MA Creative Writing

The fees quoted above will be fully inclusive for the course tuition, administration and computational costs during your studies.

All fees for entry will be subject to yearly review and incremental rises per annum are also likely over the duration of courses lasting more than a year for UK/EU students (fees are typically fixed for International students, for the course duration at the year of entry). For general fees information please visit: postgraduate fees . Always contact the department if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

Self-funded international applicants for this course will be required to pay a deposit of £1000 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. This deposit will only be refunded if immigration permission is refused. We will notify you about how and when to make this payment.

Each year the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures offer a number of  School awards and  Subject-specific bursaries  (the values of which are usually set at Home/EU fees level), open to both Home/EU and international students. The deadline for these is early February each year. Details of all funding opportunities, including deadlines, eligibility and how to apply, can be found on the School's funding page  where you can also find details of the Government Postgraduate Loan Scheme.

See also the University's postgraduate funding database  to see if you are eligible for any other funding opportunities.

For University of Manchester graduates, the Manchester Alumni Bursary  offers a £3,000 reduction in tuition fees to University of Manchester alumni who achieved a 1st within the last three years and are progressing to a postgraduate taught masters course.

The Manchester Master's Bursary  is a University-wide scheme that offers 100 bursaries worth £3,000 in funding for students from underrepresented groups.

We normally expect students to have a First or Upper Second class honours degree or its overseas equivalent in a humanities-based subject area.

An overall grade of IELTS 7.0 with 7.0 in writing and no skill below 6.5 is required or 100+ in the TOEFL iBT with a minimum writing score of 25 and no skill below 22.

If you have obtained a different qualification, please check our  English language requirements  to ensure that it is accepted and equivalent to the above requirements.

Some English Language test results are only valid for two years. Your English Language test report must be valid on the start date of the course.

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

Entry to the course is competitive and there are always many more applicants than places. Applications are mainly considered on the basis of their portfolio, an assessment of past and predicted academic achievements, the academic references and any other supplementary evidence that supports the application.

Because of the competitive nature of this course, we assess applications together at three separate points in the year:

• In the first two weeks of January (12 January, 2024)

• In the Easter holidays whenever they fall (25 March, 2024)

• In the first week of August (9 August, 2024)

You will be notified of the progress of your application shortly after whichever of these dates comes first after you have applied.

On each of these three assessment periods we will offer no more than twelve places, though if you are not offered one of these, you may be offered a chance to become a reserve candidate which could turn into an offer of a place in August if the course is not filled by then. If you apply after the first week of August you will not be considered for a place until the following academic year.

The final submission date for applications for the 2024/25 academic year is 9 August, 2024*.

* Please not that the application form and portal will show a deadline of September 13th for administration purposes only. The 9th August is the final submission date for entry in 2024.

We accept a range of qualifications from different countries that equate to a UK 2.1. For these and general requirements including English language see entry requirements from your country .

If English is not your first language, please provide us with evidence of: 

• an overall grade 7.0 (with a minimum writing score of 7) in IELTS; or
• 100+ in the IBT Internet-based TOEFL).

The other language tests we accept can be found here: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/applicationforms/new-approved-english-tests.pdf

Exceptions to needing a language test (if English is NOT your first language) are:

• if you have successfully completed an academic qualification deemed by UK NARIC as equivalent to at least a UK Bachelors Degree or higher from one of the following countries:

  Antigua & Barbuda; Australia; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Dominica; Grenada; Guyana; Ireland; Jamaica; New Zealand; St Kitts and Nevis; St Lucia; St Vincent and the Grenadines; Trinidad and Tobago; UK; USA.

   

Applicants may defer entry for 12 months provided they contact the admissions administrator before September 1st. Please note that applicants are subject to the fees for the entry year they will start the course.

If you applied in the previous year and your application was not successful you may apply again. Your application will be considered against the standard course entry criteria for that year of entry. In your new application you should demonstrate how your application has improved. We may draw upon all information from your previous applications or any previous registrations at the University as a student when assessing your suitability for your chosen course.

All applicants without exception must provide a portfolio of either:

• 3,000 words prose, or
• 7/8 poems, or
• a combination of the two.

The portfolio is a fundamental part of the admissions decision making process and it will therefore be assessed by an academic within the department. The final date for submission of a portfolio is the last day in July. Any work submitted with funding applications will not be taken as the final submission for a decision of a place unless specifically requested by the applicant.

You will undertake units totalling 180 credits. Core units combine to make 120 credits, with the remaining 60 credits allocated to the dissertation.

There are no mandatory units as part of this course. Students are required to choose a combination of workshops and seminars based on their individual focus, either poetry or fiction writing.

Semester 1

You may choose to take two workshops - one in fiction writing and one in poetry - or you may take one workshop and one seminar. Typical seminars will be The Art of Short Fiction and Poetics.

Semester 2

Students wishing to focus on poetry writing will take a poetry workshop and a seminar on Contemporary Poetry.

Students wishing to focus on fiction writing will take a fiction writing workshop and a seminar in Contemporary Fiction.

Dissertation

Your dissertation will comprise 15,000 words of your own fiction writing, or 16 to 25 poems.

Practical support and advice for current students and applicants is available from the Disability Advisory and Support Service. Email: dass@manchester.ac.uk