English Literature and Creative & Professional Writing
St Mary's University, Twickenham
UCAS Code: QW39 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Pass Access to Higher Education Diploma with 60 credits including 45 at Level 3
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
UCAS Tariff
One A Level should ideally be in English (either Language or Literature), but we may be able to consider applicants who are doing at least one other essay-writing subject, and can demonstrate an interest in English. We will generally make you an offer if your predicted grades are at the top of this range and you meet any subject specific requirements (where applicable). If your predicted grades are towards the lower end of this range we can still consider your application but will also take into account subjects studied at Level 3, your GCSE (or equivalent) profile and/or relevant non-academic achievements, references and your motivation for study.
About this course
When you study literature you are not just reading and thinking about great books, you are also asking questions about society’s past and future, and ultimately interrogating your own past and future.
During your time here you will be studying literature from the Renaissance to the present day, all within the vicinity of Horace Walpole’s Gothic mansion, Strawberry Hill House, which is located on our campus.
The programme has a traditional and rigorous core of compulsory modules covering: Tragedy, Critical Theory, Renaissance Literature (including Shakespeare), Romanticism and Modernism. The literary training provided ensures that you will cover the conventional ‘classics’ meticulously.
You will develop skills that will complement the unique and innovative optional units, which you can tailor to your interests and passions.
There's no snobbery in the teaching of creative writing at St Mary’s. Our job is simply to make you the best writer you can be. We're open to all kinds of writers with a wide array of interests, from science fiction to screenplays and from rap to romance. You tell us what you want to write and we will help you to write it as well as you can.
There's only one way to write, and that is to write. Perhaps that sounds like circular reasoning, but it’s the fundamental truth about the craft. In the Creative and Professional Writing programme we want you to write. A lot. Because if you love writing, and we assume you must, then you just have to sit down and get to it.
Modules
Foundations of Writing, Reading across Literary Forms, Contemporary Drama, Contemporary Fiction, Critical Theory and Foundations in Literature: Tragedy
Assessment methods
Most of the modules are assessed with essays and other written forms, supplemented, where appropriate, with examinations, presentations, and contributions to digital content such as blogs, wikis and the like.
The creative writing modules have no exams and places a premium on practical exercises, coursework and projects, so skills will be assessed by a diverse range of methods.
Tuition fees
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The Uni
St Mary's University, Twickenham
Department of Humanities
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)
English studies (non-specific)
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.
English studies
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.
English studies
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.
English studies
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£16k
£25k
£23k
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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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