Creative Writing MA

The Creative Writing MA is a practice-led course, giving you the chance to develop your writing in chosen areas, or experiment with new forms and genres through exploratory writing and stimulating craft tasks and challenges. The course is designed to develop your writing practice in both research and professional contexts, including modules honing you craft, tackling practice research methodology, and your understanding of the industry. You will have the opportunity to graduate with an advanced understanding of your own writing practice, and how it sits in relation to the professional landscape, including how to use the skills you have acquired to forge a career in a range of contexts. The course also equips you with an ability to articulate your own preoccupations and interests as a writer, that helps with everything from Author’s Talks, grant applications, and Industry pitching.

The taught modules are uniquely delivered in seven-week blocks, this means you focus upon one element at a time, rather than dividing your attention between parallel modules. Teaching is timetabled on one concentrated day, though you also need to allocate independent study time for developing your writing, conducting research and undertaking the required reading for classes. You will shape and grow projects to a professional standard, while also learning how to provide a theoretical basis to discuss and conceptualise your practice. The programme culminates in a dissertation in which you will work independently on an extended creative writing project in a form or genre of your choice, with tutor guidance and feedback.

• You can exit the course with a Postgraduate Diploma, Postgraduate Certificate or an Institutional Credit award depending on the credits you have successfully achieved.
• Creative Writing postgraduate study at DMU is ranked first in the Complete University Guide 2023 for Creative Writing Graduate Prospects.

• You will join the diverse community of Leicester Centre for Creative Writing, where you’ll be taught by published writers, and experienced tutors, with expertise in a range of forms including scripting, fiction and creative non-fiction, poetry – and other hybrid forms, such as digital, and writing for games.
• You will benefit from involvement in Leicester Centre for Creative Writing’s research culture and public engagement events, such as annual independent book festival States of Independence.
• We will help you consolidate and expand your current practice in new directions
• You will graduate able to articulate how your writing skills equip you for a range of careers  and employment contexts
• You will learn to confidently present your work and articulate your processes and practice for a variety of audiences and industries
• You will benefit from the collaborative environment of workshops, gaining ongoing staff and peer feedback to help you achieve your independent writing goals.

Professional practice and research skills are central to this course. It offers an excellent transition from postgraduate to PhD level study, as well as helping students to develop industry-level skills in presenting their work and approaching publishers. Graduates will be able to understand how to use their skills to build a portfolio career as freelance writers, engaging with teaching workshops and seizing community arts opportunities. Whatever the idiosyncrasies of your writing practice, this course will help you understand and market yourself.

Creative Writing graduate Julian Pinnick said: “Taking the Creative Writing MA has been a hugely positive experience for me. Coming from an arts background, I found that many of the ideas outlined during the course complimented and built upon my previous studies. Not only has my ability to write fiction improved greatly, but my non-fiction writing has benefited hugely. I would recommend this course to anyone who wishes to take their writing abilities to the next level.”