Course summary

Develop your writing in a supportive and creative environment. Learn from our team of professional writers how to improve your technique - and get published. Join a course taken by many successful published authors and take your creative writing to a professional level. Our Masters course in Creative Writing will give you the opportunity to improve your writing by practising and sharing it with a close group of fellow writers, including specialist lecturers who are published authors. You’ll study the most acclaimed writers of the past 200 years and discover the techniques they used to make their work stand out. We’ll give you opportunities to practise your technique in areas such as characterisation, structure and pacing, and experiment with different forms of writing. Whether you want to refine an existing piece of work or experiment with new forms of writing, you’ll receive advice and support from a team of published writers, who include our Royal Literary Fund Fellows. You’ll use what you’ve learned to create samples of writing to share with lecturers and your fellow students. This will allow you to receive a wide range of responses to your work as well as learn to critically evaluate the work of others. As a postgraduate Creative Writing student at ARU you’ll have access to talks, masterclasses, and networking opportunities with agents, publishers and established writers. You’ll have the opportunity to participate in live reading events and to work together on the design and contents of a showcase print anthology. You can also attend events organised by our Cambridge Writing Centre, including guest talks and live lit jams, where you can showcase your own creative writing and make new contacts in the industry. Taught in Cambridge and offered full- or part-time, this Masters degree is a great way to study a subject you love and perhaps transform your career. Teaching times 2023-24 (subject to change for 2024-5): Full time - Monday 6-8pm, Thursday 6-8pm Careers Our MA Creative Writing will help you prepare for a career as a creative writer or in related areas such as publishing and the media. It will also give you critical and analytical skills valued by many employers. Many of our past students (PDF) have gone on to have successful careers as writers. These include Costa Short Story Award winner Caroline Ward Vine, Kaddy Benyon, Penny Hancock and Kate Swindlehurst. Graduation doesn’t have to be the end of your time with us. You could choose to continue your academic career with a research programme at ARU such as our PhD Creative Writing. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship and save £400 on your fees. If you studied for the Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma initially, you can choose to complete further modules and top-up to a full Masters degree.