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University of Bedfordshire
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
UK, LU1 3JU
This is a practical course with an emphasis on innovation and diversity. You will be encouraged to develop your own specialism within a variety of genres. You will have the opportunity to engage in cross-media and multimedia projects, as well as getting a strong grounding in web-based writing environments. Experienced writers, academics, research students and alumni will present readings and seminars. We are also launching Divergence, an international online journal of innovative writing and text-based art. The Universitys Creative Writing Society, run by students, hosts `open mic readings and publishes work online.
Key features
Areas of study you may cover on this course include:
Assessment Details
In the Creative Writing field the purpose of assessments is to evaluate products rather than processes. However, good professional practice demands constant vigilance and the ability to effectively develop writing projects from conception through a constant process of addition and revision to the final shaped product. Therefore the assessments include at Level One:
At Level Two you will develop your research, drafting and re-writing skills (clearly guided). Ability to evaluate, reflect on and revise individual productions is extended and enhanced. The assignments emphasise an understanding of the perspective of the consumer / readership through widening your experience of and your own research into possible outlets and markets for your work. In addition, an emphasis is placed on collaborative and / or performance-based work. These learning outcomes are assessed through a range of techniques including:
At Level Three the assignments reflect the greater degree of independent endeavour. You will be encouraged to look at your work in the context of your peers and precursors, both in the University cohort and the wider world of writing. An understanding of outlets (publication, performance, production, etc) is central to this. Assessment at this level consists of extended pieces of individual creative work.
Throughout the course you will be encouraged to think about, and practice, forms of writing not limited to paper publication. Online and new-media writing, cross-media collaborations and syntheses, live and recorded performance can be included in assessment material for most units, and in some cases can be the assessed material themselves.
Upon successful completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Display professional skills, knowledge and understanding in the field of creative writing.
2. Practice in a variety of genres and forms, with particular emphasis required on at least two areas, with a specialization in one.
3. Display accurate use of language in both written and spoken communication.
4. Show the ability to reflect critically on your work and to evaluate and contextualise creative writing within the broader field of the cultural industries.
5. Engage successfully in team work, through workshops and seminar discussion.
6. Engage in in-depth research into your chosen fields of writing practice, and self-directed study into various supportive and background areas, evaluating the relevance and importance of information received.
7. Employ a wide range of information technologies in the process of researching, delivering and producing your work.
8. Display the attitude, independent thinking and self-motivated learning and writing skills of a professional creative writer.
English, Communication, Media, Film and Cultural Studies
NAWE Creative Writing Subject Benchmark Statement
The degree will provide you with the knowledge and skills to make a range of contributions in the field of creative writing, and a sound understanding of the principles behind specific generic forms. The skills, which include IT skills, involve an appreciation of the careful and accurate use of language, and the presentation of text in the most effective way.
The programme aims:
This course takes into account the Subject Benchmark document for Creative Writing, produced by the National Association of Writers in Education Higher Education Committee (2008).
The Department holds an induction programme in the first week of the first term in Year 1 in addition to the university wide programme. While the precise content varies from year to year the following topics are included: an introduction to the department, research methods, library use, taking notes and writing assignments, as well as an introduction to using, handling and booking equipment, career development and health and safety issues.
Course and assessment details and some learning materials are posted on BREO, the Universitys online learning environment. At the beginning of your studies you will be provided with a Course Handbook, a complete guide to the course and to support provided.
You will be allocated a Personal Tutor. This Personal Tutor will work with you, primarily during the first year, monitoring your academic engagement and progression and providing a consistent point of contact for academic support and guidance. This support may extend to providing advice on careers and further academic study.
Fos students undergoing difficulties with their studies, lecturers and personal tutors will liaise with Student Services, and other appropriate University bodies.
You will produce creative and realistic solutions to complex problems including time management, monitoring progress to work to deadlines, evaluating your group and individual strategies to achieve the desired outcome. You will participate effectively in the operation of a team and collaborate with members of the team, mainly through workshop sessions.
Career management is particularly addressed from Level Two of the course, when you will first be asked to seriously consider the relationship between your own writing and possible market or professional outlets. You will be encouraged to submit work for relevant (magazine / website) publication as soon as there is reasonable chance of success. You will keep a portfolio of your best work (both assessed and non assessed) and include in this any feedback from prospective publishers that you may receive. This will also include drafts of several writing-related CVs, relevant to different writing outlets and career-types which are open to the forms of writing you practice.
Because Creative Writing is a diverse subject, with no single defined career path, advice will be provided by the teaching staff in evaluating realistic goals regarding future employment and career prospects. Even commercially successful creative writers often spend years earning their living by non-literary means while they develop their profiles as writers, and the opportunity to talk to successful commercial and non-commercial writers about their writing lives will be provided.
Students who are not for whatever reason in a position to take up writing as a full time career will be advised on the range of options which the good functional literacy skills of creative writing students open up. These are very individual decisions, and the high level of contact with teaching staff available will allow you to come to terms with them in line with your personalized learning development, especially from the second half of Level Two onwards. The Centre for Personal and Career Development and MyFuture will form elements in the process.
Creative Writing offers many career opportunities other than becoming a full-time writer. Advertising and copywriting are obvious examples, but graduates have also gone on to
successful careers in TV script-editing, music journalism and teaching. Creative Writing is a growth area of higher education worldwide. Many of our students go on to postgraduate study.
Further study:
Standard:
Standard entry requirements for UK students - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/ukugentryreqs
Students from the European Union - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/eu/guides
International students - http://www.beds.ac.uk/howtoapply/international/apply
Additional:
A foundation degree will be of particular interest if you have completed a Modern Apprenticeship, vocational A levels, BTEC National or equivalent.
Foundation degrees are also particularly suitable if you want to qualify while working.
Many students studying for foundation degrees come to us through work-based routes so you can apply for a foundation degree even if you don’t have traditional academic qualifications.
We welcome applicants with relevant work experience.
We will consider you as an individual and take into account all elements of your application, not just your qualifications. We are looking for both breadth and depth in your current studies as well as enthusiasm for the subject you wish to study.
The general requirement is one of the following:
Postgraduate applications (MA/MSc) should be made direct to the University using the standard University application form. There are some exceptions, please see individual course descriptions for details.
As a general guide, to apply for a place on an undergraduate course (BA/BSc) at the University you need to have completed your high school education and have the required English qualification.
We have students from all the European Union member countries so we are quick to make decisions on most qualifications.
(Please note that applicants on a full student visa are not eligible for part-time study)
We recommend that you apply directly to the University where possible, as this allows us to offer the quickest turnaround time for your application.
Please read the Direct application instructions before completing the course application form.
Application forms for accommodation in the student halls at Bedford campus and Luton campus are available in the Student life section
APL is available for international students applying for undergraduate (Bachelor degree) study. Please do not use this APL form to apply for postgraduate courses.
Use the APL form to tell us about any non-standard qualifications and/or work experience you have that you think should be taken into consideration with your application. `
The APL form should be submitted at the same time as the course application form.
We regret we are unable to process APL forms from students who have not submitted a formal course application form.
Return your completed application to:
University of Bedfordshire
International Admissions
Park Square
Luton
Bedfordshire
LU1 3JU
United Kingdom
T: +44 (0)1582 489326 (non-EU Students)
F: +44 (0)1582 743469
E: international-admissions@beds.ac.uk
On entering upon the programme you will probably already have some experience as a writer, if not actual publication. Therefore the approach to teaching and learning begins with student-centred methods and progresses towards independent learning.
Our teaching is centred upon the students, aiming to build your confidence by making you aware of what you know and helping you to harness your own experience and knowledge, then to develop and apply them through the various techniques of creative writing to produce finished texts. You learn through your production activity and the analysis of your experience under the guidance of your lecturers.
Units at Level One introduce you to specific forms of creative writing, and encourage you to develop a critical understanding of their language, their techniques of presentation and analysis of their intended markets. You will be introduced to various theoretical perspectives and will be encouraged to develop your own programme of reading.
Through the experience of writing and producing your own texts, you will become aware of the range of skills that are called upon in the production of such texts.
When you proceed to Level Two you will be ready to apply this understanding to more diverse forms of creative writing. You will gain an understanding of the business of publishing, the sectors within it, changes in the market and begin to develop your independent research skills through guided assignments which enable you to gather information, evaluate it and apply it to present or pitch ideas appropriately. Building on your previous knowledge, at Level Two you will develop your writing and editing skills through a deeper understanding of the needs and requirements of specific generic forms and practices. At this stage you will begin to specialize in one or two forms or genres, and be encouraged to consider work of greater range or scope. You will consider such ethical and legal debates as intellectual property, plagiarism, publishing rights, etc.
At Level Three you will be challenged to stretch and test your skills, to experiment and innovate, learning by discovery, guided exploration and self-evaluation. You will engage directly with the publishing world, perhaps through an attempt to gain publication. Your studies will culminate in the Special Project assignment, to produce a text / texts of a substantial nature in a field and context of your own choice.
Teaching is delivered by a range of methods: formal lectures, seminars, workshops and tutorials (individual or small group sessions). Project supervision involves regular tutorial meetings between groups/individuals and their staff supervisor. Besides BREO, the main VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) will be MADwiki, to be used as a communal platform for discussing and displaying work and ideas, mainly as part of self-directed study.
Final year special project options are determined through agreement with the Course Leader.
There is no lab work or field trips, but students will be expected to work with DTP and web software, and write reports based on their own ideas and other original research which may involve site visits.
The University of Bedfordshire is committed to ensuring that curricula across all courses are inclusive to all students. The Disability Advice Team is available to discuss any issues students may have and can provide services such as sign language interpreters, note takers, dyslexia screening/tuition and support with mobility on campus. They offer confidential advice and information about academic and personal issues, adjustments in examinations, applying for the Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA) and buying suitable equipment.
All students concerned that their studies may be affected by disability are encouraged to contact either their Field Chair, Course Leader or Personal Tutor for advice at whatever point in their course the need to do so becomes apparent.
Communication
To help with the development of this you will:
participate in regular workshop sessions, where you will develop skills in explaining your own writing and evaluation strategies, as well as engaging in constructive critical assessment of the work of others. Contextual studies are a part of all unit assessments and in writing these you will develop skills in articulating your aims and objectives in your creative work. At Level Two and above, year-long project-based work will develop these skills, in the form of the creative proposal for ongoing work.
Information Literacy
To help with the development of this you will:
Be able to complete a complex search using appropriate primary and secondary sources, and draw accurate conclusions independently using the subject methodology. Searching and evaluating internet sources is taught and you will analyse the data found using appropriate techniques. You will develop skills in a number of information technology packages, deepening this familiarity in Levels Two and Three with regard to those most relevant to your chosen forms textual production. You will also learn correct and appropriate forms of referencing and bibliography.
Research and Evaluation
To help with the development of this you will:
Engage in independent and self-directed study in those areas and genres of writing which most interest you creatively. Beginning with Writers Reading you will develop a personal canon of texts which you feel are most formative for your style and objectives, and continue to add to this throughout your studies. This canon will form a body of work against which you will evaluate your progress as a writer. This will form a counterpoint to your experience of the work of others within your course cohort.
In addition to this, there will be times when you will have to research background information relevant to the setting or context of the texts you wish to write, in order that your fictional or other creative productions have verisimilitude, realism or plausibility.
Creativity and Critical Thinking
To help with the development of this you will:
Gain insight and experience in the interaction between critical thinking and creativity. In the Level One unit, Creative Writing Theory and Practice you will be introduced to a number of critical and linguistic approaches to aspects of creative writing. As you develop through the course you will be expected to become increasingly aware of the critical debates surrounding the forms and genres you are engaged with, in terms of politics, ethics, gender, economics, etc, but also with regard to their particular aesthetic concerns.
Through workshop activity and writing journals, etc, you will work individually and collaboratively to monitor progress and evaluate your individual effectiveness in achieving your aims. Working individually you have to set your own goals and tasks in writing and achieve your own research goals, drawing on previous learning experience to devise creative solutions to common problems facing creative writers.
Unit leaders will engage you directly concerning assessment feedback, and will give individual advice on improving weaknesses in performance, and providing strategies for that improvement. This will work in tandem with regular workshop based feedback and evaluation, so that you will be aware, on a week by week basis, how you are progressing, both personally, and in relation to other members of your cohort.
Specific study skills will be taught in seminar sessions from Level One onwards, in addition to practical advice and instruction on the craft of writing, the basics of which will be covered in Writing Practices and Composition 1, and elaborated on and reinforced in units at Level Two.
You will be made aware of Progress Files during the Level One units Creative Writing Theory and Practice and Writing Practices, and from the beginning of Level Two you will produce and develop your own personal portfolio. Depending upon the forms and genres of writing you specialize in, and upon the career paths in writing you are gravitating towards, this may be a paper-based or e-portfolio.
Personal tutorials will be arranged twice per year to monitor progress with these portfolios, from the beginning of Level Two.
The following are the basic Professional Standards required by the course:
This course:
N/A
