Professional Writing

Program Overview

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Professional Writing MA

Overview

The Professional Writing MA is designed for those who want to turn their love of words and writing into a dynamic and fulfilling career. It will give you the skills, motivation, networks, and connections to work across a wide variety of industries – in publishing, journalism, public relations, advertising, as literary agents, copywriters, and copyeditors.

Course Structure

On the Professional Writing MA, you'll take three core modules and either the Professional Writing Project or the MA Dissertation. You can then choose two further 20-credit option modules.

Core Modules

The Story and the Book

You’ll be introduced to apparently familiar concepts – the story and the book – to interrogate their meaning, history, and evolution. In doing so, you’ll gain critical knowledge that will help you develop your writing practice across a range of media and forms, as well as encourage you to constructively challenge established norms.

• 20 credits

The Writing Business

This module focuses on employability and professional development through a blend of lectures and the management of the student-led magazine, The Wells Street Journal. Being a part of the journal, you’ll be introduced to various departments of magazine publishing: editing, typesetting, design, marketing, finance, and many more.

• 40 credits

Working with the Words of Others

This module sets out the critical framework for, and practical demands and issues in relation to, working with the words of others across a range of settings and media. Opportunities to put this into practice will be provided through practical workshops throughout the module.

• 20 credits

MA Dissertation or Professional Writing Project

You’ll take either the Dissertation or the Professional Writing Project:

• MA Dissertation: Development, execution, and writing-up of an independent research project on a topic of your choice. You’ll be required to attend regular research seminars as part of preparation for the dissertation. You’ll also benefit from individual supervision, which will provide topic-specific guidance.
  • 60 credits
• Professional Writing Project: The Independent Project is an extended piece of practice-based research work. It is designed as an opportunity for you to pursue, with supervision, a topic of personal interest in the broad field of professional writing. The project will have a practical and/or professional focus, for example, the creation of a written artefact with a short accompanying essay or a business proposal for a publishing venture.
  • 60 credits

Option Modules

English Worldwide

The primary focus of the module is on English as a lingua franca, the language variations, and creole linguistics. This module aims to examine in detail English in its multiple varieties and multiple uses across the world: native, nativised, and non-native varieties, regional variation within larger speech communities, use by monolinguals and multilinguals, and register differences according to use and user.

• 20 credits

Digital Magazine Publishing

This explores the digital tools that are used to build and design compelling interactive content. You will work in editorial teams to produce content for a new digital magazine edition, content-driven app, or CMS-based website.

• 20 credits

Mapping and Imagining the City: Non-Fiction and Poetic Writing

This module focuses on the methodological approaches and aesthetic preoccupations that underpin creative practices in non-fiction and poetic writing. This dual approach will enable students to develop simultaneously their own research methods and experiment with imaginative ways of representing the city.

• 40 credits

Multi-Media Journalism Skills

This module involves a comprehensive study of the concepts, multimedia skills, and techniques used in contemporary convergent journalism. You’ll explore news values to help develop a professional ‘news sense’ and a critical understanding of the news agenda through the relationship between newspapers, broadcast, and online news organisations.

• 20 credits

Persuasion, Propaganda, and Influence

Persuasion, propaganda, and influence are contested terms at the heart of public relations activity at all levels. This module aims to develop a clear understanding of these concepts and how a compelling message within a campaign or stand-alone communication can stimulate, persuade, mobilise, and ultimately influence human behaviour.

• 20 credits

Podcast Production

In this module, you will learn about the different facets of podcast making, exploring genres (e.g., journalistic/investigative, personal storytelling, fictional narrative, sports, comedy, interest groups) and the production techniques required for specific formats.

• 20 credits

The Small Press and Professional Writing

Small presses have played an important part in the cultural life of the UK publishing for over a hundred years. Since about 2010, small and independent presses have again become prominent and now publish some of the most influential and innovative work, in particular transforming the publishing of translated works in the UK.

• 20 credits

Entry Requirements

• A minimum of a lower second-class honours degree (2:2).
• If your first language is not English, you should have an IELTS 6.5 with at least 6.5 in writing and no element below 6.0.

Fees and Funding

• UK tuition fee: £4,950 (Price per academic year)
• International tuition fee: £9,000 (Price per academic year)

Teaching and Assessment

• Teaching methods across all our postgraduate courses focus on active student learning through lectures, seminars, workshops, problem-based and blended learning, and where appropriate practical application.
• Our postgraduate courses include a variety of assessments, which typically fall into two broad categories: practical and coursework.

Supporting You

• Our Student Hub is where you’ll find out about the services and support we offer, helping you get the best out of your time with us.
• Study support – workshops, 1-2-1 support, and online resources to help improve your academic and research skills.
• Personal tutors – support you in fulfilling your academic and personal potential.
• Student advice team – provide specialist advice on a range of issues including funding, benefits, and visas.
• Extra-curricular activities – volunteering opportunities, sports and fitness activities, student events, and more.