Program Overview

BA (Hons) Creative Writing

The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University specialises in the development of writing talent across a wide range of established and new forms, from prose fiction, screenwriting, and poetry to digital art, spoken word, and writing for computer games. You will be taught by writers who are experts in their field - award-winning poets, novelists, screenwriters, and content creators.

Course Overview

At the Manchester Writing School, you will develop a distinctive and powerful voice and acquire a close understanding of the craft of writing. You will be challenged to work across a range of forms, to develop stories and creative projects across diverse media, and to take your work into the world. You will cultivate advanced creative and critical abilities, the capacity to self-motivate, collaborate, pitch ideas, develop complex multi-factor projects, and transmit these to a range of audiences.

Features and Benefits

• You will learn from the experience and expertise of a wide range of leading poets, novelists, and scriptwriters based at The Manchester Writing School, one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the UK.
• Ranked in the top 15 universities in the UK for creative writing (Complete University Guide 2025).
• Staff include award-winning poets and writers, including winners of the Costa First Novel Award, the Forward Prize, and the Ted Hughes Award.
• You will have access to the many conferences, readings, research programmes, festivals, and competitions run by the department.
• You can take the four-year route, spending a year studying overseas, or boost your career prospects with a placement in industry.

Year 1

You will explore genres and understand these in terms of formal and thematic properties. You will explore the relationships between poetry, prose, and drama by familiarising yourself with some of the major works that define each genre. You will also consider the reasons why writers make generic and formal choices, and in your own creative writing, you will be encouraged to experiment in genres and forms, engaging critically with issues raised by each.

Core Modules

• Reading and Writing Mancunia (Creative)
• Crafting Worlds: The Art of Storytelling
• Crafting Images: Language and Technique
• Creative Practice 1: Becoming a Writer

Year 2

In your second year, you will begin to specialise by selecting writing workshop modules in poetry, prose, scriptwriting, and digital taught by practising writers. You will experiment and engage with issues raised by formal choices, such as point of view and diction, and develop your workshop and editorial skills.

Core Modules

• The Art of Adaptation: Remake/Remodel
• Creative Practice 2: The Writer's Studio
• Make It Now: Creative Workshop

Year 3

If you choose one of our four-year routes, Year 3 will be spent on placement or studying abroad. In your final year, you will undertake a creative project and also take your work beyond the page into professional contexts; and alongside this, you will be able to choose from a range of option modules to suit your interests.

Core Modules

• Creative Practice 3: Beyond the Page
• Creative Project: Writing for Publication

Study and Assessment

• Year 1: 25% lectures, seminars or similar; 75% independent study
• Year 2: 25% lectures, seminars or similar; 75% independent study
• Year 3: 100% placement (optional)
• Year 4: 20% lectures, seminars or similar; 80% independent study
• Assessment: 100% coursework

Entry Requirements

• Typical offer: 104-112 UCAS tariff points
• IELTS score: 6.0 overall with no component below 5.5
• UK students: 104-112 UCAS tariff points, GCE A levels - grades BCC or equivalent
• International students: IB Diploma with minimum 26 points overall or 104 UCAS Tariff points from three Higher Level subjects

Fees and Funding

Tuition fees for the 2026/27 academic year are still being finalised for all courses.

Careers Support and Prospects

• Employed or in further study: 88.7% of our UK-domiciled, full-time, first-degree graduates are employed or in further study 15 months after graduation.
• Graduate Outcomes survey 2021/22 leavers, HESA data.
• Through our Careers Service, you will be supported and encouraged to get ready for further study or working life, including starting your own business.
• Our groundbreaking research with industry means we have unrivalled business connections that can help open doors to your dream career.

Related Courses

• BA (Hons) English
• BA (Hons) Film and Media Studies
• BA (Hons) English and Multimedia Journalism
• BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing

Disclaimers

• Programme review: Our programmes undergo an annual review and major review (normally at 6-year intervals) to ensure an up-to-date curriculum supported by the latest online learning technology.
• Important notice: This online prospectus provides an overview of our programmes of study and the University. We regularly update our online prospectus so that our published course information is accurate.