Undergraduate Course
Creative Writing and English Literature BA (Hons)
Great writing isn't possible without also being a skilled reader. Develop both skills together on this joint honours degree.
Explore writing from around the world, from different eras and from underrepresented voices alongside classic texts. Let your extensive reading and literary analysis inspire your own original writing, as you come to appreciate the power of the written word.
100% Creative Writing students responded with a 100% positivity score for how good teaching staff are at explaining things. (National Student Survey 2024)
100% English Literature students responded with a 100% positivity score for how often their course challenged them to achieve their best work. (National Student Survey 2024)
York campus
- UCAS code – WQ8H
- Duration – 3 years full time, 6 years part time
- Start date – September 2025
- School – School of Humanities
Minimum entry requirements
104 UCAS Tariff points
3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.
Tuition fees
UK 2025 entry £9,250 per year full time
International 2025 entry £11,500 per year full time
Discover studying at York St John University
Creative Writing
Helen Pleasance introduces us to Creative Writing at York St John University.
English Literature
Anne Marie Evans introduces us to English Literature at York St John University.
Course overview
Expand your literary horizons by engaging with texts that span many different genres, styles, forms and voices. As well as helping you develop your writing skills, this will help you to see the world from new perspectives. This course offers a lot of flexibility, with literature modules covering varied topics, including:
- Prison narratives
- Radical poetry
- Avant-garde writing
- Speculative fiction
- LGBTQIA+ rights literature
- Experimental writing
- Classic texts by writers such as Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen
You can also choose between different Creative Writing specialisms, including script writing, poetry and fiction.
Joining us on this course means becoming part of the York Centre for Writing. This is a lively, friendly community of writers that acts as a hub for producing innovative new work in the city. Through the centre and through our involvement in the annual York Literature Festival, you will be able to attend events such as workshops, readings and writing sessions. You will also benefit from regular visits from industry professionals, agents, publishers and literary activists. You can also take part in field trips to bring some of the texts we study to life.
As you become a skilled reader and writer you will also gain plenty of transferable skills which will be useful to you in many industries. Whether your career is directly related to writing or not, skills in communication, analysis, team working, creativity and independent thinking will put you in a strong, employable position when you graduate.
Course structure
Year 1
Our academic year is split into 2 semesters. In your first year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- 2 compulsory modules and 1 optional module in semester 1
- 2 compulsory modules and 1 optional module in semester 2
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
This is a joint honours degree which means you must study at least 1 module from each subject every semester.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Modules
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module will help you to become more confident in studying literature at degree level. You will engage with a range of texts written before the 19th century, considering various different forms including prose, drama, poetry, and autobiographical writing. Through this you will start to think about how literature and history can be brought together, and why Literature remains a popular and important subject to study.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
Good writers are good readers first and foremost. This module will introduce you to theories, debates and practices in narrative, enhancing your understanding of narrative as it functions both within literature and culture generally. You will examine some of the codes and conventions that govern the production, structure, reception and interpretation of narrative. To do this you will explore films, novels, poetry and plays, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Hitchcock’s Vertigo. By engaging with these varied narrative forms you will consider the relationship between narrative and culture and think critically about the historical development of those forms.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
This module will introduce you to the variety of professional contexts you could work in as a creative writer. You will start to develop the professional skills needed to work as a writer, working to deadlines and writing to briefs. You will engage with many different forms of writing, from memoirs to scripts and graphic novels to blogs. As part of this module you will have the chance to meet a variety of inspiring visiting writers, who can share their expertise with you.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
What sort of social, political, cultural, and historical values do we bring to the study of literature? And in what ways have literary texts addressed important issues, major events, and social changes? This module explores these questions and more, using a diverse range of texts from the turn of the 19th century to the present day. The selection includes canonical works, as well as works which have often been neglected or overlooked, including those by marginalised authors. Through close examination of texts including poetry, drama, short stories and novels, we will consider issues including:
- Gender
- Class
- War
- Empire
- Racialisation
- Form
- Genre
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will learn the basics of academic writing and research at university level. Drawing on a range of classic and contemporary short stories and poems, you will develop skills such as:
- Using the library catalogue
- Choosing secondary sources
- Planning essays
- Developing arguments
- Close reading texts.
These will allow you to write about and discuss the works that inspire you with confidence and flair.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module introduces you to core skills in creative writing, including creating setting, poetic form, working with dialogue, and characterisation. You will also develop skills in workshopping and collaborating on creative work, familiarising yourself with the workshop environment which will be central to your learning on this course. You will have the opportunity to experiment with a range of forms and ideas in group writing activities, and through this module will become more confident in sharing your work with others.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will consider representations of economic, social and cultural power, and the ways in which they connect with various forms of identity. We will discuss how identities are formed, and how they can shift and change. We will consider, for example how sex, gender, sexuality, disability, race and ethnicity relate to power. We will discuss the representation of both power and identity in a variety of texts, including novels, films, novellas, and graphic novels, helping you to develop the critical vocabulary needed to analyse and theorise those representations.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will introduce you to two key concepts that will recur throughout your academic study: the idea of literary value, and the concept of the canon. This will provide a context for you to reflect on what you study at university and why. We will question how assumptions about what is and isn't great literature can influence our reading and writing choices, potentially restricting us from exploring beyond the classics.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module emphasises the role of research in the production of creative work. We will introduce you to a range of research techniques to help stimulate creative projects and contextualise your writing. There will be opportunities to use different types of research materials to generate your own work, as well as studying texts that have been produced using different research methods. You will have the opportunity to take part in creative projects based on archival work.
Year 2
In your second year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- 3 optional modules in semester 1
- 2 optional modules in semester 2 and EITHER Working with Words: Publishing and Performance OR Literature at Work
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
You must choose at least 1 module from each subject every semester.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Modules
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
You must choose either this module or Working with Words.
Employability is discussed a lot at universities, but where does this idea come from, and what can literature teach us about work? This module interrogates the purpose of Literature, as both a degree and subject matter. It shows the value of literary study to understanding and navigating issues around the gendered, classed, and racialised nature of work. The module also provides opportunities for external placements, career planning, and work-related learning. You will reflect on and learn to articulate your key skills and strengths, including in mock interviews. Guest speakers will share experiences and introduce you to career pathways such as publishing, teaching, journalism, and the civil service.
Credits: 20
Compulsory module
You must choose either this module or Literature at Work.
This work-related module will develop your understanding of the relationship between creative writing practices and employability in the creative industries. It is an opportunity for you to explore the methods and means of literary publishing, production and performance, developing transferable and employable skills through project work. The module combines a broad exploration of industry aims and ethics with first hand experience of specific editorial, commercial, and practical processes.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will consider the different ways books and films tell stories, and what happens to literature and literary characters when they are translated onto the screen. We will introduce you to the theory, methods and conventions behind the process of adaptation. In addition to examining specific examples of film adaptation, you can choose to experiment creatively on an adaptation project of your own, using what you have learnt.
Credits: 20
Optional module
Science fiction has a history of encouraging readers and viewers to reflect on their post industrial choices, and consider how they have affected the wellbeing of the planet and its inhabitants. On this module we will draw on a range of critical perspectives around utopianism to approach landmark texts in the history of science fiction. You will also have the opportunity to get involved with our ongoing science fiction writing project, Terra Two: An Ark for Off-World Survival
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will consider whether we can meaningfully approach literary texts outside of their historical contexts. We will question whether a text can mean anything to anybody, or if are there more objective ways of understanding them. This module engages with some of the most fundamental questions in literary studies. It will equip you with the theoretical background and skills you need to offer insightful readings of any text, irrespective of when and where it was published.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will encounter varied and interesting texts produced within and written about major conflicts of the 20th and early 21st centuries. We will start with depictions of the mechanised horror of the Western Front and progress through representations of:
- The Second World War
- The Spanish Civil War
- Vietnam
- The Troubles in Northern Ireland
- 9/11 and the War on Terror
We will read texts by writers as diverse as Martha Gellhorn, George Orwell and Kurt Vonnegut, and examine the complex relationship between language, experience, trauma and memory.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module explores the ways new forms of news and entertainment in the eighteenth century revealed the unstable boundaries between truth and fiction. This led to the emergence of literary forms that came to typify the literature of later periods, such as the novel. Print provided a forum for writers to express concern over different forms of power, an issue debated in terms of empire, political and religious authority and personal identity, and responsibility. On this module you will consider how the literature of this period deals with questions of personal liberty, love, sexuality, and desire.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will consider the relationship between American literature and the physical and symbolic spaces of its settings. In American culture concepts of space and setting have a particular relevance that dates back to events such as the declaration of independence, the founding of civic spaces, and the Californian gold rush. You will be challenged to think creatively, critically, and innovatively about physical space and literature. In doing so we will explore the relationship between American socio-economic history and the development of a specifically American literary tradition.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module considers the sentimental turn literature took at the end of the eighteenth century, and explores its impact on what followed in both the Romantic movement and the Gothic revival. The writers we study on this module reckon with the power of the imagination, the limits of perception, the nature of human society, and the affective potential of literature itself, as well as processing the events of an age characterised by revolution. The literature of this period not only reflects the reader's world, but seeks to change it.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will consider how diseases and contagion are represented in narratives from the late Eighteenth century to the present day. We will trace connections, similarities and differences in the literary representation of the spread, symptoms, and management of disease, covering contagions from rabies to zombie viruses. The module considers how diseases in texts can reflect contemporary anxieties about society. As well as covering a broad range of historical periods, the module also draws on a number of genres from novels to films to TV series, and introduces texts such as medical handbooks and advertisements alongside literary works.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This is a dynamic module which explores Shakespeare’s works in their present day and early modern contexts through a range of perspectives. Considering their creative potential for performance, we will look at contemporary stagings of his plays, film and television adaptations. We will discuss Shakespeare's place in a national and global culture, and explore current discussions around colour/gender-conscious casting, considering the implications of casting on the way we understand the texts. Through this you will engage with a range of theoretical approaches, from new historicism, cultural materialism and postcolonialism, to feminist and queer readings.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module is an opportunity to read and produce a range of fictional forms, from flash fictions to novellas, and short stories to novels. You will develop an understanding of:
- Characterisation
- Voice
- Plot
- Narration
- Dialogue
- Point of view
This will help you to produce your own fiction portfolio.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module will give you the opportunity to explore a range of non-fiction texts including:
- Journalism
- Creative non-fiction
- Fictocriticism
- Manifestos
- Blogs and online journals
- Documentary, travel and life writing
Through this you will develop your understanding of voice, structure and audience in relation to these forms, as well as considering the blurred lines between fact and fiction in non-fiction writing. By viewing, reading and watching a range of texts, we will ask you to make the links between creative and critical writing, and to produce your own nonfictional work.
Credits: 20
Optional module
From the sonnet to the prose poem, this module will broaden your understanding of the formal qualities of poetry, as you discover how to produce dazzling imagery and perfect rhythm, manipulating voice and pace. On this module you will study a range of contemporary poets, supplemented by visits and readings. You will produce your own portfolio of poetry by the end of the module.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module addresses the essential elements of scriptwriting. This includes writing convincing dialogue, creating interesting characters, and constructing coherent stories. We will also introduce you to the cultural, theoretical and industrial contexts of scriptwriting. Through this module you will develop your expressive and technical skills in writing scripts for one or more of:
- Radio
- Television
- Stage and film
By the end of the module you will have produced your own original script.
Year 3
In your third year, if you are a full time student, you will study:
- A Dissertation module across semesters 1 and 2. This can be focused on either Creative Writing or English Literature.
- 2 optional modules in semester 1
- 1 compulsory module and 1 optional module in semester 2
If you are a part time student, the modules above will be split over 2 years.
You can find out which modules are available in each semester on the Course Specifications.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Modules
Credits: 40
Compulsory module
As you progress towards your final year you will become increasingly independent in your learning. YYour dissertation is an extended project which runs for the whole of the academic year, focusing on a topic of your choice, and with the support of an academic supervisor. If you choose to focus on Creative Writing, your creative work will be accompanied by a Contextual Reflection which will demonstrate your analytical and research skills. For many students this is one of the most enjoyable parts of their degree, as it gives you the opportunity to specialise in something you are passionate about and explore it in great depth.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will consider the historical, theoretical, cultural and political dimensions of genre, as well as exploring the conventions which are attributed to specific genres. You will also be given the opportunity to critically explore differentiations between high and low culture, and investigate genres such as tragedy, satire and the Gothic, romance, horror, and noir. The module will help you to develop an awareness of literary and generic concepts between and across different forms. Through this you will develop skills in original composition, drafting and editing.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module is an opportunity to explore and participate in contemporary literature. Through this you will start to develop the relationship between your creative practice and the theory, philosophy, and politics that uniform and inspire contemporary work. This will involve engaging with writing that challenges the traditional boundaries of literature and is fresh, exciting and innovative. You will also consider a broad range of materials and techniques that will help you to develop your own innovative creative practices.
Credits: 20
Optional module
The Victorian poet Matthew Arnold said of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre that “the writer’s mind contains nothing but hunger, rebellion, and rage.” These are also themes that characterise much of the writing of the Victorian period. Whether the issues are societal or individual, many Victorian novels protest against the privations and injustices writers saw around them. At the same time, there were also funny, rude, and sensational texts, and texts which imagined a different kind of future in the emergent genre of science fiction. This module includes a variety of writing from across the Victorian era, and considers texts within the political, environmental, and social contexts in which they were produced.
Credits: 20
Optional module
Twentieth-century literature was formed in the crucible of revolutions, global conflicts, shifts in the planet’s ecology, and profound technological and social challenges to traditional patterns of life. This was an age of both genocide and Apartheid on the one hand, and an upsurge of claims for self-determination and human rights on the other. Literature developed in equally radical and often contradictory fashion, responding to political, social, and wider cultural shifts. On this module you will examine experimental and provocative texts across a range of forms, interrogating how modernity unfolded in the twentieth century, and asking questions about its continuing role in shaping the present.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This module takes literary trends, such as the vogue for young adult vampire fiction during the late 2000s, or the enthusiasm for fantasy fiction we’re experiencing in the 2020s, and situates them in a longer historical view. We will encourage you to consider broader narratives of subversion and experimentation, and confront questions about literary value, originality, and influence. We may look, for instance, at a recent work of Gothic fiction such as Colleen Hoover’s Verity (2018), alongside nineteenth-century sensationalist novels, eighteenth-century Gothic novels, the occult works of early modern figures, and even trace the novel’s influences all the way back to Dante’s thirteenth-century exploration of hell in Inferno.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will investigate the theatrical experimentation that took place over the last century, and consider its impact on the contemporary stage. You will consider the major movements and perspectives of the period against the background of wider intellectual, cultural and aesthetic debates. Through this we will explore the creative dynamics between:
- Tradition and innovation
- Word and image
- Writing and performance
- Reading and spectatorship.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will examine a selection of texts from 20th century American literature, and relate these works to their cultural, social and political backgrounds. We will focus on texts that demonstrate formal innovation and experimentation, and the module reading list will reflect the huge variety evident in twentieth century American narrative and representation. You will read Native American, African American and Chinese-American texts alongside literature produced in the wake of radical social change such as Beat writing, Vietnam narratives, and responses to queer San Francisco.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will examine texts from the English-speaking Caribbean, a region that has produced two Nobel Prize winners in Literature. We will introduce you to a range of writing from and about the Caribbean, so that you can appreciate the longstanding global impact of this writing, and consider how it is currently being marked and remembered. We will particularly focus on the close connections of the past and present between Britain and the Caribbean.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module you will examine texts from a variety of locations, including Europe, the USA, Africa and the Asian subcontinent. Using these texts we will debate some of the contradictions of contemporary global society. You will consider:
- Whether local traditions or global culture has more impact in the modern world
- What those in one part of the world do or do not owe to those living in another
- Whether the popularity of literary texts which aim to represent and understand ‘the other’ is something to celebrate, or simply another form of exoticism.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will examine how different genders and sexualities are presented in film, literature, TV and a host of other media. We will investigate how different cultural groups use popular culture and literature to reinforce, challenge, transgress, or disrupt traditional gender expectations. This module challenges you to draw on all of the skills, theories and approaches encountered throughout your degree to interrogate the representation of gender roles and sexuality in popular culture.
Credits: 20
Optional module
On this module we will introduce you to a range of very contemporary publishing and literary cultures, helping you to position your own work in the contemporary literary landscape. You will be encouraged to think critically about literary culture, and develop a sense of how your own work might contribute to or challenge contemporary modes of writing. The module also has a practical focus which will help you to develop a professional portfolio you can use as a springboard into your career.
Credits: 20 each
Optional module
This is an opportunity to get involved with a current staff research project. The topics on offer in any particular year will reflect the research being carried out by your tutors. This is a great way to be part of the research culture within the department and add to the creation of new knowledge. You will build further on the research skills you have already developed, which will help you with your own independent dissertation.
Credits: 20
Optional module
This is a second opportunity to get involved with a current staff research project. As with Research Now I, the topics on offer in any particular year will reflect the research being carried out by your tutors. It's a great way to be part of the research culture within the department, while building your own research skills further.
Teaching and assessment
Teaching and learning
The aim of our teaching is to help you to become a better writer and literary critic. We want you to be an active learner who is engaged in every aspect of the course. You will take part in:
- Lectures
- Seminars
- Creative writing workshops
- Tutorials
- Field trips
- Sessions with guest speakers
- Collaborative learning and debate
- Problem solving exercises
You will typically study 3 modules each semester. Each module will normally have 3 hours of contact time each week, so you will have a minimum of 9 hours of teaching each week.
Alongside your timetabled contact time, you will need to study independently. This means spending time reading around the topics we cover and preparing for your taught sessions. This will ensure that you get the most out of your degree, as well as building valuable time management skills.
Our teaching draws on both our research and professional experience. This means your learning is informed by the most current thinking in the subject area. You can find out more about our research and backgrounds by visiting our staff pages.
Assessment
There are no exams on this course. You will be assessed entirely through coursework. This includes essays, but also other forms of assessment which will help you develop new skills and prepare for your career. Your Creative Writing modules will typically be assessed through a portfolio of original writing accompanied by a critical or reflective commentary.
You will receive feedback on your work throughout each module. This will help you to improve your work for your graded assessments.
Career outcomes
Your future with a degree in Creative Writing and English Literature
This degree can help you become a professional writer, but the skills you learn on this course will also be relevant to a wide range of professions. As you explore your creativity you will also build transferrable skills in analysis, communication, team working, problem solving, time management and presentation.
This degree could be the first step toward your career in:
- Writing
- Publishing
- Teaching
- Editing and copywriting
- Journalism
- Marketing or PR
Discover more career options on Prospects careers advice pages.
You could also progress onto a postgraduate degree and take your learning even further.
Postgraduate degrees at York St John University
PGCE at York St John University
Further your education and work towards a rewarding career in teaching by studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) after you graduate. For over 180 years, we have worked with enthusiastic individuals who want to shape the future of young people across both primary and secondary school settings. You'll spend a lot of time in schools, developing your practice by teaching. You will graduate with Qualified Teacher Status and become part of the well respected alumni of York St John educators.
Whatever your ambitions, we can help you get there.
Our careers service, LaunchPad provides career support tailored to your ambitions. Through this service you can access:
- Employer events
- LinkedIn, CV and cover letter sessions
- Workshops on application writing and interview skills
- Work experience and volunteering opportunities
- Personalised career advice
This support doesn't end when you graduate. You can access our expert career advice for the rest of your life. We will help you gain experience and confidence to succeed.
Entry requirements
Qualifications
Minimum entry requirements
104 UCAS Tariff points
3 GCSEs at grade C/4 (or equivalent) including English Language.
Calculate your UCAS Tariff points
International students
If you are an international student you will need to show that your qualifications match our entry requirements.
Information about international qualifications and entry requirements can be found on our International pages.
If English is not your first language you will need to show that you have English Language competence at IELTS level 6.0 (with no skill below 5.5) or equivalent.
This course is available with a foundation year
If you do not yet meet the minimum requirements for entry straight onto this degree course, or feel you are not quite ready for the transition to Higher Education, this is a great option for you. Passing a foundation year guarantees you a place on this degree course the following academic year.
Mature Learners Entry Scheme
If you have been out of education for 3 years or more and have a grade C GCSE in English Language or equivalent, you are eligible for our entry scheme for mature learners. It's a scheme that recognises non-traditional entry qualifications and experience for entry onto this course. Information on how to apply can be found on our dedicated page.
Terms and conditions
Our terms and conditions, policies and procedures contain important information about studying at York St John University. You can read them on our Admissions page.
Fees and funding
To study for an undergraduate degree with us, you will need to pay tuition fees for your course. How much you pay depends on whether you live inside the UK, or internationally (outside the UK). Tuition fees may be subject to inflation in future years.
UK 2025 entry
The tuition fee for 2025 entry onto this course is:
- £9,250 per year for full time study
- £6,935 per year for the first 4 years if you study part time
These prices apply to all UK, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man students
You can find out more about funding your degree by visiting our funding opportunities page:
Placement year funding
If you choose to take a placement year, and your course offers it, you can apply for the Tuition Fee and Maintenance Loan for your placement year. How much you are awarded is based on the type of placement being undertaken and whether it is a paid or unpaid placement. The tuition fee for your placement year will be reduced.
Tuition fees
UK 2025 entry £9,250 per year full time
International 2025 entry £11,500 per year full time
International 2025 entry
The tuition fee for 2025 entry to this course is £11,500 per year for full time study.
This price applies to all students living outside the UK.
Due to immigration laws, if you are an international student on a Student Visa, you must study full time. For more information about visa requirements and short-term study visas, please visit the International Visa and Immigration pages.
Find out more about funding your degree:
Additional costs and financial support
There may also be some additional costs to take into account throughout your studies, including the cost of accommodation.
Course-related costs
While studying for your degree, there may be additional costs related to your course. This may include purchasing personal equipment and stationery, books and optional field trips.
Study Abroad
For more information on tuition fee reductions and additional costs for studying abroad, please visit our study abroad pages.
Accommodation and living costs
For detailed information on accommodation and living costs, visit our Accommodation pages.
Financial help and support
Our Funding Advice team are here to help you with your finances throughout your degree. They offer a personal service that can help you with funding your studies and budgeting for living expenses.
For advice on everything from applying for scholarships to finding additional financial support email fundingadvice@yorksj.ac.uk.
Bethany Creative Writing and English Literature and now works for Penguin Random House
The best things about the course were the additional events that were put on and the inclusion of the work experience module. I really enjoyed all elements of my course, but it was these events with authors and publishers that really inspired me. One of my tutors told us that we should make the most of all the events at York St John because we would never have quite the same experience again and he was right!
Merryn Creative Writing and English Literature
A highlight of the course has been exploring outside my comfort zone, creating new friendships and opening new opportunities. I feel I can be myself here, around other people who are so creative, I'm always learning something new and expanding my ideas. York St John has really allowed me to push through, creating new memories and life long friendships.