Creative Writing

Creative writing at its best is a discipline that teaches you not only how to write but how to think as a writer: attentively, imaginatively and with the disciplined awareness that every choice of word, structure and form creates effects in a reader. A degree in creative writing provides a structured environment in which your practice can develop alongside your critical understanding of what literature does, how it works and why some writing endures while other writing falls flat. It covers fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, non-fiction and emerging forms, and develops the technical command, conceptual ambition and revision habits that make writers grow.

At Sheffield Hallam University, this programme, which includes both a foundation year and a sandwich year, as well as work placement opportunities, is designed for those who want to harness the power of the written word and hone creative skills to connect with audiences. You will develop your individual writing style and build an understanding of good style, structure and character development across both traditional and future-facing writing formats, as the university's own description explains. The foundation year provides supported entry for those who need to consolidate their skills before the main degree, while the sandwich year gives you the opportunity to develop professional writing experience before your final year of study.

You will workshop your writing regularly, giving and receiving detailed critical feedback in a community of writers, and you will build a substantial portfolio across your years of study.

The skills creative writing sharpens, including clarity of expression, narrative thinking, empathy with an audience and the ability to revise toward a specific purpose, are as valuable outside the arts as within them.

Graduates go on to careers as writers, editors, copywriters, journalists, content creators, scriptwriters, literary agents, publishers, teachers and arts workers. Further study in creative writing or related disciplines is also a common route for those who want to develop their practice at postgraduate level.