Creative Writing (with Foundation Year)

Program Overview

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Program Outline

COURSE OVERVIEW

Study the craft of writing through a multi-genre approach

Set yourself up to flourish in your degree and beyond with our Foundation Year

Move progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, enhanced by a workshop environment

Immerse yourself in an independent creative project in your final year

Attend the University of Winchester Writers' Festival – an opportunity to meet authors, publishers and agents

The goal of our Creative Writing course at Winchester is simple: we want you to become the best writer you can be. To help you achieve this our department of passionate and supportive lecturers runs a practice-based programme with workshops designed to encourage you to evolve as a writer in new and individual ways.

As one of the most successful creative writing programmes of its kind in the UK, you are encouraged to see all types of writing in relation to wider literary, cultural and professional contexts. Whether you are crafting novels, poems or scripts our widely published academics help you to demonstrate a high level of technical skill, an aptitude for self expression, and a commitment to hard work and personal development.

A Foundation Year is the perfect way to boost your academic skills, build your confidence and develop your wider subject knowledge so you can succeed at Winchester. This course offers an extra year of study at the start (Year 0) which leads onto a full degree programme (Years 1, 2 and 3).

A Foundation Year is ideal if you are returning to education after a break; haven’t quite achieved the entry qualifications required; are wanting more support during the transition to studying at university; or are unsure about which subject you wish to pursue.

In Year 0, you will study a set of modules from across the Faculty of Arts which are designed to develop your academic and practical skills. This broader focus in your first year introduces you to studying at university level and provides you with a better understanding of Creative Writing and related subjects.

You will experience a variety of teaching methods including lectures, discussion-based seminars and independent study. You will also receive support to boost your academic skills to prepare you for the rest of your time at Winchester. Find out more and hear from our Foundation Year students at

winchester.ac.uk/foundation

The course seeks to move you progressively through a structured series of writing assignments and exercises, working on all genres of writing in the first year, and then allowing you to specialise in Years 2 and 3. Your work develops in a workshop environment bolstered by positive critical encouragement and direction throughout. Additional guidance is given on audience (for example, editor, agent or publisher) where appropriate.

In Year 2, the focus becomes more specific with a choice of modules that concentrate on elements of different genres such as writing for children, media writing, poetry, song and play, film and TV script.

In Year 3, the modules look increasingly at the relationships between writing and the world beyond the University, exploring publishing, producing, community audiences, writing and teaching. There is also an opportunity to work on an extended creative project in your chosen genre with one-to-one supervision from an expert in this field.

The course arms you with some fantastic transferable skills, such as confident and compelling storytelling, critical thinking and articulate expression. These abilities are valued in a variety of employment contexts including arts and entertainment as well as business and commerce.

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Careers

Graduates become professional writers or follow careers in publishing, advertising, marketing, teaching or other professions that require advanced communication skills. Recent graduates have successfully set themselves up as freelance writers.

Many of our graduates choose to go on to further study, both at Masters and Doctoral level. Recent graduates have also successfully set themselves up as freelance writers, or else gone into a variety of areas of employment including public service, charitable and community work, administration, teaching, publishing, banking, law, PR, marketing, copywriting, estate agency, sales authorship, recruitment, optometry.

The University of Winchester ranks in the top 10 in the UK for graduates in employment or further study according to the Graduate Outcomes Survey 2021, HESA.

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Pre-approved for a Masters

If you study a Bachelor Honours degree with us, you will be pre-approved to start a Masters degree at Winchester. To be eligible, you will need to apply by the end of March in the final year of your degree and meet the entry requirements of your chosen Masters degree.