English Literature and Creative Writing

English literature and creative writing are disciplines that naturally belong together. Reading literature with care, attention to craft, and awareness of how writers make their choices is itself a form of training for writers, while the discipline of writing helps you understand literature from the inside, seeing how technical decisions shape meaning and effect. Together, the two disciplines create a practice of engaged reading and purposeful writing that develops both critical and imaginative capacities simultaneously.

At Aberystwyth University, this four-year full-time programme begins with a foundation year, providing a supported introduction to degree-level study for students who need to consolidate their preparation before tackling the main degree. Once in the main programme, you will study a wide range of literature in English alongside the practice of creative writing across different forms and genres. The department offers a close-knit learning community where students work alongside one another and with staff who are themselves practising writers and scholars.

The creative writing element includes workshop-based learning, where your work is read and discussed in a supportive but rigorous environment, developing your writing through detailed feedback and critical reflection. Aberystwyth's location and the department's culture of creative inquiry provide an inspiring context for this kind of study. With a typical entry tariff of 72 UCAS points, the programme, including the foundation year, is designed to be accessible.

Graduates from English literature and creative writing programmes pursue careers in publishing, journalism, copywriting, arts administration, education, marketing and communications, and the wider creative industries. Many graduates continue to develop as writers alongside other work, and the degree provides a strong platform for those ambitions. Postgraduate options include creative writing, literature, publishing, and journalism programmes, and some graduates go on to careers in academia and research.