Program Overview

New Zealand Diploma in Writing for Creative Industries

Overview

The New Zealand Diploma in Writing for Creative Industries is a one-year, full-time diploma or part-time program that offers flexibility through eight-week blocks of teaching. This online program allows students to study around other commitments and develop skills in genres including short fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, and poetry.

Level and Duration

• Level: 5
• Duration: 1 year, full-time, part-time (study options)

Domestic Fees

• $7,280 (indicative for 2025 intake)

What You Will Learn

Develop your strengths, your critical eye, your knowledge of how the writing business works, and discover where you fit in the vast landscape of writing. Become part of a vibrant writing community.

Students may write and submit work in English or te reo Māori.

Courses

• Poetry I
  • Explore the many varied forms of writing poetry and introduce you to the Aotearoa/New Zealand poetry community.
  • Create a portfolio of your own work, gaining a good understanding of what makes poetry work and how to critique it.
• Culture & Contexts
  • Introduce students to historical, social, and cultural influences writers engage with in their creative work.
  • Identify, and analyse personal preferences and experiences, review artistic and creative practice, explore a range of New Zealand writers and their work, discover social and cultural contexts of what it means to be a writer in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and give context to te Tiriti o Waitangi and tikanga Māori through creative writing.
• Scriptwriting (screen)
  • Provide an introduction to the craft of visual writing and the process of developing a screenplay.
  • Create your own script outline, and write a short film script – a good starting point into writing for the film industry.
• Non-Fiction
  • Learn the skills of writing creative non-fiction for specified audiences and purposes through a range of factual forms.
  • Draw from memory and write a personal essay, write a feature article for a magazine, and create a proposal for developing a non-fiction book.
• Short Fiction I
  • Develop your understanding of the craft of writing, laying the foundations for creating engaging fiction.
  • Do writing exercises, engage your imagination, and work closely with other writing students.
  • Create a portfolio of short fiction, revised and polished with the support of online writing workshops.
• Short Fiction II
  • Challenge you to develop your writing craft and technical skills.
  • Work closely with other writing students, critiquing work and growing your understanding of what makes writing come alive on the page.
  • Recommended to complete Short Fiction I before Short Fiction II, as the learning in this course builds on Short Fiction I’s foundations.
• Writing for Children
  • Teach material from renowned children's author, Joy Cowley, forms the core of this module, guiding you through the requirements of writing for young people and introducing you to the landscape of Aotearoa/New Zealand’s children’s authors.
  • Focus on writing chapter books and short stories for children, but also explore myth, folktales and fairy stories, children’s non-fiction, and writing a picture book text.
• Editing
  • Improve writers’ general ability to edit their own work to a high standard.
  • Deal with common problems with grammar and style, using quick quizzes to test your learning, and teach you the essentials of copy-editing.
  • Build your confidence by copy-editing a range of texts, with the support of feedback.

Entry Requirements

• NCEA Level 3 or equivalent qualification/work experience or New Zealand Certificate in Creative Writing (Level 4), and evidence of ability based on a portfolio.
• The programme is suitable for school leavers and recommended secondary school subjects and levels and/or vocational pathways are English, Creative Writing, Social Studies, History, Geography, Media Studies and the Sciences.

International Students

• Proven equivalence of entry requirements plus IELTS 6.0 (no band lower than 5.5).

Related Study Options

• Graduate Diploma in Publishing (Applied)