English with Creative Writing

English with creative writing brings together two complementary activities: the close critical reading that literary study demands, and the practice of making original work. Reading literature rigorously develops your sensitivity to how language works, how stories are structured, how voice and perspective operate, and how formal choices carry meaning. Creative writing develops those sensitivities in a different direction, asking you to make your own choices and to learn from the attempt.

The combination creates a feedback loop between reading and writing that deepens both.

At Queen's University Belfast, this three-year full-time degree gives you access to a wide range of literary periods and traditions, from the earliest writings in Anglo-Saxon through to contemporary Irish, British, and global literatures, studied in their historical, cultural, and material contexts. Language modules explore the history, structure, and function of English and its development over time. The creative writing component allows you to specialise across forms including prose fiction, poetry, and scriptwriting, working with some of the leading writers practising in the UK and Ireland.

A typical entry tariff of 136 points applies.

Graduates from English and creative writing programmes pursue varied paths. Many enter publishing, journalism, broadcasting, marketing and communications, education, the civil service, and the cultural sector. Others pursue writing careers alongside related professional work, or enter postgraduate programmes in creative writing, journalism, or publishing to develop their practice further.

The analytical and communication skills the degree develops, the ability to read closely, write clearly, and construct persuasive arguments, are valued across virtually every professional environment. The Belfast setting, with its distinctive cultural and literary scene, adds a particular richness to the programme.