Teaching
The course will be a part-time master of studies degree, taught over two years.
In-person delivery will occur over six residential weeks, with three of those weeks occurring in the first year of the degree and three in the second. In each year of the degree, students will complete modules taught across the three residential weeks of that academic year.
Students will join the course on a particular pathway, opting to study in either the Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry or Multi-Disciplinary pathway.
All students will complete a first-year module composed of lectures on the theory and practice of writing and a series of writing workshops in their pathway genre.
Over two years, students will complete six seminar modules selected from a wide-ranging list of specialist topics. At least four of these modules must be in their pathway genre, unless they are working in the Multi-Disciplinary pathway, in which case they must take at least one module in the following genres: Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Poetry, and Screenwriting. These modules will enrol both first and second-year students.
All second-year students will complete a module focusing on professional practices. They will attend lectures on the business of writing and will work with peers to organise either a publishing project, a reading or performance series, or a teaching project.
All students will complete a dissertation with the assistance of a supervisor.
| One to one supervision |
Second year: five one-hour sessions. |
|---|---|
| Seminars & classes |
Year 1: Three modules, each of five days. Year 2: Three modules, each of five days. |
| Taught/Research Balance |
Predominantly Taught
|
Feedback
Students are given formal feedback on assignments and informal feedback throughout their course, including during supervisions. Supervisors also submit an annual progress report at the end of Year 1 and termly reports during Year 2.
Assessment
Thesis / Dissertation
A dissertation in the form of a creative project of 15,000 words (or textual equivalent).
At the discretion of the Examiners the examination may include an oral examination; such an oral examination may include questions relating to one or more of the other pieces of work submitted by the student.
Essays
Students are expected to produce formatively-assessed creative writing throughout the course, both independently and during modules.
Formal assessment is via:
- A Theory and Practice of Writing Essay – A 4500-word essay that engages with an aspect of writing relevant to the student's work and experiences in workshop.
- 6 x Genre Module Creative Pieces – A 1500-word piece of creative prose (or textual equivalent), inspired by and engaging with the content of the genre module for which it is submitted.
-
A Professional Practices Reflection – A 1500-word reflection on the student's experience of the Professional Practices unit and the relation of those experiences to the student's professional ambitions.