24 monthsProgramme duration
04 Aug, 2027Application Deadline
SepStarting Month
Programme overview
Main Subject
English Language and Literature
Degree
MA
Study Level
Master's
Study Mode
On Campus
Course summary
What makes a story stay with you? How do you find the right voice, challenge the boundaries of a genre and turn an idea into writing that connects with readers?
If you want to develop your writing, experiment with new forms and build the skills to pursue writing professionally, MA Creative Writing is for you.
At Southampton, Creative Writing is all about the power of storytelling, and we specialise in teaching our students how to tell those stories in the most popular literary forms: novels, narrative non-fiction, memoir and life writing. You can focus on the forms that interest you most while discovering new approaches that could take your work in unexpected directions.
Writing develops through doing, questioning and rewriting. In a supportive environment, you’ll examine your own creative practice critically, challenge your assumptions about genre and learn how to make more purposeful decisions about your work.
You’ll learn from practising, award-winning writers and lecturers, including published novelists and acclaimed non-fiction writers such as Toby Litt, Carole Burns, Devorah Buam, and Kevin Brazil. With students and staff joining the course from around the world, you’ll also encounter different writing traditions, perspectives and approaches to storytelling.
Your learning reaches beyond the seminar room. Publish and edit an end-of-year anthology, take part in a literary festival, hear from established authors and find opportunities to collaborate with people from different disciplines across the University.
English at Southampton is ranked 6th in the UK for research quality (Complete University Guide 2027), giving you the opportunity to develop your writing within an active research environment.
Find your place in a community where writers read, question, experiment and develop together, and leave with a clearer sense of the writer you want to become.
Key features of this course
**Find your voice.** Develop advanced skills across fiction, scriptwriting, creative non-fiction, and life writing, choosing the areas that best match your creative interests.
**Put your writing into the world.** Have the opportunity to edit and publish an end-of-year anthology and take part in a literary festival, building experience of taking creative work from draft to audience.
**Meet writers at work.** Join a lively programme of literary events, including the Writers in Conversation reading series featuring acclaimed published authors.
**Create across boundaries.** Pursue collaborations with people from different areas of the University, including scientists and visiting actors through projects such as the annual Litmus project.
**Become part of a wider arts community.** Explore the University’s arts environment, including Turner Sims Concert Hall and the John Hansard Gallery, and encounter creative work beyond your own discipline.
**Shape the course around you.** Choose from a wide range of optional modules offered by the School of Humanities, giving you the freedom to explore subjects that support or challenge your writing practice.
Your future career
Professional writing needs more than good ideas. It takes creativity, critical thinking, communication and the ability to understand how writing works for different forms, audiences and contexts.
Throughout the MA, you’ll develop these skills while building a substantial body of creative work and learning to reflect critically on your own practice.
Graduates work across the creative industries, arts organisations, publishing, television and radio, journalism and self-employment. Careers directly related to the course include writer, digital copywriter, magazine editor, journalist, copy editor, proofreader and social media content creator.
The programme can also prepare you for further academic study, including a PhD.
Wherever your writing takes you, you’ll leave Southampton with a stronger creative practice, greater confidence in your craft and the ability to keep questioning what your work could become.
Further information
This master’s degree can be studied full-time over 1 year or part-time over 2 or more years.
Your studies culminate in a supervised independent Final Project. You’ll submit a significant body of creative work supported by a critical commentary addressing a key question raised by your practice.
You’ll receive regular advice and guidance from your supervisors throughout the project.
You’ll also have access to the Creative Skills workshop, a weekly forum focused on developing your own writing.
What makes a story stay with you? How do you find the right voice, challenge the boundaries of a genre and turn an idea into writing that connects with readers?
If you want to develop your writing, experiment with new forms and build the skills to pursue writing professionally, MA Creative Writing is for you.
At Southampton, Creative Writing is all about the power of storytelling, and we specialise in teaching our students how to tell those stories in the most popular literary forms: novels, narrative non-fiction, memoir and life writing. You can focus on the forms that interest you most while discovering new approaches that could take your work in unexpected directions.
Writing develops through doing, questioning and rewriting. In a supportive environment, you’ll examine your own creative practice critically, challenge your assumptions about genre and learn how to make more purposeful decisions about your work.
You’ll learn from practising, award-winning writers and lecturers, including published novelists and acclaimed non-fiction writers such as Toby Litt, Carole Burns, Devorah Buam, and Kevin Brazil. With students and staff joining the course from around the world, you’ll also encounter different writing traditions, perspectives and approaches to storytelling.
Your learning reaches beyond the seminar room. Publish and edit an end-of-year anthology, take part in a literary festival, hear from established authors and find opportunities to collaborate with people from different disciplines across the University.
English at Southampton is ranked 6th in the UK for research quality (Complete University Guide 2027), giving you the opportunity to develop your writing within an active research environment.
Find your place in a community where writers read, question, experiment and develop together, and leave with a clearer sense of the writer you want to become.
Key features of this course
**Find your voice.** Develop advanced skills across fiction, scriptwriting, creative non-fiction, and life writing, choosing the areas that best match your creative interests.
**Put your writing into the world.** Have the opportunity to edit and publish an end-of-year anthology and take part in a literary festival, building experience of taking creative work from draft to audience.
**Meet writers at work.** Join a lively programme of literary events, including the Writers in Conversation reading series featuring acclaimed published authors.
**Create across boundaries.** Pursue collaborations with people from different areas of the University, including scientists and visiting actors through projects such as the annual Litmus project.
**Become part of a wider arts community.** Explore the University’s arts environment, including Turner Sims Concert Hall and the John Hansard Gallery, and encounter creative work beyond your own discipline.
**Shape the course around you.** Choose from a wide range of optional modules offered by the School of Humanities, giving you the freedom to explore subjects that support or challenge your writing practice.
Your future career
Professional writing needs more than good ideas. It takes creativity, critical thinking, communication and the ability to understand how writing works for different forms, audiences and contexts.
Throughout the MA, you’ll develop these skills while building a substantial body of creative work and learning to reflect critically on your own practice.
Graduates work across the creative industries, arts organisations, publishing, television and radio, journalism and self-employment. Careers directly related to the course include writer, digital copywriter, magazine editor, journalist, copy editor, proofreader and social media content creator.
The programme can also prepare you for further academic study, including a PhD.
Wherever your writing takes you, you’ll leave Southampton with a stronger creative practice, greater confidence in your craft and the ability to keep questioning what your work could become.
Further information
This master’s degree can be studied full-time over 1 year or part-time over 2 or more years.
Your studies culminate in a supervised independent Final Project. You’ll submit a significant body of creative work supported by a critical commentary addressing a key question raised by your practice.
You’ll receive regular advice and guidance from your supervisors throughout the project.
You’ll also have access to the Creative Skills workshop, a weekly forum focused on developing your own writing.
Programme overview
Main Subject
English Language and Literature
Degree
MA
Study Level
Master's
Study Mode
On Campus
Course summary
What makes a story stay with you? How do you find the right voice, challenge the boundaries of a genre and turn an idea into writing that connects with readers?
If you want to develop your writing, experiment with new forms and build the skills to pursue writing professionally, MA Creative Writing is for you.
At Southampton, Creative Writing is all about the power of storytelling, and we specialise in teaching our students how to tell those stories in the most popular literary forms: novels, narrative non-fiction, memoir and life writing. You can focus on the forms that interest you most while discovering new approaches that could take your work in unexpected directions.
Writing develops through doing, questioning and rewriting. In a supportive environment, you’ll examine your own creative practice critically, challenge your assumptions about genre and learn how to make more purposeful decisions about your work.
You’ll learn from practising, award-winning writers and lecturers, including published novelists and acclaimed non-fiction writers such as Toby Litt, Carole Burns, Devorah Buam, and Kevin Brazil. With students and staff joining the course from around the world, you’ll also encounter different writing traditions, perspectives and approaches to storytelling.
Your learning reaches beyond the seminar room. Publish and edit an end-of-year anthology, take part in a literary festival, hear from established authors and find opportunities to collaborate with people from different disciplines across the University.
English at Southampton is ranked 6th in the UK for research quality (Complete University Guide 2027), giving you the opportunity to develop your writing within an active research environment.
Find your place in a community where writers read, question, experiment and develop together, and leave with a clearer sense of the writer you want to become.
Key features of this course
**Find your voice.** Develop advanced skills across fiction, scriptwriting, creative non-fiction, and life writing, choosing the areas that best match your creative interests.
**Put your writing into the world.** Have the opportunity to edit and publish an end-of-year anthology and take part in a literary festival, building experience of taking creative work from draft to audience.
**Meet writers at work.** Join a lively programme of literary events, including the Writers in Conversation reading series featuring acclaimed published authors.
**Create across boundaries.** Pursue collaborations with people from different areas of the University, including scientists and visiting actors through projects such as the annual Litmus project.
**Become part of a wider arts community.** Explore the University’s arts environment, including Turner Sims Concert Hall and the John Hansard Gallery, and encounter creative work beyond your own discipline.
**Shape the course around you.** Choose from a wide range of optional modules offered by the School of Humanities, giving you the freedom to explore subjects that support or challenge your writing practice.
Your future career
Professional writing needs more than good ideas. It takes creativity, critical thinking, communication and the ability to understand how writing works for different forms, audiences and contexts.
Throughout the MA, you’ll develop these skills while building a substantial body of creative work and learning to reflect critically on your own practice.
Graduates work across the creative industries, arts organisations, publishing, television and radio, journalism and self-employment. Careers directly related to the course include writer, digital copywriter, magazine editor, journalist, copy editor, proofreader and social media content creator.
The programme can also prepare you for further academic study, including a PhD.
Wherever your writing takes you, you’ll leave Southampton with a stronger creative practice, greater confidence in your craft and the ability to keep questioning what your work could become.
Further information
This master’s degree can be studied full-time over 1 year or part-time over 2 or more years.
Your studies culminate in a supervised independent Final Project. You’ll submit a significant body of creative work supported by a critical commentary addressing a key question raised by your practice.
You’ll receive regular advice and guidance from your supervisors throughout the project.
You’ll also have access to the Creative Skills workshop, a weekly forum focused on developing your own writing.
What makes a story stay with you? How do you find the right voice, challenge the boundaries of a genre and turn an idea into writing that connects with readers?
If you want to develop your writing, experiment with new forms and build the skills to pursue writing professionally, MA Creative Writing is for you.
At Southampton, Creative Writing is all about the power of storytelling, and we specialise in teaching our students how to tell those stories in the most popular literary forms: novels, narrative non-fiction, memoir and life writing. You can focus on the forms that interest you most while discovering new approaches that could take your work in unexpected directions.
Writing develops through doing, questioning and rewriting. In a supportive environment, you’ll examine your own creative practice critically, challenge your assumptions about genre and learn how to make more purposeful decisions about your work.
You’ll learn from practising, award-winning writers and lecturers, including published novelists and acclaimed non-fiction writers such as Toby Litt, Carole Burns, Devorah Buam, and Kevin Brazil. With students and staff joining the course from around the world, you’ll also encounter different writing traditions, perspectives and approaches to storytelling.
Your learning reaches beyond the seminar room. Publish and edit an end-of-year anthology, take part in a literary festival, hear from established authors and find opportunities to collaborate with people from different disciplines across the University.
English at Southampton is ranked 6th in the UK for research quality (Complete University Guide 2027), giving you the opportunity to develop your writing within an active research environment.
Find your place in a community where writers read, question, experiment and develop together, and leave with a clearer sense of the writer you want to become.
Key features of this course
**Find your voice.** Develop advanced skills across fiction, scriptwriting, creative non-fiction, and life writing, choosing the areas that best match your creative interests.
**Put your writing into the world.** Have the opportunity to edit and publish an end-of-year anthology and take part in a literary festival, building experience of taking creative work from draft to audience.
**Meet writers at work.** Join a lively programme of literary events, including the Writers in Conversation reading series featuring acclaimed published authors.
**Create across boundaries.** Pursue collaborations with people from different areas of the University, including scientists and visiting actors through projects such as the annual Litmus project.
**Become part of a wider arts community.** Explore the University’s arts environment, including Turner Sims Concert Hall and the John Hansard Gallery, and encounter creative work beyond your own discipline.
**Shape the course around you.** Choose from a wide range of optional modules offered by the School of Humanities, giving you the freedom to explore subjects that support or challenge your writing practice.
Your future career
Professional writing needs more than good ideas. It takes creativity, critical thinking, communication and the ability to understand how writing works for different forms, audiences and contexts.
Throughout the MA, you’ll develop these skills while building a substantial body of creative work and learning to reflect critically on your own practice.
Graduates work across the creative industries, arts organisations, publishing, television and radio, journalism and self-employment. Careers directly related to the course include writer, digital copywriter, magazine editor, journalist, copy editor, proofreader and social media content creator.
The programme can also prepare you for further academic study, including a PhD.
Wherever your writing takes you, you’ll leave Southampton with a stronger creative practice, greater confidence in your craft and the ability to keep questioning what your work could become.
Further information
This master’s degree can be studied full-time over 1 year or part-time over 2 or more years.
Your studies culminate in a supervised independent Final Project. You’ll submit a significant body of creative work supported by a critical commentary addressing a key question raised by your practice.
You’ll receive regular advice and guidance from your supervisors throughout the project.
You’ll also have access to the Creative Skills workshop, a weekly forum focused on developing your own writing.
Admission Requirements
6.5+
120+
67+
3.2+
92+
176+
You’ll need a 2:2 degree in English literature or a related subject. You must also provide a sample of creative writing, please check our course page for further informtion.
04 Aug 2027
2 Years
Sep
Scholarships
Selecting the right scholarship can be a daunting process. With countless options available, students often find themselves overwhelmed and confused. The decision can be especially stressful for those facing financial constraints or pursuing specific academic or career goals.
To help students navigate this challenging process, we recommend the following articles:
How to get a full scholarship
Looking for a fully-funded scholarship to see you into university? Find out how to boost your chances of getting one.
By Sabrina Collier
Updated Aug 27, 2026
1.0M
2256
Scholarships to study abroad
Find scholarships to study abroad with our lists of international scholarships – categorized by country, by subject, and by type of student.
By Staff Writer
Updated Aug 21, 2024
518.5K
791
Scholarship Applications: Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to all your questions about scholarship applications, including tips on how to find scholarships and chances of success.
By Laura Tucker
Updated Aug 14, 2021
230.1K
338
More programmes from the university
Postgrad Programmes
567
Get closer to your dream programme
Your consent preferences have been set.
Time to start exploring.
Your account has been removed.
You can still browse the site or sign up again once you have parental consent.
Get closer to your dream programme