University of Essex
Creative Writing (Including Placement Year) BA (Hons)
University of Essex

Key Course Facts

Student Reviews

Below you can see course specific reviews of 45 graduates of Creative Writing (Including Placement Year) BA (Hons) and other courses in literature in English at University of Essex for each of the survey questions in comparison to the average for all UK degree courses in literature in English.

Overall student satisfaction
85 /100
45 total respondents

Primarily based on data from undergraduate degree students.

The NSS is commissioned by the Office for Students

Salary

Salary of Graduates in literature in English

Important: Salary data below is not course specific, but contains data of all students of literature in English at the university. Due to data collection methodology, salary data is mainly based on data related to undergraduate students.

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £23000 £22000 £27500
25-75 percentile range £21000 - £25500 £16500 - £26500 £21000 - £32000


Salary of all UK Graduates of literature in English

  15 months after graduation 3 years after graduation 5 years after graduation
Median salary £23570 £21299 £25231
25-75 percentile range £20603 - £27250 £16296 - £26529 £19068 - £32367

Course Description

Explore the urge to create and build new worlds, to share language and stories with others. On our course you work on the craft of writing through a multi-genre approach, through and across a variety of writings from fiction and poetry, to non-fiction, psychogeography, performance writing and beyond.

At Essex we offer an unusual approach to the practice of writing, combing innovative and traditional methods in order to develop your writing skills and abilities to judge your work critically, while expanding your knowledge across different modes and genres. In the Centre for Creative Writing we encourage a culture of experiment and creativity, enabling you to feel part of a community of writers.

Uncover the history and theories of writing practices through studying familiar as well as unfamiliar writings from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Wordsworth, and Kae Tempest, as well as writers taking alternative approaches to text production, from contemporary revisionings of fairytales, to new nature writing, science fiction, and the experimental language play of the French Oulipo group.

You will enhance your skills by engaging with a range of techniques, practical exercises and creative approaches and opportunities, including:

  • Discover how words and ideas move across the world and are transformed through translation
  • Write an independent creative project developed over eight months in your final year
  • Explore the psychological foundations of creativity in relation to myth
  • Surrealism and Defamiliarisation
  • Creative use of social media
  • Writing for radio and playwriting

Essex has nurtured a long tradition of distinguished writers whose work has shaped literature as we know it today, from past giants such as the American poets Robert Lowell and Ted Berrigan, to contemporary writers such as mythographer and novelist Dame Marina Warner, and Booker Prize winner Ben Okri.

Our course offers a varied, flexible and distinctive curriculum, focused on developing your abilities as a writer, while allowing you to take options from the other courses within our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies including literature, filmmaking, journalism and drama.

Jobs & Career Perspectives

15 months after graduation, graduates of this course were asked about what they do and, if they are working, about their current job and their perspectives.

Current jobs

Required skill level of job after 15 months

Jobs of graduates of this course (15 months after graduation)

Example below based on all graduates of Creative Writing (Including Placement Year) BA (Hons) at University of Essex

30% Business and Financial Project Management Professionals
15% Media Professionals
5% Teaching Professionals
5% Caring personal services
5% Administrative occupations
5% Business and public service associate professionals
5% Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations
5% Finance Professionals
5% Sales occupations
5% Librarians and Related Professionals

Entry Requirements / Admissions

UCAS Tariff of Accepted Students for literature in English

Requirements for international students / English requirements

IELTS academic test score (similar tests may be accepted as well)

    • 6.5
    • Graduate Degrees
    • 6.0
    • Undergraduate Degrees
Get advice on which foundation courses are best for you to still study Creative Writing (Including Placement Year), BA (Hons), if you do not meet the minimum requirements in terms of UCAS score, A levels, or English language requirements.

Costs

Tuition Fees Creative Writing (Including Placement Year) BA (Hons)

England UK £9250 year 1
Northern Ireland £9250 year 1
Scotland £9250 year 1
Wales £9250 year 1
Channel Islands £9250 year 1
Ireland £9250 year 1
EU £19500 year 1
International £19500 year 1

Additional fee information

Fees displayed are for 2024-25 entry. Fees may increase for each academic intake and each academic year of study.

Average student cost of living in the UK

Rent £518
Water, gas electricity, internet (at home) £50
Supermarket shopping £81
Clothing £35
Eating out £33
Alcohol £27
Takeaways / food deliveries £30
Going out / entertainment (excl.alcohol, food) £24
Holidays and weekend trips £78
Transport within city £17
Self-care / sports £20
Stationary / books £13
Mobile phone / internet £13
Cable TV / streaming £7
Insurance £51
Other £95
  
Average student cost of living £1092

London costs approx 34% more than average, mainly due to rent being 67% higher than average of other cities. For students staying in student halls, costs of water, gas, electricity, wifi are generally included in the rental. Students in smaller cities where accommodation is in walking/biking distance transport costs tend to be significantly smaller.

How to apply

Application deadline:

January 1, 2025

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Possible Entry Points:

  • year 1 (Default entry point)
  • year 2
  • year 4

University Rankings

Positions of University of Essex in top UK and global rankings.

Rankings of University of Essex in related subject specific rankings.

Languages & Literature

    • #54 
    • #65 
    English
    CUG The Complete University Guide - By Subject
    [Published 08 June, 2023]

See all 27 university rankings of University of Essex

About University of Essex

The University of Essex, is a public, research university where curiosity prevails and thinking outside the box isn’t just encouraged, it’s expected. Based in the county of the same name, Essex, the main campus is located in Wivenhoe Park, near Colchester. It is home to the university’s three faculties, Humanities, Science & Health and Social Sciences, as well as a very large community of local rabbits, and other small fauna typical of the English countryside.

List of 921 Bachelor and Master Courses from University of Essex - Course Catalogue

Student composition of University of Essex

undergraduates:
12070
postgraduates:
3690
Total:
15760
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Where is this programme taught

Colchester Campus
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