Creative Writing and Journalism
Entry requirements
A level
Access to HE Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
About this course
**Why study creative writing and journalism with us**
With our journalism and creative writing course you don't have to pick between the two areas of interest. Our course offers the unique experience of combining both subjects, so you can develop your skills as a writer across different styles.
During the course, you'll cover everything you'll need to know about journalism – from shorthand to digital media. You'll also learn about the life of a journalist whether you want to write for a newspaper, magazine, or online platforms.
On the creative writing side, you'll learn how to critically examine different types of writing – our course gives you plenty of opportunities to experiment with language, styles and formats.
This course prepares you to enter the industry as a professional journalist or go on to work in all sorts of creative industries, from creative writing to comedy.
You'll learn alongside professional authors, playwrights, scriptwriters, and journalists as you develop the skills you need. You'll also get plenty of practice with opportunities like North London Story Festival and many others.
**Develop your skills with our course**
This course is ideal if you want to improve your skills as a writer and gain a theoretical foundation of best writing practices. You'll study all forms of writing, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as drama and screenwriting. You'll also take an in-depth look at the way journalism and writing industries are developing today.
Learning to communicate effectively, you'll learn essential journalism and creative writing skills such as narrative, character, and developing dialogue and conflict.
The teaching is varied and exciting, from creative workshops and listening to talks by speakers from the industry to practical work using our extensive media production tools. You will work on your own creative and practical projects, and put together a portfolio of work; you will attend demonstrations, lectures, seminars, workshops and one-to-one tutorials, and supplement all this with online and independent study.
Later in the course, you'll take part in development of your employability profile in order to put your new skills to practice in a work environment. Previously, we have placed our students with some of the most prestigious media outlets in the UK, such as BBC London and The Guardian.
**Networking and support**
We ensure that every student has full support throughout their time with us. That’s why you’ll get matched with a Personal Tutor as well as a Student Learning Assistant and a Graduate Academic Assistant. They’ll have experience in your subject area and will be able to help whenever you need.
If you want a successful career in journalism or writing-based role, then this is the course to consider. We’ll help you develop the skills and relationships you need to thrive in your chosen career path.
Modules
Year 1
Writing Creatively (30 credits) - Compulsory
Character, Conflict and Dialogue (30 credits) - Compulsory
What is Journalism? (30 credits) - Compulsory
Journalism Skills (30 credits) - Compulsory
Year 2
Multimodal Journalism (30 credits) - Compulsory
Year 2: Choose two optional modules
Screen Writing for Shorts (30 credits) - Optional
Fiction: The Short Story (30 credits) - Optional
Storytelling for Games (30 credits) - Option
Year 2: Choose one optional module
Arts, Lifestyle and Sports Journalism (30 credits) - Optional
Political Communication (30 credits) - Optional
Year 3
Creative Writing Project (30 credits) - Compulsory
Working as a Writer (30 credits) - Compulsory
Year 3: Choose two optional modules
Genre Fiction (30 credits) - Optional
Popular Non-Fiction (30 credits) - Optional
Long Form Journalism (30 credits) - Optional
Global Journalism and News Culture (30 credits) - Optional
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
Extra funding
.
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.
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
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Journalism
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Journalism
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
£22k
£28k
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.
Journalism
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£19k
£20k
£26k
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.
Explore these similar courses...
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