Creative Writing BA(Hons)

Course structure

Full-time students will have a minimum of nine hours' contact time a week in a range of lectures, seminars and workshops but they will be expected to carry out independent study for the rest of their time. Part-time study is possible and this can be tailored to suit individual needs.

There are placement opportunities available in the second year as well as field trips to theatres, museums, schools, retirement villages and other community organisations. You are also welcome to study abroad after your second year.

Research informs all our teaching and you will benefit from the insight generated by our staff during their research. You will learn through lectures, seminars and workshops as well as small group and individual tutorials.

Our courses are reviewed and enhanced on an ongoing basis in order to make sure that what you learn with us is relevant and that your course enables you to develop appropriate skills. When you apply to study with us, we will inform you of any new developments in your chosen programme through our applicant portal.

Year 1

In your first year you will develop your awareness of writing genres and work with local writers. 

Modules

• Narrative and Narratives

  This module acts as a bridge from your earlier experiences of reading narrative texts and will encourage you to reflect on those early experiences. You will be introduced to a variety of narrative texts and genres (including early forms such as fairy-tales and myths) and to key issues in narrative theory. The module offers you an awareness of narrative as central to being human and allows you scope to explore narratives in creative and personal as well as critic always in a journal.

• Literature and Theory

  This module will introduce you to the key philosophical and theoretical approaches to the reading of literary texts, and situates that knowledge within a historical overview of literary criticism. By the end of the module you will be able to apply theoretical vocabulary and knowledge of critical concepts in the interpretation of literary works.

• Practices of Reading and Writing

  In this module you will build on and identify skills and techniques essential to the study and expression of writing, focusing through close reading on writerly techniques to apply to your own critical and creative practices.

  Practical workshops on reading and writing skills will be supplemented by creative workshops and master classes led by professional writers, enabling you to develop confidence with your reading and writing processes and develop research and presentation skills through individual and collaborative work.

• Storying The Self

  This module will introduce you to practices of storying the self in writing and digital media. Through creating a first person story combining audio script, music and still image, you will engage with the expressive complexities of autobiographical representation. The module will also give you the creative writing tools to experiment with storying the self in a variety of written genre.

• Drama in Society

  This module will introduce you to drama as both performative and literary texts. The module approaches drama through practical, textual and theoretical readings, as well as through placing drama in its social and political contexts. How do plays engage with the world we live in today? The module focuses on twentieth century dramatic texts in order to explore the role and function of drama in society. You will look at, for example, naturalist drama, Brechtian drama, theatre of the absurd, feminist theatre, postcolonial theatre, and in-yer-face theatre.

• Brighton Writes

  Brighton is a vibrant and unique place that has impacted on British and European culture, as well being at the forefront of social changes since the eighteenth-century. This module is a literary and cultural exploration of Brighton as a place. You will engage and connect with Brighton’s history, literary culture and your own creative writing practice. The module benefits from several city trips, which will bring learning materials to life.

Year 2

Modules

• The Art of Publishing
• Literature in Practice
• Research and Practice
• Creative Writing: Process and Craft

Options*

• Writing for Stage, Radio and Screen
• Early Modern Literature
• Twentieth-Century Literary Experiments
• Literature and Art History
• Poetry and Process
• Introduction to Journalism
• Photography
• Life Online: Digital Media and Culture
• Studying Travel Writing
• Queer Writing
• Video Documentary Project
• Reading the Graphic Novel

You can also choose option modules from across our humanities and arts subjects.

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Final year

Modules

• Dissertation
• Final Year Conference

Options*

• Autoethnography
• Reading and Writing Landscape
• Creative Writing Project
• Images of War
• From Script to Screen
• Community Placement: Theory in Practice
• Russian Literature
• Women’s Writing and Feminist Theory
• Restoration Drama
• Gothic: Texts and Contexts
• Victorian Sexualities
• Brighton Rocks
• Writing the Contemporary
• Post-colonial Literatures
• Post-war American Literature
• European Literatures and Film
• Adaptations
• (Re)Viewing Shakespeare
• Literature and Philosophy
• Apocalypse, Utopia and Dystopia
• Popular Culture: Europe and Beyond
• Conflict, Migration, Borders
• Culture Wars: Class, Race, Gender and the Politics of Taste
• Literature and the World Wars
• Literature and the World Wars
• Public Journalism
• Autobiography and the Screen

*Option modules are indicative and may change, depending on timetabling and staff availability.

Meet the team

Craig Jordan-Baker, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing. Winner of the 2018 Excellence in Facilitating and Empowering Learning Award. Craig’s drama has been widely performed, and his writing widely published. Craig has just finished his new book and will be embarking on a promotional tour in the summer months. You can read more about Craig on his staff profile.

Dr Jess Moriarty researches in the field of teaching writing practice, especially in auto-ethnographical academic writing and in creative writing with undergraduates. Another winner of the Teaching Excellence award, she is also co-founder of Work Write Live, which provides a range of writing short courses and volunteering opportunities for students to develop vocational and academic skills. You can read more about Jess on her staff profile.

Ross Adamson, Senior Lecturer in Media and Digital Storytelling. His research interests are in narrative inquiry, documentary filmmaking and auto/biographical pedagogies. You can read more about Ross on his staff profile.

Julie Everton, Senior Lecturer, playwright and script editor. She teaches drama, script writing, and screenwriting. Her research includes writing about real events/people, models of script development and autoethnography. You can read more about Julie on her staff profile.

Craig Jordan-Baker

International requirements and visas

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Visas and immigration advice

Course fees

What's included

You may have to pay additional costs during your studies. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. A summary of the costs that you may be expected to pay, and what is included in the fee, while studying a course in the School of Humanities are listed here.

• For a number of courses you will have the opportunity to attend field trips and off-site visits. These are optional and are not required to pass your course but under normal circumstances we would expect a budget of approximately £150 per year will cover the costs of particular trips. The amount spent would be based on location and number of trips taken.
• You will have access to computers and necessary software, however many students choose to buy their own hardware, software and accessories. The amount spent will depend on your individual choices but this expenditure is not essential to pass any of our courses.
• In most cases coursework submissions are electronic but you may wish to print notes and should budget up to £150 per year for printing.
• Course books are available from the university but you may wish to budget up to £200 to buy your own copies

You can chat with our enquiries team through the Stay in touch panel at the end of this page if you require further information. Or check our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as more information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2020–21.

Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee.

You can find out more about our fees in the university's student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full-time or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

Local area

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Falmer campus