Overview
Reasons to study Creative Writing (Joint Honours) BA (Hons) degree at DMU:
- DMU is ranked in the Top 10 for Creative Writing in the UK
for ‘overall student satisfaction’, according to The Complete University Guide 2019 - Become part of regional writing networks
and perform and publish your work through events such as our book fair, States of Independence, DMU’s Cultural eXchanges festival, and take advantage of spoken word events. - Gain practical skills
in confident performing, audio recording, and technical skills in digital/print publishing - Take risks and experiment
in areas of writing you may have not encountered before; such as podcasting, making audio-visual pieces, and multi-linear digital work - Work beyond the classroom
in stimulating settings like an urban walk-workshop, museum trips, and collaborative ghost-story writing sessions in a chapel - International opportunity
through #DMUglobal where you will have the opportunity for a meaningful international experience
Creative Writing at DMU enables you to find the creative path that’s right for you. The unique structure means your modules are organised around stimulating themes such as place, identity, and the relations between word, image, and sound. Within these you develop skills in a wide range of forms, including fiction, poetry, screenwriting, creative non-fiction, audio and performance writing, and new media.
Alongside familiar form and genres such as short stories, free verse, strict form poetry and memoir, you will also have the opportunity to explore screenplays, graphic novel scripts, flash fiction as well as new media and concrete poetry.
By the end of the course you won’t just be writing, you’ll be making your own professional-standard publications for the page and web, and making studio-quality recordings of your own work. Final year voice-coach training will mean you also leave us as confident public performers.
Structure and assessment
Course modules
First year
- Exploring Creative Writing
- Writing Identity
Second year
- Writing Place
- Word, Image, Sound
Third year
- Professional Writing Skills
- Specialism Plus Negotiated Study
- Portfolio
Facilities and features
Clephan Building
Home to DMU’s humanities subjects, this facility is equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment and cinema screens. Currently Clephan houses some key Art, Design and Humanities student support facilities including the Art, Design and Humanities Placement Team.
The Building features the Leicester Centre for Creative Writing, a hub for creative writing in the historic city of Leicester. The centre is a place to study creative writing, a centre for research, and houses a vibrant and diverse community of writers.
Library
The main Kimberlin Library is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (other than in exceptional circumstances) and offers a huge range of online resources, all of which can be remotely accessed from anywhere you choose.
The library is run by dedicated staff who offer additional support to students, including help with academic writing, research strategies, literature searching and reference management and assistive technology, and mathematical skills for non-maths students. There is also a Just Ask service for help and advice, available via email or telephone.
Learning zones
Our comfortable and well-equipped study areas provide a range of environments to suit your needs.
Our Learning Zones and The Greenhouse provide flexible spaces, whether you are working as a group, practising a presentation or working quietly on your own.
They feature workstations with power supplies for laptops, plus bookable syndicate rooms with plasma screens, laptops and DVD facilities. Wi-Fi is available across all campus locations.
Opportunities and careers
Placements
Work placements are offered as part of this course and they are one of the best ways to boost your skills and experience while studying, as well as improving your chances of gaining a graduate level job and can often lead to an offer of employment for when you graduate.
We have numerous links with organisations both in the UK and internationally, and the placements team will help you find a placement to suit your and you interests and aspirations.
#DMUglobal
This is our innovative international experience programme which aims to enrich your studies and expand your cultural horizons – helping you to become a global graduate, equipped to meet the needs of employers across the world. Through #DMUglobal, we offer a wide range of opportunities including on-campus and UK activities, overseas study, internships, faculty-led field trips and volunteering, as well as Erasmus+ and international exchanges.
Creative Writing is an international-facing subject: you learn about the global publishing world, and are tutored by writers and guests part of the international writing community. Students have taken opportunities to study abroad in America, Cyprus, Germany and Japan.
Graduate careers
The final year Professional Writing Skills module prepares you to think more widely about employability, and to recognise – and articulate to employers – the rich skills you bring to any workplace. Some graduates currently work in schools (as teachers or in other roles), for publishers, in publicity departments and on newspapers. One graduate is a stand-up comic while another has reached the clinical practice stage of postgraduate medicine. Some undertake further studies at masters and doctoral level both in Britain and abroad. Others travel or choose work which allows them time to write.
