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Bristol, UWE

UCAS Code: W810 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)

Entry requirements

No specific subjects required. Points from A-Level General Studies and AS-Level subjects (not taken onto full A-Level) can be included towards overall tariff. You must have a minimum of two A-Levels.

No specific subjects required.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

Grade C/4 in English, or equivalent.

No specific subjects required.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DMM

No specific subjects required.

No specific subjects required.

UCAS Tariff

112

About this course

This course has alternative study modes. Contact the university to find out how the information below might vary.

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Other options

4 years | Sandwich | 2025

Subject

Creative writing

Studying creative and professional writing equips you with the expertise and experience to make a living as a professional writer.

Currently, one in 11 jobs in the UK is in the creative industries – a sector that’s outpacing the rest of the UK economy in its growth rate. The UK publishing industry in particular is experiencing record success, while platforms like Netflix and podcasts are capturing new audiences and creating new opportunities for writers.

BA(Hons) Creative and Professional Writing develops your creative abilities and forms your identity as a writer. It prepares you for the world of work by helping you acquire highly transferable skills and giving you access to a wealth of learning opportunities.

To succeed as a writer, you need many strings to your bow. That’s why we offer tuition in corporate copywriting across all three years, alongside fiction, non-fiction and scriptwriting. You’ll hone a broad range of writing skills, and be equipped to take on paid writing work in different areas when you graduate.

You’ll also become adept at conducting research, and work on live briefs from Bristol-based employers that recruit skilled writers.

What’s more, you can gain professional experience writing for UWE Bristol student media, including Hub Radio, Hub Voice student magazine and Cellar Door magazine.

Thanks to our connections, you have the chance to work with publishers and agents, as well as the Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, Watershed, Poetry Can, Spike Island, the Arnolfini and Bristol Museums, Galleries and Archives.

We also enjoy links with commercial partners including Babcock International, Stratton Craig, John Wainwright & Company Ltd, The Writing Hut Ltd and Anthem Publishing.

Situated at the heart of Bristol's thriving creative sector, this course prepares you for a job in writing, the arts, publishing, creative media, marketing, advertising and communications.

You could become a novelist or screenwriter, work as a freelance copywriter or journalist, or go into an area such as corporate communications and PR.

The Uni

Course location:

Frenchay Campus

Department:

School of Arts

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What students say

We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

79%
Creative writing

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Creative writing

Teaching and learning

90%
Staff make the subject interesting
94%
Staff are good at explaining things
89%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

70%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
83%
Course specific equipment and facilities
76%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

93%
UK students
7%
International students
41%
Male students
59%
Female students
86%
2:1 or above
13%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
C

After graduation

The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Creative writing

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£18,000
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

13%
Teaching and educational professionals
11%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
10%
Media professionals

The jobs market for this subject - which includes creative writing and scriptwriting courses - is not currently one of the strongest, so unemployment rates are currently looking quite high overall, with salaries on the lower side. But nevertheless, most graduates get jobs quickly. Graduates often go into careers as authors and writers and are also found in other roles where the ability to write well is prized, such as journalism, translation, teaching and advertising and in web content. Be aware that freelancing and self-employment is common is common in the arts, as are what is termed 'portfolio careers', having several part-time jobs or commissions at once - although graduates from this subject were a little more likely than many other creative arts graduates to be in conventional full time permanent contracts, so that might be worth bearing in mind.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Creative writing

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£17k

£17k

£22k

£22k

£25k

£25k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here