Get degree ideas using our A level explorer tool

English and Creative Writing

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,C

An English subject at GCE A Level is preferred, e.g. English Language, English Literature, English Language/Literature or Creative Writing. Subjects such as Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Religious Education, History, Media Studies and General Studies will also be considered

Pass Access to HE Diploma in a relevant subject with a minimum 106 UCAS Tariff Points - units taken must include some element of literary or cultural study

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26

IB Diploma with minimum 26 points overall or 104 UCAS Tariff points from Higher Level. If you plan to meet the Level 2 course requirements through your IB Diploma you will need to achieve Higher Level 4 or Standard Level 5 in English

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

D*D

Performing Arts, Production Arts or Creative Media Production are preferred from applicants studying BTEC qualifications

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

DMM

Performing Arts, Production Arts or Creative Media Production are preferred from applicants studying BTEC qualifications

T Level

M

UCAS Tariff

104-112

Other Level 3 qualifications equivalent to GCE A level are also considered. A maximum of three A level-equivalent qualifications will be accepted towards meeting the UCAS tariff requirement. AS levels, or qualifications equivalent to AS level, are not accepted. The Extended Project qualification (EPQ) may be accepted towards entry, in conjunction with two A-level equivalent qualifications. Please contact the University directly if you are unsure whether you meet the minimum entry requirements for the course.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Creative writing

English studies

Our creative writing courses are taught by world-renowned writers from The Manchester Writing School; one of the most successful of its kind in the UK, with more than 95 graduates and MA students who’ve gone on to become published writers. But skilled writers must also be well-developed readers and this course offers the best of both worlds, allowing you to combine Creative Writing and English as part of a joint degree.

While studying and practising creative writing, you’ll take a range of options from the English degree, including American literature, film, television and cultural studies. As you progress, you’ll have the chance to take part in creative writing workshops, focussing on two options from the selection of: prose, poetry, script and digital. Our placement route offers you the opportunity to spend your third year on an industry placement, allowing you to apply university-based knowledge, skills and understanding to the world of work, and giving you an advantage when you begin looking for your first job after graduation. Or you may have the chance to spend a year expanding your horizons, studying with one of our partner universities overseas.* In your final year, you’ll be ready to undertake an all-important independent creative project.

By the time you leave us, you’ll have an excellent understanding of the critical and cultural contexts in which you’re writing, together with the skills and experience to excel in the creative journey from original idea to finished work.

This course has a foundation year available.

*Placement and/or study abroad options may be available, potentially extending the duration of study up to 4 years. Study abroad will be subject to any international travel restrictions and/or availability.

**Features and Benefits**
- You’ll learn from the experience and expertise of a wide range of leading poets, novelists and scriptwriters based at The Manchester Writing School, one of the largest and most successful of its kind in the UK. Staff include award-winning poets and writers, including winners of the Costa First Novel Award and the Ted Hughes Award.

- We are a world-class English department — 70% of our research impact is rated as world-leading (REF21).

- Ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK for creative writing (Good University Guide 2022).

- You’ll have access to the many conferences, readings, research programmes, festivals and competitions run by the department.

- Engage with the Manchester Children’s Book Festival, a year-long programme of events and activities.

- We’ll help you build your own network among our many partners within the creative and culturally rich city of Manchester, a UNESCO City of Literature.

- You can take the four-year route, spending a year studying abroad, or boost your career prospects with a placement in industry.

The Uni


Course location:

Manchester Metropolitan University

Department:

English

Read full university profile

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.

52%
Creative writing
73%
English studies

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

78%
Staff make the subject interesting
81%
Staff are good at explaining things
78%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
70%
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

56%
Library resources
81%
IT resources
74%
Course specific equipment and facilities
41%
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?

96%
UK students
4%
International students
38%
Male students
62%
Female students
89%
2:1 or above
8%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

C
B
B

English studies (non-specific)

Teaching and learning

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
75%
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

69%
Library resources
84%
IT resources
80%
Course specific equipment and facilities
65%
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?

98%
UK students
2%
International students
25%
Male students
75%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
10%
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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education
39%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

21%
Artistic, literary and media occupations
17%
Other elementary services occupations
8%
Teaching and educational 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.

English studies (non-specific)

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.

£17,000
med
Average annual salary
91%
low
Employed or in further education
41%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
16%
Other elementary services occupations
8%
Teaching and educational professionals

English is one of the most popular degree subjects and in 2015, more than 11,000 students graduated with English degrees - although this does represent a fall from recent years. As good communication is so important to modern business, you can find English graduates in all parts of the economy, although obviously, you can't expect to get a job in science or engineering (computing is a different matter - it's not common but good language skills can be useful in the computing industry). There's little difference in outcomes between English language and English literature degrees, so don't worry and choose the one that suits you best. More English grads took another postgraduate course when they finished their degree than grads from any other subject - this is an important option. Teacher training was a common choice of second degree, as was further study of English, and journalism courses. But many English graduates changed course and trained in law, marketing or other languages -or even subjects further afield such as computing, psychology and even nursing. This is a very flexible degree which gives you a lot of options

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.

£15k

£15k

£20k

£20k

£22k

£22k

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.

English studies (non-specific)

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

£15k

£15k

£20k

£20k

£22k

£22k

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.

Share this page

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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