Explore our taught Master's degree in Writing.

P-Q3P7

MA

1 year full-time;
2 years part-time

2 October 2023

Warwick Writing Programme, SCAPVC

University of Warwick

Writing is a profession and a passion; it is also an act of community. Warwick’s MA in Writing introduces you to the real world of writing, surrounded and supported by writing staff and students who share your ambition. It will show you how to make your way in the world as a writer.

The Warwick Writing Programme, founded in 1996, is the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in Europe and was ranked first by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021.

Our flexible MA in Writing is open to students from around the world.

Full Time

Across the Autumn and Spring terms, you will take four taught modules (Fiction Workshop 1 or Non-Fiction Workshop, plus three other taught modules of your choice). In the summer term, you will work with a supervisor on your Long Project, for which you write a long piece of creative work in any genre that the Programme is able to supervise. This creative piece is accompanied by a shorter critical reflection.

Part Time

If you study Part Time, you will take either Fiction Workshop 1 or Non-Fiction Workshop in your first Autumn term, and take one optional module in the Spring term. In your second year, you will take two optional modules (one in the Autumn and one in the Spring term) and then do your Long Project in the Summer term.

Warwick Writing Programme

The acclaimed Warwick Writing Programme is the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in Europe. You will be working alongside practising, award-winning novelists, poets and literary translators. Our teaching staff includes: A.L. Kennedy, Tim Leach, Nell Stevens, Maureen Freely (Chair of the International Booker Prize 2019), Gonzalo C. Garcia and David Morley (winner of the Ted Hughes Award 2015). We are closely involved with The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Each year the winner of the award – which has in the past included Sally Rooney and Raymond Antrobus – spends a period of time as writer-in-residence at Warwick, working with students.

Further information about the MA in Writing is available on the Warwick Writing Programme websiteLink opens in a new window.

We teach in writing workshops, seminars and one-to-one supervisions.

Each year, the MA group produce an anthology of new writing derived from work done during their time at Warwick. You will get the chance to be involved in the production, editing, writing, and promotion of a new anthology, seeing your work in print and gaining some invaluable hands-on experience along the way.

6 to 15 students.

8 hours per week.

Most modules are assessed by portfolios of writing in the relevant genre, sometimes with an accompanying essay. Space for reading, thinking and writing matters almost as much as teaching. Our campus is a good place for writers, with a wide range of creative spaces and events open throughout the year.

Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules and you have been allocated to your lectures, seminars and other small group classes. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you and you will be able to choose your optional modules when you join us.

2:1 undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject.

In addition to the usual application materials, candidates will be selected on the basis of a personal statement and a portfolio of their written work. The portfolio should be a maximum of 20 pages of poetry or 5,000 words of fiction/non-fiction, or a combination of the two. You must upload this with your online application form.

• Band C
• IELTS overall score of 7.5, minimum component scores of two at 6.5/7.0 and the rest at 7.5 or above.

There are no additional entry requirements for this course.

There are no fixed core modules for this programme, but all students take an Optional Core module in writing, normally either Fiction Workshop 1 or Non-Fiction Workshop, though other modules are possible.

Fiction Workshop 1

In this introductory prose workshop you will develop your expressive and technical skills in writing prose fiction, improve your skills as an editor and critic of your own and others’ work, gain a critical understanding of literary craft and technique, develop an understanding of the relationship between your work and the work of classic and contemporary authors.

Non-Fiction Workshop

This module will investigate the presence/absence of the author in nonfiction writing. We will address the limitations and the possibilities, and how creative nonfiction writing relates to all forms of self-expression we have today, from memoirs to social networks.

• Warwick Fiction Workshop 1 and 2
• Writing Poetry
• Writing about Human Rights and Injustice
• Historical Fictions, Fictional Histories
• The Practice of Literary Translation
• Brave New Worlds: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy

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