Creative Writing Master's Degree - MA/PgD/PgC

Our modules are delivered over one year full-time or two years part-time. Your degree will total 180 credits: all modules are 20 credits, apart from the dissertation which is 60 credits.

The Plot Thickens: How Narrative Works, and How To Work With It

This module aims to introduce you to narrative concepts, including theories of narrative, plotting and storytelling. It will provide you with the opportunity to read writers who use narrative techniques in innovative ways and help you engage with the effects of these different techniques. This module will create a space in which you can use and experiment with these approaches to explore a broad range of narrative techniques in your own writing.

Writing Place: Singing Horizons and Invisible Cities 

In this module you will explore how writers engage with place and produce your own creative portfolio of place writing. Considering historical and contemporary texts that engage with the city, the edgelands, and the wild, you will explore genres such as nature writing, life writing, fiction and eco-poetics. You will interrogate the practice of writing place using critical frameworks such as psychogeography, hauntology, (post)colonialism and cultural concepts such as 'hiraeth' and 'being on country'.

Writing (R)evolution: Personal and Collective Change 

This module aims to introduce you to the various applications of creative writing and its impact beyond the arts. You will start by understanding the responsibilities of the writer's role and positionality and by developing awareness of the writer's voice. Through writing practice, the establishment of collaborations, and engagement with real-life projects, you will be encouraged and guided to use writing as a tool of community impact and change.  

Paths to Professional Writing: Developing Skills, Getting Published, Sustaining a Career 

This module aims to introduce you to the publishing process, allowing you to understand how books get published and why other books get rejected. The module will support you in becoming actively engaged with writing prizes and real publishing opportunities while you are studying. It will introduce you to the range of professional roles available to you after graduation and introduce you to real publishing professionals. The module includes a flexible professional placement element that will give you the opportunity to begin establishing a professional network in the publishing and creative industries. 

Literary and Critical Theory

This module introduces you to the major coordinates of literary and critical theory as it emerged in the twentieth century. You may cover theories such as semiotics, Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Formalism, New Criticism. You may also be introduced to politically-inflected theories such as those deriving from Marxism and cultural materialism, as well as feminist and queer theories. Students may also cover psychoanalytical, postcolonial and critical race theories, as well as more modern postcritical readings.

Research Methods

In this module you will be encouraged to compare and understand the alternative conceptual and technical approaches to research in English Studies. During lectures, seminars, and workshops, as well as during hours of independent study, we will review and critically evaluate the relevant, current literature in English Studies to provide you with a well-rounded toolbox to apply to your other modules. We will also focus on the methodological frameworks within which to undertake research and the ethical and political implications of these. Finally, students will develop skills and confidence in the application of a range of techniques and methodologies as well as an understanding of their responsibility and position as researcher.

Dissertation
The Dissertation module provides you with the opportunity to undertake a sustained, rigorous and independent creative project that will also involve an investigation of a specialised topic in the context of creative writing.

This MA Creative Writing degree is taught by active researchers and writers who regularly publish poetry, short stories, nonfiction, novels, hybrid work and more. 

Dr Ben Fergusson is an award-winning writer and translator who publishes both fiction and non-fiction. Dr Kate North is a poet, novelist, and short story writer who is particularly interested in applications of writing practice in health and community contexts. Dr Lucy Windridge-Floris is a novelist whose research focuses largely on creative writing for therapeutic contexts. Dr Sabrin Hasbun is an award-winning non-fiction writer whose work specialises in writing for and by marginalised groups.

Most modules are taught through group workshops, seminars, and online delivery.  Some modules will also include individual tutorials and the dissertation module is delivered largely through one-to-one tutorials with your supervisor. A critical but supportive environment is achieved through a combination of workshops, online learning, and extra-curricular activities.

Our modules are supported by our Virtual Learning Environment, Moodle, with designated course pages which carefully detail each week's topic and reading. All course materials (apart from primary texts) are made available in advance via this platform, which you can access remotely. Primary texts may be available online for free (if out of copyright) or will be stocked in our library.

All modules are 20 credits, apart from the dissertation which is worth 60 credits. In a 20-credit module you will receive 24 hours of timetabled teaching and you will be expected to conduct 176 hours of independent study. The 60-credit dissertation consists of a mixture of individual tutorials with your allocated dissertation supervisor (3 hours) and group tutorials (9 hours) and independent study (588 hours). Seminars are scheduled in the weekday evenings to be as inclusive and flexible as possible. If you are full-time, for instance, you will have classes on two weekday evenings each term (each evening session lasts two hours and is usually scheduled between 5pm and 7pm). In addition to this, you will study Research Methods in Term 1 and Literary and Critical Theory in Term 2. Research Methods is taught via four Saturday sessions of four hours each, four one-hour weekday tutorials, as well as non-scheduled online activities. Literary and Critical Theory is taught via four Saturday sessions of four hours, pre-recorded lectures, and online activities.

At Cardiff Metropolitan we recognise that student experience and outcomes can be enhanced through the support of a Personal Academic Tutor (PAT). You will be allocated a PAT when you join the University, who will support you on your educational journey and help you to make informed choices enroute to achieving your developing ambition, through both group and individual meetings.​

We have a variety of approaches to assessment across the programme depending upon the module. The majority of modules are assessed through creative writing (i.e poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, script or hybrid works) and through critical reflection on your work. Other modes of assessment include blog posts, posters, and presentations. 

You will receive tutor support in class and through our VLE in order to prepare you for each assessment point. Each module embeds dedicated time for assessment and we offer students one-to-one tutorials both before submission and after to discuss feedback. 

There are a range of wider facilities and support services on offer to support your progress, including library resources which can be accessed online or on campus and the Academic Practice team.

Many of our students use the course to generate and hone their own writing for publication. Our creative practice modules are designed with eventual publication in mind. Our assessments are designed around publication, performance and/or production.  Several of our students have had publication and industry success (see below). 

The MA is also a great choice for those wishing to enhance their employment and professional opportunities in editorial and publishing careers. The programme is suitable for those who would like to become teachers of English literature and creative writing as well as those who are already teachers. For example, teachers of English at 'A' Level and GCSE often find the course suitable for professional development purposes, providing them with skills to enhance their teaching of English Literature and Creative Writing within their current curricula.

Our MA is appropriate for those who would like careers in community-based education and practice, as well as those interested in the arts and heritage industries. The course also prepares you for further study at PhD level at Cardiff Metropolitan University and beyond.

This degree will encourage you to develop the valuable transferable skills of autonomy, effective collaboration, self-direction, organisation, initiative and adaptability that are highly regarded in the workplace.​

Applicants should usually have a 2.2 honours degree, in a relevant subject.

Selection Procedure:

You will be asked to submit an online application form, including a sample of your creative work. Please check the required Compulsory Supporting Documents here. Applicants may be interviewed via Teams or over the phone.

International Applicants:

Students whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence of fluency to at least an academic IELTS 6.0 standard with no sub-score lower than 5.5 or equivalent. For full details about how to apply and English Language qualifications please visit the International pages on the website.

Partner Employee Discount​

There is a fee discount of 25% available to part-time students who are employed in one of Cardiff Metropolitan University’s partnership schools for Initial Teacher Education and Training or partnership employer community. Eligibility criteria and terms apply. For further information please contact Admissions.​​

For general enquiries, please contact the Admissions Team on 029 2041 6044 or email askadmissions@cardiffmet.ac.uk.

For course specific enquiries, please contact Dr Elizabeth English.
Email: eenglish@cardiffmet.ac.uk