MA Creative Writing

Why Choose This Course

Surrey&rsquo's MA Creative Writing is about more than just words. It's a pathway to finding your own unique literary voice.

Drawing on the experience of our published writers and academics, you;ll discuss intriguing literary theories and writing techniques, discover how to find your niche, and engage with the publishing world. As part of our School of Literature and Languages, you’ ll share ideas within a diverse, creative community and be able to attend a calendar of events that will broaden your thinking and develop your writing skills – this includes the annual Surrey New Writers’ Festival and Morag Morris Poetry Lecture.

As part of our commitment to further enriching our students’ skills in creative writing, we host a Distinguished Writer-in-Residence and a Poet-in-Residence in the School. They run workshops, masterclasses, and one-to-one surgeries for our students. In this course, you will have the chance to collaborate with and be inspired by internationally acclaimed figures.

What You Will Study

Whether you are an aspiring writer of prose or poetry or both, our MA in Creative Writing encourages lateral thought and will sharpen your research and writing abilities.

You may join us as a relatively new writer, who wants to experiment with a range of forms and discover your voice and genre. Alternatively, you may arrive with a more advanced project you want to develop further.

Either way, the extensive experience of our published writers and academics will help you hone your technical ability, and deepen your understanding of the cultural, literary, and theoretical history of text production.

Academic year structure

Full-time: 1 year / Part-time: 2 years

Full-time students typically take four modules per semester, followed by a dissertation to be completed after the summer, over one calendar year. Part-time students typically take two modules per semester and then complete the dissertation during the summer period in their second year of study.

The compulsory modules (including Research and Writing Skills, 21st Century Literature: Forms, Modes, and Genres, and Creative Writing Workshop I & II), run alongside a range of options (which change from year to year and may include Screenwriting, Advanced Children’s Literature, Writing Gaming, and Textual Materialities).

Modules

The modules listed are indicative, reflecting the information available at the time of publication. Please note that modules may be subject to teaching availability, student demand, and/or class size caps.

The University operates a credit framework for all taught programs based on a 15-credit tariff. Modules can be either 15, 30, 45, 75 or 120 credits, and additionally for some masters dissertations, 90 credits.

The structure of our programs follows clear educational aims that are tailored to each program. These are all outlined in the programme specifications which include further details such as the learning outcomes:

Full-Time

Year - 1

• 21st-century Literary Studies: Theories, Methodologies, and Approaches
• Beyond Tolkien - Rewriting Fantasy
• Creative Writing Workshop
• Open Writing
• Queer Ecologies and Environmental Literature
• Research and Writing Skills
• The Age of Chivalry: Medieval and Early Modern Romance
• Travel Writing Past and Present: Themes, Forms, and Critical Perspectives
• Women Behind the Screen: Gender and Labour in Film
• Writing Gaming
• 21st-Century Forms and Genres
• Advanced Childrens Literature
• Advanced Screenwriting
• Building Stories- Methods and Materials of Contemporary Writing
• Creative Writing Workshop
• Medieval Women's Writing
• Mobilities of Nation and Empire: Victorian Literature 1850-1890
• Open Writing 2
• Translation for the Creative Industries
• Writing Shakespeare
• Creative Writing Portfolio

Part-Time

Year - 1

• 21st-century Literary Studies: Theories, Methodologies, and Approaches
• Beyond Tolkien - Rewriting Fantasy
• Creative Writing Workshop
• Open Writing
• Queer Ecologies and Environmental Literature
• Research and Writing Skills
• The Age of Chivalry: Medieval and Early Modern Romance
• Travel Writing Past and Present: Themes, Forms, and Critical Perspectives
• Women Behind the Screen: Gender and Labour in Film
• Writing Gaming
• 21st-Century Forms and Genres
• Advanced Childrens Literature
• Advanced Screenwriting
• Building Stories- Methods and Materials of Contemporary Writing
• Creative Writing Workshop
• Medieval Women's Writing
• Mobilities of Nation and Empire: Victorian Literature 1850-1890
• Open Writing 2
• Translation for the Creative Industries
• Writing Shakespeare
• Creative Writing Portfolio

Timetable

Course timetables are normally available one month before the start of the semester. We usually run the English Literature MA and Creative Writing MA modules on Mondays and Tuesdays, but please note that we cannot always guarantee this, and scheduled teaching can potentially take place on any day of the week (Monday – Friday). Please, therefore, check with academic staff before the beginning of the academic year. Wednesday afternoons are normally reserved for sports and cultural activities.

We offer career information, advice, and guidance to all students whilst studying with us, which is extended to our alumni for three years after leaving the University. Our graduates have lifetime access to Surrey Pathfinder, our online portal for appointment and event bookings, jobs, placements, and interactive development tools.

As an English literature or creative writing student, you’ll build a network of industry contacts by working alongside published writers and editors. Our courses are a stepping stone into a career in writing, communications, publishing, marketing, advertising, journalism, and teaching.

Some of our graduates have gone on to start their careers in the following roles:

• Content writer
• Editor
• Professional writer
• Publisher
• Journalist
• Technical writer.