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Creative Writing MA, PGCert

Our PGCert and MA in Creative Writing provide a unique opportunity to explore and develop your creative writing skills through practice, revision and discussion.

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Start date(s):

  • September 2025

Overview

Our Creative Writing MA develops your understanding of your own writing and your technical writing skills.

You'll further your awareness of:

  • writing processes
  • professional writing
  • publishing

This PGCert and MA in Creative Writing provide a unique opportunity to explore and develop your creative writing skills. We teach creative writing in three areas:

  • prose writing, with an emphasis on short fiction, creative non-fiction and the essay
  • poetry with an emphasis on the practice and study of a variety of poetic traditions and contemporary techniques
  • scriptwriting, which includes writing for the theatre and screenwriting

Through these areas, we'll introduce you to a wide range of subjects and opportunities with which writers are working professionally.

Members of our Creative Writing staff have received national and international recognition for their writing. You'll work with them to prepare your own writing for submission.

If you complete the Creative Writing PGCert, you can choose to transfer to the second year of our part-time MA.

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Important information

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Qualifications explained

Find out about the different qualification options for this course.

What you'll learn

Through this Creative Writing Master's you'll be inducted into the habits and inventive strategies of writers in a module dedicated to this process. You'll also begin to concentrate on skills specific to different fields of the writing craft.

You'll go on to test your own writing in one of three workshops dedicated to poetry, prose or script. You'll also take the opportunity to focus on areas of imaginative writing that are specialisms of our staff. Examples of our specialisms include:

  • dramatic monologue
  • poetry and translation
  • life writing
  • screenwriting

Our Profession of Writing module explores the roles and importance of:

  • agents
  • editors
  • reviewers
  • professional opportunities for creative writers

Modules

You will study modules on this course. A module is a unit of a course with its own approved aims and outcomes and assessment methods.

How you'll learn

Your development

Our PGCert and MA in Creative Writing allow you to advance your creative ability through:

  • practice
  • guided reading
  • discussion
  • revision

You will further your awareness of:

  • writing processes
  • writing craft
  • professional writing
  • publishing

Your future

Our Careers Service

Our award-winning Careers Service is one of the largest and best in the country, and we have strong links with employers. We provide an extensive range of opportunities to all students through our ncl+ initiative.

Visit our Careers Service website

Quality and ranking

All professional accreditations are reviewed regularly by their professional body

Facilities

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics is a lively and diverse community with over 700 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates. We're based in the Percy Building. Our purpose-built postgraduate suite includes:

  • several dedicated computer clusters
  • meeting rooms
  • a kitchen and lounge area

Our award-winning Phillip Robinson Library has an extensive audio-visual collection.

The Newcastle Centre for Literary Arts (NCLA) is a world-class centre of excellence in the field of creative writing which contributes to the cultural life of the North East via:

  • readings
  • projects
  • teaching
  • research

The NCLA offers you the opportunity to get involved in our writing community through readings and events that feature:

  • poets
  • scriptwriters
  • non-fiction writers
  • novelists

Past speakers include:

  • Kazuo Ishiguro
  • Paul Muldoon
  • Val McDermid
  • Peter Straughan
  • Claudia Rankine
  • David Almond

Fees and funding

Tuition fees for 2025 entry (per year)

What you're paying for

Tuition fees include the costs of:

  • matriculation
  • registration
  • tuition (or supervision)
  • library access
  • examination
  • re-examination
  • graduation

Find out more about:

Search for funding

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Entry requirements

The entrance requirements below apply to 2025 entry.

Qualifications from outside the UK

English Language requirements

Admissions policy

This policy applies to all undergraduate and postgraduate admissions at Newcastle University. It is intended to provide information about our admissions policies and procedures to applicants and potential applicants, to their advisors and family members, and to staff of the University.

University Admissions Policy and related policies and procedures

Credit transfer and Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) can allow you to convert existing relevant university-level knowledge, skills and experience into credits towards a qualification. Find out more about the RPL policy which may apply to this course

How to apply


Using the application portal

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If you’re ready, you can select Apply Online and you’ll be taken directly to the application portal.

Alternatively you can find out more about applying on our applications and offers pages.


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Get in touch

Questions about this course?

If you have specific questions about this course you can contact:

Scott Burdon
Education Administrator (PGT & PGR)
School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 208 6233
Email: pg.english@ncl.ac.uk

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