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Creative and Critical Writing at Bangor University - UCAS

Bangor University

Degree level: Postgraduate

Creative and Critical Writing (Research)

Course options

2023 - 20242024 - 2025
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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

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Open days

2Oct
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4Dec
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Postgraduate

Course summary

If you take your PhD or MPhil in course in The School of English at Bangor University you will experience:

  • One-to-one teaching and supervision by established writers and academics.
  • The opportunity to develop your own specific interests, working in the genre and style of your choice.
  • The flexibility to study on a full or part-time basis.
  • The opportunity to develop an awareness of your own writing and writing processes through combining creative and critical work, preparing you for a future career in writing or as an academic.
The course provides you with the opportunity to work over an extended period on a collection of short stories, a novel or a collection of poems under the individual supervision of a writer actively publishing in your field. Your creative work will be accompanied by a critical commentary; researching this element will ensure that you are well read in your chosen field and have a good knowledge of current trends in writing. The thesis, comprising both the creative and critical components, is expected to have a word count of about 100,000 words (for prose). You will be joining a vibrant postgraduate community and a School with significant experience in teaching creative writing at postgraduate level. A number of staff members are published and award-winning authors, and are involved in a variety of editing and judging activities; Zoe Skoulding is editor of Poetry Wales, Ian Gregson is editor of Salt Wales and Kachi Ozumba was a judge for the Commonwealth Short Story competition in 2010 and 2011. The School benefits from the presence of the poet Professor Carol Rumens as a visiting professor and the frequent visits of honorary professor Philip Pullman, who offers both readings and workshops. Our students are successful. A number of recent or existing postgraduate students have successfully published collections of poems or short stories that have arisen from their studies here at Bangor. These include John Tanner, Zoe Skoulding, and Nessa O’Mahoney. Others have published stories including Terri Lee Hackman, Zoe Perrenoud, and Lisa Blower (who won the 2009 Guardian Short Story Competition) or individual poems and other forms of writing. The environment in Bangor couldn’t be better for studying creative writing, situated as it is between the mountains and the sea. It is a place where creativity, is the norm rather than the exception.

Entry requirements

A first class or a good second-class degree. In many cases PhD applicants have studied to MA level, though this is not compulsory. Students without an MA are required to follow the research training module offered by the school. We are able to accept some students on a distance-learning basis, but they should have already acquired the skills taught in the introductory seminars, or should make arrangements to attend equivalent seminars at another institution, at their own expense. Students whose first language is not English are expected to have achieved an IELTS score of at least 6.5 with no element below 6.0. Potential students should submit a writing sample of approximately 3,000 words with their application in the case of prose fiction, or a sample of ten poems.

English language requirements

For the most up-to-date information on acceptable English Language proficiency qualifications, please visit our webpage below.

https://www.bangor.ac.uk/international/future/englishlanguage

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

No fee information has been provided for this course

Additional fee information

For the most up-to-date fees information: Home/EU students: https://www.bangor.ac.uk/studentfinance/postgrad/index.php.en or International students: www.bangor.ac.uk/international/future/Finance_and_scholarship.php
Creative and Critical Writing at Bangor University - UCAS