Creative Writing

Creative writing at degree level is a serious and disciplined engagement with the craft of fiction, poetry, and other forms of literary composition, combining the development of your own practice with the study of how literature works and why. Good creative writing programmes do not simply encourage you to express yourself freely, they develop the technical understanding of form, structure, voice, and genre that allows expression to become art, and they situate your practice within the traditions and contemporary conversations that any serious writer needs to know. The programme demands both creativity and intellectual rigour.

At the University of Chester, this three-year full-time programme includes a year abroad, giving you the opportunity to study in another country and to experience creative writing practice and teaching in a different cultural and literary context. You will write across multiple forms, including fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, and possibly screenwriting or other forms, receiving structured workshop feedback on your work from tutors and peers. You will also study literary texts with the close attention that informs writing practice, developing your understanding of how writers make their effects and how you can deploy similar techniques in your own work.

The year abroad adds an international dimension that many writers find genuinely enriching, both creatively and personally. A typical entry tariff of 120 points reflects the programme's broad accessibility.

Creative writing graduates pursue careers in publishing, journalism, copywriting, content creation, scriptwriting, broadcasting, teaching, and the wider creative industries. The skills the degree develops, including the ability to write in multiple registers, to give and receive feedback constructively, and to revise work with discipline and self-awareness, are valued by employers well beyond the obviously literary. Further study at master's level in creative writing is a common next step for those who want to develop their practice further or pursue a career in writing, editing, or literary criticism.