Creative and Critical Writing

Choose your own path through the course, focusing either on creative or literary critical writing, or a combination of both.

You’ll work with practising authors, poets, and playwrights – as well as leaders in the field of literary criticism – to develop your own distinctive voice. You’ll develop as a writer, not only in the classroom, but in the world, and you’ll be advised on the routes you can take to publication. Modules with a more academic focus allow you to engage with literary theory and academic studies of influential writers’ work.

Our students have the opportunity to edit and produce the annual university anthology and our close links with Cheltenham Festivals may offer performance opportunities throughout the year.

Study style

You’ll be assessed through coursework and presentations.

This highly successful MA in Creative and Critical Writing was one of the first in the UK to offer modules dedicated to the theory and practice of teaching creative writing, and the theoretical and practical analysis of the creative process. These options complement the creative and critical strands of the degree and offer you the chance to become a writer prepared for the modern professional arenas in which you may find yourself.