Creative Writing and History
University of Chester
UCAS Code: WV81 | Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
Entry requirements
A level
Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, History, Politics, Sociology) and 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, to include 45 credits at level 3, of which 30 must be at Merit or above (including 15 in History)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
26 Points Including English and History at HL 5 or above
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
including H3 in English and History
BTEC Extended Diploma/Diploma: Distinction/merit profile plus one of the GCE A Level subjects listed above, in a History-based subject.
Scottish Higher
B in 4 subjects, including History and English
UCAS Tariff
112 UCAS points from GCE A Levels or equivalent. Typical offer - BCC/BBC. Specific subjects/grades required for entry: Ancient History, Classical Civilisation, History, Politics, Sociology) and 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
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.
**History**
Explore the past with modules covering a thousand years of local, national and international history, with themes ranging from identity, race and ethnicity, politics and justice, to leisure and the landscape to war, conflict and social change.
In the historic city of Chester, you’ll be surrounded by connections to the Medieval, Early Modern and Modern periods, enriching your experience and providing opportunities for group field trips and individual exploration. We embrace a range of approaches including social, cultural and political history, but also the study of material culture, digital humanities and the application of history in a practical context to develop your employability prospects.
You will challenge existing narratives about the past and be encouraged to think critically about how, and why, these narratives have developed. You will also explore themes and issues relating to race, diversity, gender, imperialism, conflict and climate change.
You’ll be able to choose from our wide variety of option modules to tailor your degree to suit your own interests and you’ll have the opportunity to work as a professional historian and produce material for public consumption. During the second year of your degree, you will be able to work directly with history and heritage organisations such as BBC History Magazine and the National Trust; you will also work with local heritage organisations, museums and archives, as well as local schools to apply your degree in a professional context and enjoy unique opportunities that will enhance your enjoyment of the subject, as well as your CV.
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, we will teach you in seminars, workshops, talks or individual tutorials, or through the use of our virtual learning environment.
For History, you will be assessed through a range of assignments which will include essays, individual and group presentations and research dissertations. You will also be given the opportunity to take a range of assessments designed to develop your skills in public communication and digital humanities. These may include book reviews, webpage design, video essays and writing materials for third-party organisations such as BBC History Magazine and the National Trust.
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
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
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?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
History
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.
History
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
History is a very popular subject (although numbers have fallen of late) — in 2015, over 10,000 UK students graduated in a history-related course. Obviously, there aren't 11,000 jobs as historians available every year, but history is a good, flexible degree that allows graduates to go into a wide range of different jobs, and consequently history graduates have an unemployment rate comparable to the national graduate average. Many — probably most — jobs for graduates don't ask for a particular degree to go into them and history graduates are well set to take advantage. That's why so many go into jobs in the finance industry, human resources, marketing, PR and events management, as well as the more obvious roles in education, welfare and the arts. Around one in five history graduates went into further study last year. History and teaching were the most popular further study subjects for history graduates, but law, journalism, and politics were also popular postgraduate courses.
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
£22k
£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.
History
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
£20k
£21k
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...
Higher entry requirements
Nearby UniversitySame University
Lower entry requirementsThis 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
