Program Overview

English and Creative Writing BA (Hons)

Overview

The BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing degree course is an excellent foundation for a career in writing, editing or publishing. As a writer, you develop a strong feeling for language and the linguistic tools available to you. You extend your boundaries and stretch yourself to refine your writing technique.

Course Details

Year 1 Core Modules

• Literature Now: Writing and Audience
  • Explore and analyze professional writing including online articles, reviews, ‘how to’ guides, interpretative writing and live texts using augmented reality technologies.
  • Work towards your final portfolio using the workshop space to experiment with different forms and approaches to professional writing.
  • 20-credit module.
• On and Off the Page: Critical and Creative Skills in Practice
  • Get an introduction to critical and creative skills and techniques to support you in developing your own reading and writing.
  • Learn how to apply close reading techniques to a range of texts and voices, across different forms, genres and global perspectives.
  • 40-credit module.
• Romantics to Victorians: Literature, Culture, and Society
  • Consider how romantic and Victorian literature is influenced by so many factors - the political revolution in Europe and beyond, a rising discussion of rights, the Woman Question, and industrial, economic and scientific transformations.
  • Focus on the period between the French Revolution and Queen Victoria's death in 1901 to explore the dynamic relationship between their historical and cultural context.
  • 40-credit module.
• Words Matter: Writing for Social Change
  • Investigate key writers, past and present, who have played or continue to play a role in social change.
  • Address questions about why studying literature and creative writing matters.
  • 20-credit module.

Year 2 Core Modules

• Colonial and Postcolonial Writing: Global Voices in Context
  • Examine colonial-era and postcolonial literary texts, including poetry, fiction, short fiction, drama, and life-writing.
  • Consider different historical perspectives on, and legacies of, empire, from a range of country contexts including South Asia, Africa, Australasia, as well as America and Europe.
  • 40-credit module.
• Future Directions: Research, Careers and Development in the Humanities
  • Develop graduate skills in preparation for further study, employment or lifelong learning, through engagement with our Student Futures team and humanities practitioners.
  • Gain insight into career pathways and explore the opportunities available to humanities graduates, including as educators, policy-makers, publishers, facilitators, communicators, and creatives.
  • 20-credit module.
• Make it New: Experimental Writing
  • Explore modernism as one of the most innovative and artistic movements of the 20th century, whilst examining your own experimental writing practices.
  • Examine the diverse ways of writing in the early 20th century by experimenting with new methods of writing whilst reflecting on your own style.
  • 40-credit module.
• Representation and Cultural Identity: Student Conference
  • Examine key theoretical perspectives on the representation of identity in relation to a range of concepts – such as class, gender, race, sexuality and disability – as constructed in and represented by contemporary culture.
  • Investigate these ideas in relation to a contemporary cultural text of your choosing and present your research as a paper at a student conference.
  • 20-credit module.

Final-Year Core Modules

• Contemporary Debates in Creative Writing
  • What does it mean to facilitate or be part of a writing group? How do you find an agent, or publish your writing? What are the links between writing and well-being? What are some of the central debates in creative writing and publishing today?
  • Gain the tools and skills that help you to understand issues and ethics in a variety of professional settings for writers.
  • 20-credit module.
• Creative Writing Project
  • Through a major piece of creative writing, you explore a specific type of writing in depth and reflect on the process involved in its production.
  • Develop your skills in working both autonomously and in small groups, with guidance from your supervisor.
  • 40-credit module.
• Doing Research: Developing Your Specialism
  • Gain the skills and knowledge to devise, develop and execute an extended independent research project in an area of critical or creative practice.
  • Develop advanced research skills including reflective practice, critical research, creative practice-based research, self-management, and research project management, preparing you for your dissertation and creative writing project.
  • 40-credit module.
• Writing Genre
  • Address what is meant by genre writing and how this can be used to engage readers.
  • Consider writers’ approaches to a range of genres, forms and modes of writing across fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
  • 20-credit module.

How You Learn

• At Teesside University you learn in a range of settings from discussion-based seminars to independent research, small group work, one-to-one meetings and workshops.
• Reading groups and peer support play an important part in your learning too.
• You’ll work with lecturers who are experts in teaching and learning as well as being scholars, researchers and writers.

How You Are Assessed

• With no formal examinations, you are assessed through creative-critical projects, essays, portfolios, reports, presentations, manifestos and a major final-year writing project, all of which develop advanced skills in creative, academic and professional writing, as well as high-level presentation and communication skills.

Entry Requirements

• A typical offer is 96-112 tariff points from at least two A levels, T level or equivalent.
• If you are a mature applicant with an Access qualification or no formal qualifications, do contact the admissions tutor.

Employability

• Graduates are well prepared to work as editors and writers in publishing houses or freelance writers for the creative industries.
• Other potential career paths include journalism, media and communication, retail management, arts administration, civil service, education, performing arts and the law.

Information for International Applicants

• International applicants - find out what qualifications you need by selecting your country below.

Tuition Fees

• Full-time: £9,535 a year (UK applicants), £17,000 a year (international applicants)
• Part-time: £4,635 (120 credits) (UK applicants)

Other Course Routes

• Study this course with a foundation year if you need additional preparation or if you don't have sufficient grades to join Year 1.
• BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing (with Foundation Year)