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Creative Writing and English Literature

Entry requirements


A level

B,C,C-B,B,C

The Department requires one of the following subjects at GCE A Level: a Humanities-based essay writing subject such as English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History or Classical Civilisation.

Access to HE Diploma (must include a relevant Humanities subject at Level 3), to include 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Merit

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

26

26 points, including 5 in HL English

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H3,H3,H3,H3,H4

including H3 in English

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

DMM

BTEC Extended Diploma/Diploma: merit/distinction profile plus one of the GCE A Level subjects listed above

Scottish Higher

B,B,B,B

Grades BBBB including English

UCAS Tariff

112

The Department requires one of the following subjects at GCE A Level: a Humanities-based essay writing subject such as English Literature, English Language, English Language & Literature, Philosophy, Religious Studies, History or Classical Civilisation.

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subjects

Creative writing

English literature

A Combined Honours degree at Chester gives you the opportunity to study two subjects. You will spend a fairly even amount of time studying each subject area, with possible opportunities to declare a major – minor towards the end of your studies.

**Creative Writing**
Unleash your creativity and discover what makes good writing great as you produce and reflect on your own fiction, poetry and drama.
This course helps you to develop the skills and techniques to become a creative writer in poetry, drama and fiction (flashes, short stories, novels), and also to write critically. We have a number of highly successful published writers of fiction and poetry in the Department, who can share their insights with you.
Learn how your own work fits into the wider world of literature and contemporary publishing. Study the works and techniques of successful poets, novelists and dramatists to inform your own writing; choose from a number of optional and specialist modules; and pursue and complete a writing project of your own choice.
The Department’s commitment to contemporary literature and its contacts with eminent authors allow us to place your degree studies in Creative Writing in an exciting wider context. We will also give you guidance on how you can get your work published, so that you can share your success with others. At Chester, we pride ourselves on teaching Creative Writing in a professional but supportive environment.

**English Literature**
Discover the power of words, from the earliest times to the present day, as you delve deep into new worlds.
You will study an exciting variety of novels, poems and plays. You might find yourself looking for the psychological undercurrents in a fantasy novel, applying feminist theory to a Renaissance courtly sonnet, studying the motif of the vampire in Gothic horror or exploring the treatment of love in the comedies of Shakespeare.
There’s the chance to write a dissertation on a topic of your choosing, exploring your interests. You will develop key skills for the future; our students learn how to frame a convincing argument, express it in discussion, analyse writing in all styles and work independently.
We offer an engaging and supportive atmosphere in which ideas about literature are shared. Group discussion is at the heart of the degree, making the study of literature exciting, varied and dynamic. You can customise your degree as you progress, so by the third year you might be taking several optional modules as well as working on a dissertation that you have created, where you will work individually with a lecturer to complete the project.

Modules

For the latest example of curriculum availability on this course, please refer to the University of Chester's Website.

Assessment methods

For Creative Writing, assessment varies from module to module: you will compile portfolios of creative writing; write critical and self-reflective prose; and also do a range of other kinds of assessed work. There are no formal written exams.
For English Literature, assessment methods vary, and may include: coursework essays, seminar papers, oral presentations, resource-based learning exercises, portfolios, learning diaries, and a small number of formal examinations.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Chester

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.

68%
English literature

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

Sorry, no information to show

This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.


Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
39%
Male students
61%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
B
C

Literature in english

Teaching and learning

87%
Staff make the subject interesting
85%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
72%
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

73%
Library resources
85%
IT resources
77%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
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
18%
Male students
82%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
19%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

B
C
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.

£16,500
low
Average annual salary
89%
low
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

19%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
13%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
12%
Artistic, literary and media occupations

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.

Literature in english

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.

£16,500
low
Average annual salary
95%
med
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

17%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers
12%
Sales, marketing and related associate professionals
10%
Other elementary services occupations

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.

£16k

£16k

£22k

£22k

£23k

£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.

Literature in english

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

£16k

£22k

£22k

£23k

£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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Course location and department:

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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.

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.

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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.

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