English and Creative Writing BA(Hons)
Join a celebration of literature and writing. You’ll read critically and widely, learning about historic and current literature and integrating this knowledge into your own creative work. You’ll analyse and create in equal measure, developing technical skills essential in any number of careers, including the literary and publishing industries.
Key details
| Location | Falmouth Campus |
|---|---|
| Course Duration | 3 years |
| Attendance | Full-time |
| UCAS code | W8Q3 |
| Contact | 01326 254350 |
Apply now
Introduction
Find your passion and pursue it. Investigate, experiment and specialise in all forms and industries including poetry, literature, children's fiction, non-fiction, screenwriting and digital games. You'll gain practical experience with our partners in publishing, literary festivals and professional writing, learning valued critical and technical skills.
You will:
- Design and run a student-led collaborative project as part of your third year. Previous projects have included producing illustrated anthologies, sitcoms and podcasts while working in collaboration with schools, charities and the National Trust.
- Attend our guest lecture series, where you'll build relationships and contacts within all facets of the literary world.
- Participate in literary events, such as The London Book Fair and the North Cornwall Book Festival.
- Visit The Lighthouse: the glorious room at the heart of our community, which hosts all manner of sessions – from skills and craft workshops to board game sessions, literary quizzes and poetry readings.
- Contribute your own work to Falwriting: our student-led online magazine.
- Use our state-of-the-art Soundhouse and edit suites to record audience-ready productions.
Covid-19 update
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have reviewed and made changes to our courses to provide flexible, blended delivery that offers high-quality digital engagement and access to face-to-face teaching in our facilities. You can see how your course may be adjusted by viewing the changes for the current academic year by visiting our welcome letters & latest course updates pages
What our students do
Xan Brooks Joins Falmouth as Writer in Residence
Third Year Writing Collaboration with National Trust
What our graduates do
Graduates from this course have gone to carve exciting careers in areas such as digital content creation, public relations, magazine production and book editing. Our alumni have previously held roles as PR Coordinator at Superdry, Media Editor at Business Insider and Editor at Parragon Books.
Course details
What you'll learn
This english and creative writing degree seeks to capture and analyse the most vital contemporary writing (across all formats and media) within the context of a rich literary, historical and theoretical past, developing your critical and creative eye.
Learn, debate and create under the guidance of leading academics, industry professionals and diverse guest speakers, whether in The Lighthouse, our state-of-the-art campus facilities, or any of our immediate and beautiful natural spaces.
By making your own choices, you'll build skills in areas like poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenwriting, and digital games. Be the voice of your community by writing, editing or promoting Falwriting – our student-led online magazine – gaining vital (and CV-boosting), industry-ready skills.
Live collaborative projects will allow you to make priceless personal connections. Work directly with industry, educational, and community partners, creating a clear path to your desired industry or area of further academic study.
During the first year of BA English and Creative Writing, you'll explore the basics of creative writing, english literature and publishing – all key areas for aspiring writers to be familiar with. While providing an introduction to the subject, this course also breaks the mould of most English degrees with modules like Exploding the Canon: Writing Then and Now and Breaking the Rules: Remix and Writing Back. Each week, you'll learn through a mix of lectures, workshops and tutorials.
Modules
Writing: Craft & Contexts
This module explores the practice of writing as a discipline and a craft and asks you to debate ideas about writing, authorship, genre, creativity and audience.
Exploding the Canon: Writing Then & Now
How do the literatures of the past infuse the fictions of the present and what do these literatures reveal about us as we are now and us as we once were?
Publishing Cultures
In this module, you'll encounter publishing as a literary and cultural tradition that is dynamic and in a constant state of flux. You will consider the role of technology on the production and dissemination of written texts in the contemporary world.
Breaking the Rules: Remix and Writing Back
A challenging, radical and 'breaking the rules' creative writing module, which covers remix and writing back in theory and practice.
Literatures of Revolution
From the revolutionary ideas of Darwin's theories of evolution to postcolonial revelations, LGBTQi movements and the #MeToo phenomena, literature and other textual forms reflect and create society. How do contemporary notions revolutionise texts and how do texts inform revolutionary ideas?
Publishing Studio: Technologizing the Word
A practical and intermedia publishing module, which might include book design, zine making, performance and exhibition as publication and screen-based media.
This year is all about narrowing down to your specialisation. Want to be a screenwriter? There's a module for that. Want to write for games? There's a module for that too. You can take modules in poetry, creative non-fiction or radio and theatre. You'll take two core modules, but otherwise you'll create your own personalised degree, focusing on your specific interests. You will progress to higher levels of analysis and creation, honing your skills as a writer and a critic. You will learn how to research, plan, pitch and build a profile as a writer.
Modules
Society & the Self
What is the role of identity in literature? How does literature represent the world's diversity? Who communicates identity and how?
Writing Now: Prize-winners, Bestsellers & Controversial Content
What wins prizes? What wins readers? What makes a bestseller? What is literature doing now, and where is it going?
Optional modules
Satire and Scandal
Poetry
Screenwriting
Magic and the Impossible
Fiction
Creative Non-Fiction
Games
Radio & Theatre
The final year of your English and Creative Writing degree is a culmination of the tools and knowledge gained in your first and second years. At this level, you will be working on two major 40-credit modules. In the first, Collaborative Project, you'll work in real-world collaborations; for instance, with community groups, sound projects, work placements and writing projects. We've had students create podcasts, poetry collections, and a range of community projects with partners such as Mind, the National Trust and others.
In the second module, Dissertation and Portfolio, you'll create a sustained piece of work, which you can continue or pitch after graduation. For the portfolio, you will have weekly 30-minute tutorials with your supervisor, allowing you to focus closely on your own writing. You can still choose option modules in the first study block, and in the second we ask you to consider experimentation and adaptation.
Modules
Collaborative Project
In this module you'll consider the writer's role as part of a creative eco-system, and/or literature's role in the creative economy through working on a live collaborative project. The project can be a placement in the writing-related industries, a case study or live brief with a business (for example, literary festivals, creative agencies, publishing houses, the heritage sector), or a collaborative project with peers culminating in an event performance or piece of creative practice.
Dissertation and Portfolio
Create an independent extended piece of creative writing or a collection of creative pieces in a genre, form, topic of your choosing, which sits alongside an extended essay on an area of publishing studies or English literature related to your creative piece.
Experiment and Adaptation
Engage with some of the limits of textuality, testing the boundaries of understanding, meaning and communication. By looking at how texts can be remediated, how they morph and repeat, you'll analyse how texts sit within the time and place of their production, but also how they can innovate and shift.
Optional modules
We Have Never Been Human
Crime and Dark Fiction
Children & Young Adult
The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.
From module information to course aims and assessment criteria, discover the full course details
How you'll learn
On top of your regular lectures, seminars and workshops, you'll take on live briefs from creative industry partners, and attend lectures and seminars with high-profile guest speakers and our Writers in Residence, like Matt Haig, Philip Marsden, Lionel Shriver, Iain Sinclair, Don Paterson and Simon Armitage.
You'll support your self-directed learning with significant weekly tutor contact time, and have the chance for regular one-to-one tutorials. There'll also be opportunities to gain regular work experience by writing or working for With, our student journal of new writing.
How you'll spend your time
Year | Timetabled teaching and learning activity | Guided independent study | Placements |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24% | 76% | 0% |
2 | 24% | 76% | 0% |
3 | 15% | 79% | 6% |
How you'll be assessed
Year | Written exams | Practical exams | Coursework |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
2 | 0% | 0% | 100% |
3 | 0% | 5% | 95% |
The above percentages relate to 2019/2020 data.
Assessment methods
- Coursework and e-learning exercises.
- Live creative industry briefs.
- Final year creative writing portfolio.
Staff
Our academics provide a huge range of expertise, including 20th and 21st century literature, digital texts, Victorian literature, gender studies, literature and environment, and print culture.
Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every member shown here.
Dr Jennifer Young
Jennifer Young moved to Falmouth in 2019 to take up the post of Head of Writing and Journalism. She...
David Devanny
Overview
David is a lecturer and PhD candidate at Falmouth University. He is a poet and multimedia...
Dr Danielle Barrios-O'Neill
Dr Danielle Barrios-O'Neill is a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, having previously taught in...
Dr Luke Thompson
Luke is a writer of poetry and non-fiction and the founding editor of Guillemot Press. His...
Dr Ruth Heholt
Ruth Heholt is senior lecturer in BA(Hons) English. She has published on ghosts and the Gothic and...
John Finnegan
John has worked in the film and media sector for fifteen years. He started his career as a trainee...
Rupert Loydell
Rupert Loydell was born in London, where he attended Latymer Upper School. After taking an Art...
Jane Pugh
I live with friends and my dog by the sea. I write, teach and facilitate because my job is to...
Facilities
- Digital labs, lecture theatres and seminar rooms.
- Libraries housing 140,000 books, 17,000 DVD and video titles, and exhaustive electronic and journal resources.
- The Lighthouse – a dedicated writers' room and events space
- The Soundhouse – podcasting facility
- The Shed – dedicated study area
How to apply
Apply via UCAS
Ready to join us? If you're applying through UCAS Apply and Track, you'll need to reference the university and course codes below.
- University code: F33
- Course code: W8Q3
Apply now
Applying as an international student?
International students can apply for a course through UCAS, via an agent or directly with the university. For more information about how to apply as an international student, visit our International applications page.
We consider all applications on their own individual merit and potential. We invite all applicants to an interview day or audition to give them the opportunity to demonstrate this along with what inspires and motivates them in their field. Applicants will also be able to show their portfolio or give a performance depending on the course. We welcome applications from all subject backgrounds, whether you’ve specialised in STEM, the arts or humanities.
As a guide our typical offer at undergraduate level is 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points, primarily from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, a BTEC Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.
For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent.
If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.
If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you'll need to take a recognised language test that is approved and vouched for by the University. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.
UK/EU applications: 15 January 2021 (for equal consideration)
Late applications will be considered if there are places available.
International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.
Interview information & application advice
Apply for Undergraduate Courses
There's still time to join our undergraduate community in 2020. Find out key dates and get application information and advice.
Portfolio Advice
What is a portfolio and how do you make one? Read our guide.
Personal Statement Guide
How do you write a personal statement and what should you include? Read our advice.
Interview Information: English and Creative Writing BA(Hons)
Find out what to expect from your English and Creative Writing interview.
After You Apply
Find out what happens after you apply to Falmouth and what you'll need to do.
What we're looking for
We want someone who:
- Is enthusiastic and knows about the subject
- Can articulate why they want to study English
- Has writing skills
- Shows an emerging understanding of literature’s role in the past and present
- Is enthusiastic and interested in writing as part of the creative industries
Fees, costs & funding
Tuition fees
£9,250 per year - full-time UK/EU
£16,000 per year - full-time international
£9,250 per year - full-time UK
£16,950 - full-time EU
£16,950 - full-time international
Typical course costs
- £70 - Recurring annual costs
- £50 - Optional study visits and placements for the course duration
If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.
The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs
Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.
Funding
For information about funding available, please visit our undergraduate funding page
Ask a student
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From course details, our facilities and the local area to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.