University course · real outcomes from HESA / Discover Uni · part of Careermash
University degree

Literature and Creative Writing

The University of Essex
Qualification
Degree
Length
4 yrs
UK fees / yr
£9,535
Study
Full-time
Worth knowing: about 25% of students don't make it past first year here - ask the uni what support they offer.
Robin · your guide
Here's the honest picture on this course - what you'd study, whether you'd likely get in, what it pays, and where it leads. Everything's real data.
About this course

On our BA Literature and Creative Writing you deepen your knowledge of literary tradition to develop practical skills of understanding, expression & invention. All writers are first of all readers and all readers are writers, for without the active participation of readers a book is never fully realised. Our BA Literature and Creative Writing offers a unique approach to the practice of reading and writing, combining more familiar British and American perspectives and readings with other influential schools of writing, from the study of tradition and myth to the innovative practice of the Workshop of Potential Literature or Oulipo in France.

You deepen your knowledge of literary tradition across a variety of genres in order to develop your practical skills of understanding, expression and invention. Pursue your love of reading and explore some of the most important novels, poems, and plays from the United States, the Caribbean and Europe while developing your own writing through a variety of planned readings and writing exercises. We'll teach you to be your own editor; critically judging your own and others' work is invaluable in transforming your work from something good to something great.

At the beginning of your course, you receive a highly focused introduction to the study of literature alongside intensive modules in creative writing, covering myth, innovation and tradition, prose, and poetry. A module on writing for radio allows you to go into a studio and record a radio play.

Could you get in?
The grades students arrived with
64-79 pts5%
80-95 pts10%
96-111 pts15%
112-127 pts10%
128-143 pts15%
144-159 pts10%
160-175 pts5%
176-191 pts5%
How they qualified
85% got in with alevel. The rest came in a mix of ways:
alevel85%
other10%
none5%
Could I get in? Try your grades
120 UCAS pts
Pay & prospects
75%
Continue past first year
85%
Student satisfaction
What graduates earn over time
£24,000
3 years on
£28,000
5 years on
What students say National Student Survey
85%
of students are satisfied with the course overall
Teaching89%
Assessment & feedback82%
Academic support81%
Well organised82%
Learning resources84%
Student community87%
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Where this degree can lead
Like the look of it?
When you're ready, the full entry requirements and application are on The University of Essex's own site.
Apply on uni site
Careermash · real course data from HESA / Discover Uni, in plain English.

Career data: role, pay and progression profiles built for Careermash's careers engine; AI-impact estimates from Anthropic's observed AI-usage telemetry and OpenAI's AI Jobs Transition Framework. Course data: HESA / Discover Uni, including Graduate Outcomes, LEO and the National Student Survey. Apprenticeships: IfATE-published standards, approved only.

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