendar of events - including The Manchester Children's Book Festival, The National Creative Writing Industry Conference, Manchester Writing Competition Gala, Poetry Festivals, book launches, podcasts, and question and answer sessions with guest writers at Manchester Met and Manchester arts venues.
- Industry links - strong links to the publishing industry with visits from major agents, editors and publishers.
- Flexible learning - classes for core Workshops and Reading units take place in the evenings (6-8 pm UK time) during the autumn or spring semesters. Full-time students usually have classes two evenings per week, and part-time students one evening per week.
- Live online teaching - the course can be completed entirely online, with core Workshop and Reading unit teaching for distance learning students via weekly online classes in Microsoft Teams, and some elective units also available online (availability varies each year).
- Option units - all students take 30 credits of optional units and can choose from a range of 15 and 30-credit creative writing units or options from courses across arts and humanities subjects, including English studies and publishing. Option units run in the spring semester; delivery models and schedules vary depending on choice and availability.
- An extended piece of writing - all MA students will complete an extended piece of writing from a proposed full-length book or script, supported by a term of one-to-one supervision.
- Gain an MFA – students who successfully complete the MA can continue their studies for an additional year, completing a further 120 credits (which includes writing a full-length book or script) and gaining an MFA.
- Academic expertise - taught by high-profile writers and critics including Carol Ann Duffy DBE, Susan Barker, Laura Barnett, Andrew Biswell, Malika Booker, Kirsty Bunting, Sarah Butler, Eleanor Byrne, David Cooper, Nikolai Duffy, Paul Evans, Catherine Fox, Rachel Genn, Chloe Germaine, Blanka Grzegorczyk, Oliver Harris, Andrew Michael Hurley, Sarah Ilott, Rachel Lichtenstein, Anjum Malik, Alistair McDowall, Andrew McMillan, Livi Michael, Helen Mort, Kim Moore, Gregory Norminton, Adam O'Riordan, Minoli Salgado, Michael Symmons Roberts, Monique Roffey, Jean Sprackland, Simon Stephens, Joe Stretch, Alex Wheatle MBE, Julie Wilkinson and Lara Williams.
- Visiting Fellows – our course features contributions from our visiting fellows, including Ed Caesar, Mandy Coe, Tim Cresswell, Amanda Dalton, Steve Dearden, Guy Garvey, Colin Harvey, Jennifer Makumbi, Rachel Mann, Shirley May, André Naffis-Sahely, Ra Page, Stephen Raw, David Shook, Hugh Stoddart and Barry Wood.
- Home to Manchester Poetry Library - Manchester Poetry Library is the North West's first public poetry library and holds over 10,000 books and recordings that can be explored through the online catalogue, in person and through the annual programme of events.
Admissions
Curriculum
Course information
At the heart of the Manchester Writing School are our master's programmes in creative writing, available to study on campus in Manchester, and also from anywhere in the world via online distance learning.
MA Creative Writing can be tailored to suit your writing preferences by following a specialist route in novels (including Short Fiction), poetry, writing for children & young adults, scriptwriting (for stage, screen or radio) or creative non-fiction.
This MA blends writing workshops, where you produce and develop your own work-in-progress with regular feedback from tutors and fellow students, with reading courses, which look at the techniques, forms and styles used by a range of writers in modern and contemporary literature. All students also take 30 credits of optional units and can choose from a range of 15- and 30-credit creative writing units or options from courses across arts and humanities subjects. The final piece of work for the MA is the dissertation – an extended piece of creative writing from a proposed full-length book or script.
The MA is available to complete in one year full-time or two years part-time. The novel, poetry and scriptwriting routes are available to study on campus (full-time or part-time) or online (part-time only). The writing for children and creative non-fiction routes are online (part-time) only. We have intakes to the programme in September and January each year.
Year 1
Classes for core Workshops and Reading units take place in the evenings (6-8 pm UK time) during the autumn and spring semesters. Full-time students take all of their units in a single year and usually have classes two evenings per week. Part-time students spread these units over two years (study pattern may vary depending on specialist route) and usually have classes one evening per week. All students take 30 credits of option units, which run in the spring semester; delivery models and schedules vary depending on choice and availability. The MA concludes with the Creative Dissertation, completed through independent study with one-to-one support from a Dissertation Supervisor.
Core units
- Creative Dissertation (60 Credits)
- Reading Unit 1 (30 Credits)
- The Workshop (2 X 30 Credits)
Optional Units
- American Spaces
- Creative Project (15 Credits)
- Crime Fiction (15 Credits)
- Cultures Of Disability
- From Historical Fact To Contemporary Fiction (15 Credits)
- Green Writing (15 Credits)
- How To Build A Children's Story (15 Credits)
- Nineteenth-Century Literature And Culture
- Reading Unit 2 (30 Credits)
- Remaking Games: Creativity, Play And Communication (15 Credits)
- Teaching Creative Writing (15 Credits)
- The Industry (30 Credits)
- Utopias And Dystopias (15 Credits)
- Writing About Relationships (15 Credits)
Placement options
The Manchester Writing School is one of the UK's leading schools of creative writing. It is also home to ground-breaking outreach activities, international writing competitions, a series of city-wide literary events, innovative publishing projects, the Manchester Children's Book Festival, and the new Manchester Poetry Library. These activities provide you with many opportunities to get involved and develop your experience in a number of exciting directions.
Program Tuition Fee
Career Opportunities
More than 100 of our students and graduates have embarked upon publishing careers, launching their first books, with many more achieving publication in journals and magazines, winning writing awards and prizes, and setting up small presses and anthologies. Our alumni include winners of the Costa First Novel Award, Forward Poetry Prize and Yale Windham-Campell Prize, and a long-listing for the Man Booker Prize.
Our School plays a leading role in establishing Manchester as a city of writers with a commitment to finding diverse new voices and creating opportunities for writer development, enabling new writing and building audiences for the next generation of talent. Manchester has been designated a UNESCO City of Literature in recognition of its thriving live literature scene, with a year-round programme of author events, writers’ forums, networking opportunities and open mic nights.
We are home to a suite of ground-breaking outreach projects including the Manchester Children’s Book Festival and Mother Tongue Other Tongue, an international multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages are spoken in schools in the UK. Our Manchester Poetry Library holds over 10,000 books and recordings that can be explored through our online catalogue, in person and through our annual events programme. Our School has a strong Manchester presence, with links to many of the city’s major cultural and arts organisations, and also a global reach with students and alumni based across the UK and continental Europe, and in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Our strong partnerships and innovative projects mean that you will have plenty of opportunities to develop your industry experience and network.
Upon completion of this course, you may decide to pursue PhD study or to develop a career in bookselling, agenting, publishing, editing, the media, or teaching creative writing. You will have access to the Careers and Employability Hub located in the Business School at Manchester Met, offering a host of information resources, one-to-one careers support, and employability events throughout the year. This service is also available for up to three years after you graduate.