Creative Writing MA (PGCert PGDip)

Why study with us?

• Chance to develop as a portfolio writer and creative practitioner – somebody who can apply good writing to real-world scenarios and work to specific briefs

• A transformative experience that goes beyond looking to get your first novel published, so you can explore copywriting and publishing while nurturing your passion for storytelling

• Guest lectures from publishers and professional writers. Guest writers in 2017/18 have included John Mccullough, Eleanor Knight, Errina Mettler, Emma Donoghue and Tanaka Mhishi

• Links with local publishers, writers and creative companies, with placements available across Brighton

• Theatre visits, open mic nights and exciting events, including a short story slam at Brighton festival

• Online journal and in-house creative anthology for you to share your work with other students and the wider community

University of Brighton Literature Society (BULS) Open Mic Night

Areas of study

You will be able to tailor your MA studies to reflect an interest in writing practice, literary theory, community engagement or any combination of these.

We identify the range of modules as intrinsic to catering to diverse creative and intellectual needs and understand that triggers for writing and creative practice can stem from a wide range of places and fields of study.

We have specific modules dedicated to engaging students with the wider Brighton community and local creative industries where they will become a writer in residence and work to link their individual creative practice with a professional scenario.

You will be able to identify teaching and learning opportunities that inspire your creative work and apply this to your professional, academic and personal development and planning.

Syllabus

Core modules

• Practising Rhetoric
• Narrative: The art and design of storytelling
• Communities of Practice
• The Process of Publishing
• Dissertation

Option modules

• Prose Fiction
• Poetry Theory and Practice
• Auto/Biographical Narrative
• Cultures of Multimedia Authoring and Web Design
• Writing for Academic Publication

Staff profile

Jess Moriarty 

Jess Moriarty researches in the field of pedagogy in writing practice, especially in auto-ethnographical academic writing and in creative writing with undergraduates.

She graduated from the University of Sussex with a Creative Writing MA in 2002 and joined the University of Brighton soon after. Jess won a Teaching Excellence award for her workshops with undergraduates, in which she aims to ignite inspiration and motivation with the writing process.

Jess is the co-founder of Work Write Live, which provides a range of writing short courses and volunteering opportunities for students across arts and humanities courses to develop the vocational and academic skills they are acquiring on their degree programme. She has been interviewed by the Times Higher Educational Supplement about her workshops and won an Innovation Award for her retreats, where participants are encouraged to develop confidence with writing and speaking. Under the banner of Work Write Live, students are able to run open mic evenings, produce creative writing anthologies and organise an end-of-year graduate show.

Jess's doctorate looked at how to make academic writing more personal and creative and included a play based on her autobiographical and researched experiences with academic life. Her work looks at cross-disciplinary practice, community engagement and linking creative processes with the employability agenda.

Meet the rest of the course staff:

Craig Jordan

Student views

Louise Clement

"The part-time route in the Creative Writing MA has been inspiring and practical. The course has offered guidance, direction and a vital opportunity for critiquing both my writing and writing practice.

"In attending various workshops and events, I’ve begun to feel part of a community of writers. I have felt continually supported by the expert advice from the university and encouraged to develop as an independent professional creative practitioner. The result of this creative validation has been to propel my own practice in poetry filmmaking, setting up a writers’ collective and a collaboration that has led to an event in the Brighton Fringe.

"While my focus has always been poetry, through my learning on the modules I have begun new practices in graphics, audio and film, which have come to be essential to my own creative expression."

International equivalencies

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

Fees

Scholarships, bursaries and loans

We offer a range of scholarships for postgraduate students. Bursaries and loans may also be available to you.

Find out more about postgraduate fees and funding.

Info

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2019–20.

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.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. 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. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee-paying status.

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Falmer campus