Course summary

Do you want to combine creating original fiction with an in-depth study of the English language? Then this is the degree for you. At Lancaster, all Creative Writing students combine writing with study in another subject. You’ll be taught Creative Writing through lectures, readings, practices and discussion in regular tutor-led workshops by practising writers. As a student on the English Language and Creative Writing degree, you’ll join a thriving community, where you can get involved with the Writing Society, poetry nights, and spoken word events in the city. You’ll have the chance to develop your writing skills, cultivating a strong feel for words and their meaning within context. Our Linguistics and English Language department is one of the largest in the UK. You could be analysing sound patterns or learning more about the tones, nuances and registers of the English language. The two different focuses of this degree reinforce and complement each other perfectly. In your first year you’ll study the core modules of English Language and Introduction to Creative Writing. You will build up a writing portfolio throughout the year, which counts towards your final mark, and you will have the opportunity to work in small groups to offer supportive constructive criticism on each other’s work. In the second year you’ll move on to Stylistics and Intermediate Creative Writing Workshop. You’ll also be able to select modules such as Discourse Analysis, Creative Non-Fiction: Genre and Practice and English Phonetics. We also offer a series of lectures on the business of being a writer. The study abroad option is an exciting and informative experience for anyone who is thinking of working abroad during their career or who simply wants the experience of living and studying overseas as part of their degree. You will study in your third year at one of our international partner universities. This will help you to develop your global outlook, expand your professional network, and gain cultural and personal skills. During your year abroad, you will choose specialist modules relating to your degree as well as other modules from across the host university. Your final year is made up of an Advanced Creative Writing Workshop and options such as a dissertation, Forensic Linguistics or Poetry and Experiment. Many English Language graduates go on to work in education, publishing, the media and information technology. It is a subject that is useful in fields involving international communication, such as science, trade and international relations. As well as writing, this degree combination is particularly well-suited for careers in publishing, journalism, editing and PR. Lancaster University will make reasonable endeavours to place students at an approved overseas partner university that offers appropriate modules. Occasionally places overseas may not be available for all students who want to study abroad or the place at the partner university may be withdrawn if core modules are unavailable. If you are not offered a place to study overseas, you will be able to transfer to the equivalent standard 3-year degree scheme and would complete your studies at Lancaster. Lancaster University cannot accept responsibility for any financial aspects of the year abroad.