BA (Hons) English Literature with Creative Writing
Course options
Key Details
- Award
- Degree of Bachelor of Arts
- UCAS Course Code
- Q3W8
- Typical Offer
- AAA
- Contextual Offer
- ABB
- Course Length
- 3 years
- Course Start Date
- September 2025
Why you should choose us
Course Overview
Do you love to write as much as you love to read? Do the books you read spark your imagination and inspire you to be creative? At UEA, we believe that good readers make good writers. It’s for this reason that we combine the study of English Literature and Creative Writing at all levels of this innovative course.
You’ll immerse yourself in a thriving community of writers and thinkers. Learning from practicing writers and passionate teachers, you’ll sharpen your ability to sculpt language into stories, scenes and images. You’ll build worlds, develop your voice and find ways to express the inexpressible. Alongside this, you’ll study literatures from around the world, past and present. You’ll discover how writers and thinkers have expanded literary possibilities, made art out of lived experience and shown us, in myriad ways, what it means to be human. In the process, you will become a more discerning and attentive reader and writer.
On this course, you’ll spend a third of your time on Creative Writing and two thirds on English Literature in your first two years of study. In your third year, you may increase the amount of Creative Writing that you do or focus more fully on Literature. Either way, you’ll develop a balance between the two that best suits you. Your creative and literary training will go hand-in-hand, each enhancing the other, as you explore and experiment with diverse genres, forms and subjects, from creative non-fiction, to podcasting, to the fiction of the apocalypse.
You’ll be based in the UK’s longest-established and most prestigious Creative Writing department, which is part of UEA’s vibrant School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (you can follow our activities on Instagram!). You’ll also have access to world-leading facilities and resources, from the technological delights of the Media Suite to the opportunities of our student-run publishing project Egg Box, from the riches of the British Archive for Contemporary Writing to the Sainsbury Centre. What’s more, you’ll live and work in the beautiful city of Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature, and home to the National Centre for Writing.
After the course, you'll have a wealth of skills that will open doors to fulfilling careers to you, whether you want to work in the creative or cultural industries, or in business, marketing or social media management. Events such as Working with Words will give you the chance to meet and network with creative industry professionals and UEA graduates working in journalism, publishing or as freelance writers. If you want to join their ranks, this is the course for you!
Placement Year and Study Abroad
You have the option to apply to study abroad for one semester of your second year. Study abroad is a wonderfully enriching life experience – you’ll develop confidence and adaptability, and will have the chance to learn about writing and literature in a new cultural context. At UEA, you’ll be surrounded by the many students we welcome from around the world to study with us.
For further details, visit the Study Abroad section of our website.
Study and Modules
Structure
During your first year, you’ll take two bespoke Creative Writing modules. This combination will provide you with a bedrock of craft skills and theoretical understanding on which you’ll build during your English Literature and Creative Writing degree.
In the first semester, you’ll be guided through the principles of prose fiction, poetry and scriptwriting. You’ll read texts by some of the best contemporary writers. In seminars, you’ll try out different forms and techniques, both in discussion and through writing exercises. In the second semester, you'll experiment with avant-garde techniques and explore genre, taking risks and pushing your own boundaries as a writer, while developing the ability to critically reflect on your own creative practice.
On the literature side, you’ll explore the breadth of English Literature across history. You’ll immerse yourself in the global history of English, from its origins in multilingual medieval society to the extraordinary literatures still being forged today from the legacies of colonialism and its resistance. Meanwhile, you’ll experience the thrill of paying close attention to texts, growing your analytical skills as a reader. You’ll discover first-hand how the two parts of your degree work together as your writing develops alongside your critical understanding.
Compulsory Modules
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Teaching
The bulk of your teaching will occur in the seminar room. Working with fellow creative writing students, you’ll experience the thrill of bringing your craft into alignment with your imagination. One week you might burrow deep into the psyche of a particular character, the next you might pursue the perfect image for desire, fear or hope. You’ll be guided all the way by a tutor for whom this business of putting words on a page is as captivating as it is for you.
Meanwhile, lectures on literature will surprise you with new ideas, and seminar discussions will shape your thinking about what you've read that week. If you’d like to get a sense of what sorts of books you might read in your first year, take a look at our list of suggested (but entirely optional) reading for incoming Creative Writing students!
At the start of your course, you'll also meet your academic adviser who'll support you throughout your degree with everything from choice of modules to launching your career.
Independent Learning
You’ll spend time working on your own writing and reading some extraordinary books, with a framework of guided tasks to help you get the most out of them. You'll explore the library and the Sainsbury Centre, discovering a wealth of resources and inspiration. You'll throw yourself into the whirlwind of extra-curricular creative writing events and activities. Sometimes, you might just sit and think, finding a still space to take it all in. By the end of this year, you'll be equipped with the fundamental skills you’ll need for your literary and creative journey.
Assessment
Assessment
Throughout your degree, all modules in English Literature and Creative Writing have no exams – we believe that the best way to express your thoughts about literature and to show off your creative development is through carefully crafted pieces of written coursework. On the creative side, you'll start by writing your own stories and poems, developing fundamental skills in drafting, keeping a writer's notebook, and submitting to deadlines, before embarking on more experimental exercises, which invite you to take greater risks. In your studies of literature, you'll develop renewed enthusiasm for writing academic essays. You’ll also get to express your thinking in a diverse variety of forms, from reviews to personal reflective writing.
Feedback
You'll receive feedback on your writing (creative and critical) from your tutors (in one-to-one tutorials) and your peers. Feedback on assessed work will be returned within 20 working days, after it has been carefully marked and moderated. As your first year does not count toward your overall degree result, it's the perfect moment to experiment and take risks.
Structure
Building on the skills you developed in the first year, you’ll begin to focus your creative writing on a particular form (or two), choosing from prose, poetry, creative non-fiction and scriptwriting modules, as well as options in publishing and journalism.
In the classroom, you’ll continue to discuss and analyse superb exemplary works of literature. Now, however, you’ll start sharing your writing with your peers and a published author in our creative writing workshops. You’ll receive feedback and learn how to give constructive criticism to your peers, too. It’s a defining moment in your UEA career, when your writing starts to come out of the shadows and into the light. As a literary critic, you’ll be able to choose from all the available literature modules, gaining a grounding in a variety of literary periods. You might also choose to experiment with our innovative creative-critical modules, where the reading and writing of literature go hand-in-hand.
Over the course of this year and the next, you’ll also take at least two modules in literature written before 1789. This ensures you graduate as a writer who has a real awareness of how your work emerges from and responds to the traditions that precede it.
Optional A Modules
(Min Credits: 60, Max Credits: 80)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 20, Max Credits: 40)Optional C Modules
(Min Credits: 20, Max Credits: 40)Optional D Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 20)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Teaching
Your writing will be taken to the next level through the 'workshopping' process (pioneered in the UK by UEA). You'll become accustomed to putting your work out into the world and getting feedback from your peers and your tutors. You’ll learn the art of constructive critique, helping your fellow writers to grow as they help you. Lectures and seminars will immerse you in particular eras of literature, and you'll also have the chance to take seminars in more vocational areas, such as journalism or publishing (using our state-of-the-art Media Suite). Or you might take a short-term placement as part of a humanities-wide module.
Independent Learning
You'll continue to read widely, pursuing your own passions or discovering new ones. You’ll become adept at journaling, at looking at the world for inspiration. And you’ll work on your stories and poems and scripts, revising them towards submission. You'll finish the year with a real sense of how your degree might open out into future careers.
Assessment
Assessment
You'll continue to submit written coursework for all your creative writing and literature modules. Your creative writing will flourish as you produce more substantial pieces of prose (a 1250-word short story or longer 2000-word narrative), portfolios of poetry, or scripts for stage or screen (20-30 minutes in length). You’ll write reflective pieces to better understand your own creative processes. You'll take your critical essay writing to new heights in projects of around 2500 words, and you might experiment with creative criticism, for instance by writing a short story which reveals your critical understanding of that form. You may take one module from another discipline this year, which might lead you to take an exam, but the majority of our students are assessed by 100% written coursework.
Feedback
You'll continue to have the support and feedback of all your tutors. Your creative work will be deepened by your immersion in the workshop environment, where you receive feedback from your peers and learn to give feedback on their work, an enormously valuable skill in many careers.
Structure
In your final-year creative writing modules, you’ll focus intensively on your own practice. You’ll take a workshop, modelled on our world-famous Creative Writing MA. This will give you the chance to push your work to new levels of accomplishment. You’ll also have the chance to write a creative writing dissertation in which you produce a substantial piece of work, with one-to-one support from a tutor, who will perform a similar role to an editor or dramaturg.
On the literature side, you’ll choose from a dazzling array of specialist modules, led by the research passions of our academics – currently we offer topics covering everything from the global Middle Ages to the art of emotion. Modules are carefully ordered into two option ranges to give you the chance to study literature in specific historical contexts and to explore genres or concepts across time. Or you might choose to write a dissertation on an aspect of English literature of your choice, working one-on-one with a specialist tutor as your supervisor.
Optional A Modules
(Credits: 30)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 30)Optional C Modules
(Min Credits: 30, Max Credits: 90)Optional D Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 60)Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning
Teaching
Your time at UEA will move towards its high point. You’ll bring everything you’ve learnt into one of our advanced workshops, or into the dissertation, focusing on the form of your choice. You’ll be writing and thinking at a level you hadn’t thought possible, guided every step of the way by a practicing writer. Alongside this, you'll have the chance to explore cutting-edge literary topics in real depth, in three-hour seminars taught by specialists passionate about their subject.
Independent Learning
You'll bring together all the skills and confidence you've developed in critical and creative writing to master the forms of writing and fields of literary study that have come to matter to you the most. Perhaps you’ll also get involved in publishing the annual undergraduate anthology of creative writing. Either way, you’ll be feeling increasingly ready for what the world beyond UEA can offer.
Assessment
Assessment
You'll continue to be assessed by 100% written coursework. Your participation in another workshop will allow you to complete even more ambitious portfolios of writing (for example, 3000 words of prose or 12 to 15 pages of poetry), and if you choose to do a creative dissertation (6000 words writing + 2000 words reflection), this will become the culmination of your achievements as a writer. You'll perfect the craft of critical essay writing in equally substantial projects (3500-5000 words), and if you wish you might continue to experiment with the forms in which you express your critical ideas, for instance by experimenting with the new boundary-defying genre of ‘auto-fiction’.
Feedback
All the feedback you've received enables you to graduate with highly developed skills in writing and argument across a host of forms and for an array of audiences, and with an ability to give sensitive but incisive critique of others' work. These are all transferable skills hugely valued by employers.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Contextual Offers
UEA are committed to ensuring that Higher Education is accessible to all, regardless of their background or experiences. One of the ways we do this is through our contextual admissions schemes.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
A levels
AAA including English Literature or one of the subjects listed below.
Contextual: ABB including English Literature or one of the subjects listed below:
English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
BTEC
Level 3 Extended Diploma: DDD plus A-Level grade A in English Literature or one of the subjects listed below.
Contextual offer: DDM plus A-Level grade A in English Literature or one of the subjects listed below:
English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Combinations of BTEC and A levels
Diploma: DD plus A at A-Level in English Literature or one of the above subjects.
Contextual: DD plus B at A Level in English Literature or one of the above subjects
Extended Certificate: D plus AA at A-Level in English Literature or one of the above subjects.
Contextual: D plus AB at A Level including in English Literature or one of the above subjects
BTEC in Public Services, Uniformed Services and Business Administration are all excluded from our BTEC offers.
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Humanities and Social Sciences Pathway. Pass Access to HE Diploma with Distinction in 45 credits at Level 3.
T levels
Not accepted
Foundation Year options:
If you do not meet the academic requirements for direct entry, you may be interested in one of our Foundation Year programmes such as BA English Literature with Creative Writing with a Foundation Year
- Further Examples of Typical Entry Requirements
International Baccalaureate
34 points overall including 6 in HL English, History, Global Politics or Psychology.
Irish Leaving Certificate
6 subjects at H2 including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Scottish Highers
AAAA plus Scottish Advanced Higher at grade B in English Literature, or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
Scottish Advanced Highers
BBB, including English Literature or one of the following subjects: English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
A combination of Advanced Highers and Highers may be acceptable.
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Candidates who are shortlisted will be asked to provide a sample of their creative writing: we ask for around 3-5 pages of work, which can be on any subject and in any genre of the candidate's choice. Most choose to send poetry, prose, or a mixture of the two.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.
You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.
- English and Mathematics
All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.
In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.
We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
A levels
AAA including English Literature or one of the subjects listed below:English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.
International Baccalaureate
34 points overall including 6 in HL English, History, Global Politics or Psychology.
We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.
- INTO UEA
If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree.
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
-
IELTS: 6.5 overall (minimum 5.5 in all components)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study.
-
- Non-Academic Entry Requirements
Candidates who are shortlisted will be asked to provide a sample of their creative writing: we ask for around 3-5 pages of work, which can be on any subject and in any genre of the candidate's choice. Most choose to send poetry, prose, or a mixture of the two.
- Deferred Entry
We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.
Fees and Funding
Tuition Fees
View our information for Tuition Fees.
Scholarships and Bursaries
We are committed to ensuring that costs do not act as a barrier to those aspiring to come to a world leading university and have developed a funding package to reward those with excellent qualifications and assist those from lower income backgrounds. View our range of Scholarships for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see Additional Course Fees for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
UCAS Hub is a secure online application system that allows you to apply for full-time undergraduate courses at universities and colleges in the United Kingdom.
Your application does not have to be completed all at once. Register or sign in to UCAS to get started.
Once you submit your completed application, UCAS will process it and send it to your chosen universities and colleges.
The Institution code for the University of East Anglia is E14.
View our guide to applying through UCAS for useful tips, key dates and further information:
Employability
After the Course
You’ll graduate as a first-rate writer, an advanced critical reader and thinker with an independent cast of mind. You’ll know how to manage your time, how to work as part of a team, how to state your position and how to defend it. With the support of our award-winning Careers Service throughout your degree, you’ll have honed your CV and sought out internships. You’ll have attended Working with Words, an annual event in which you get to meet UEA alumni working in the creative industries. You might have gotten involved with the UEA Publishing Project, or its student arm, Egg Box, or undertaken independent research in UEA’s British Archive for Contemporary Writing. In an increasingly text-based world these skills and experiences are highly valued by employers.
You could go on to work as a novelist or scriptwriter, or in many careers in arts, media, publishing, politics, charities and NGOs, teaching or the commercial sector. You’ll also be well placed to study for a postgraduate degree, including our world-famous Creative Writing MAs. Regardless of the direction you choose, you’ll be superbly placed to start writing your own story.
Careers
Examples of careers you could enter include:
- Freelance writer
- Publishing
- Journalist
- Media
- Marketing
- Teaching
Discover more on our Careers webpages.