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Creative Writing with Foundation Year at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Birkbeck, University of London has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

18Jan
Birkbeck, University of London - Undergraduate open day
Undergraduate

Course summary

Are you passionate about creative writing and looking to learn how to turn your ideas into texts? If so, Birkbeck’s BA Creative Writing will support you to develop your ideas further, refining your skills and sharpening your craft. You will have opportunities to experiment and explore creative writing across a range of forms, including drama, poetry, fiction, screenwriting and non-fiction. Your studies will be enriched by being based in Bloomsbury in central London, home to some of the most exciting historical developments in literary and artistic production. Why choose this course?

  • Creative Writing at Birkbeck is based in the heart of Bloomsbury, once home to the Bloomsbury Group, an influential group of writers, artists and philosophers including Virgina Woolf.
  • This course is distinctive for its practical approach to teaching creative writing, which centres around interactive, small group workshops and seminars in the development of your practice.
  • You will be taught by our esteemed faculty, which includes award-winning and published writers such as: novelist Luke Williams; playwright and screenwriters David Eldridge and Daragh Carville; poet, novelist and non-fiction writer Julia Bell; novelist Wes Brown; non-fiction writer Richard Hamblyn; and critic and writer Marina Warner.
What you will learn On this course, you will learn how to develop the creative writer’s key tools: voice, craft, technique, form, genre and style. You will also work with your peers to gain an understanding of what other creative writers do, to inform your own practice and approach. In addition to taking compulsory modules offering you key skills development, you will have the chance to select option modules on topics that interest you, including fiction, poetry, experimental writing and scriptwriting of drama, film and TV, while your final dissertation project allows you to specialise in an area of your choosing. How you will learn In small creative writing workshops you will share your writing and read the writing of your peers, often alongside published works. You will learn how to discuss your writing-in-progress and gain regular feedback from faculty members and from fellow students on your degree. Lectures and seminars from internationally renowned researchers and specialists will complement your learning. This course is available with full- or part-time study. It has an evening timetable with classes taking place in the evening. Foundation Year If you opt for the Foundation Year route, this will fully prepare you for undergraduate study. It is ideal if you are returning to study after a gap, or if you have not previously studied the relevant subjects, or if you didn't achieve the grades you need for a place on your chosen undergraduate degree. Highlights
  • Birkbeck was ranked 2nd in the UK for its English Language and Literature research in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework.
  • You will be eligible to submit work to the annual Birkbeck creative writing journal, The Mechanics’ Institute Review.
  • Birkbeck is located in the heart of literary London, in Bloomsbury, WC1. You could be studying in a building that was once home to Virginia Woolf and frequented by members of the Bloomsbury Group.
Careers and employability On successfully graduating from this BA Creative Writing, you will have attained an array of important transferable skills, including:
  • the capacity to think and communicate creatively and critically
  • a sophisticated use of written and spoken English
  • an ability to understand and apply complex ideas
  • effective organisation and time-keeping skills
  • facility and precision in the use of analytical tools
  • strong skills and initiative in collecting and organising complex materials and writing up clear reports.
Studying this course will prepare you for a career in:
  • creative writing
  • publishing
  • journalism
  • media
  • academia.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Assessment is 100% coursework, which may include short creative projects, essays, presentations, a writer's notebook, web publishing and an extended creative work in a specific genre. A creative dissertation is also a compulsory requirement of the course in your final year.

How to apply

29Jan

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.

Application codes

Please select a course option – you will then see the application code you need to use to apply for the course.

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Foundation

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, our usual requirement is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. We also accept other English language tests.

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

We welcome applicants without traditional entry qualifications as we base decisions on our own assessment of qualifications, knowledge and previous work experience. We may waive formal entry requirements based on judgement of academic potential. All applicants, whatever their academic background, must submit a sample of 1000 words of creative writing (fiction, poetry, drama, or screenwriting).

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
60%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
80%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
International £18060 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Creative Writing with Foundation Year at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS