Programme Specification for the 2023/4 academic year
MA Creative Writing
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | MA Creative Writing | Programme code | PTA1EGLEGL09 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Full Time Part Time |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
| Campus(es) | Streatham (Exeter) |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 7 (Masters) |
2. Description of the Programme
The MA in Creative Writing is unique in bringing together the following:
- Teaching by a strong and diverse group of internationally recognised writers
- The rich resources of a world-leading Russell Group university with a top-rated English Department
- The chance to live and work in a beautiful West Country location in a vibrant cathedral city
Whether you are interested in fiction, non-fiction, poetry or screen writing, Exeter offers you a thriving and supportive writing community. Our team of prize-winning and best-selling authors are highly experienced and will help you develop your writing towards publication. Our strong links with the worlds of publishing, literary journalism and broadcasting, book festivals and prizes will provide valuable insights into the workings of the literary marketplace and open many opportunities to establish the contacts necessary for successful publication.
Read more at http://www.exeter.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/english/creative-ma/#OkSirmXi7Uco4Sgk.99
Advice and guidance on your programme can be sought from your personal tutor and programme director. All staff offer regular office hours that you can drop into without a prior appointment for this purpose.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
The programme aims to introduce you to a diverse and intellectually challenging range of topics and materials and to a variety of creative and critical approaches. The programme is primarily focussed on literary texts but also includes, in varying degrees depending on choice of modules, the study of genre and of the market for creative productions. It aims to prepare you for further independent writing by providing you with a range of subject specific, discipline specific, core research and academic skills, as well as creative skills and techniques.
The programme has been structured with different kinds of creative individuals in mind: both those who wish to experiment with a wide variety of modes of writing and those who are determined to follow a particular project in their own chosen field or medium, i.e. fiction, verse, or screenplay; those seeking high level training prior to embarking on doctoral research; recent graduates who wish to extend and enhance their studies by a year before embarking on a career; individuals already in employment who are interested in career development.
The programme is intended to:
- enable you to develop advanced imaginative literary skills, drawing on independent critical thinking, judgement and abstract evolution of principles
- engage you provocatively and productively in the process of writing your own texts, as well as understanding and analysing complex and sophisticated literary, non-literary and filmic texts
- introduce you to a wide range of creative, critical and theoretical approaches, both classical and experimental, drawing from a broad historical coverage and methodology, and a wide range of contemporary approaches
- encourage you to acquire critical tools which will both reflect upon the production and reception of literary non-literary, and filmic texts, and enable you to develop your own work
- develop a range of subject specific, discipline specific, core research and academic skills, including high order conceptual literacy, presentation and communication skills valued in graduate employment
- provide an intellectually stimulating and satisfying experience of learning, study and research, whilst encouraging a sense of the distinctive social and cultural significance of English language, literature and film
- provide a basis for further research in English and creative writing, and provide a solid basis for professional independent labour
- provide you with the means to develop a distinctive critical and creative voice, particularly to the extent that a large percentage of Exeter MA students aim to pursue a career in the creative arts, or in academic research
4. Programme Structure
5. Programme Modules
The following tables describe the programme and constituent modules. Constituent modules may be updated, deleted or replaced as a consequence of the annual programme review of this programme.
http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/postgraduate/
A more in-depth description of each module is also available from the following pages:
http://intranet.exeter.ac.uk/humanities/studying/postgraduatetaught/modules/
You may take optional modules up to 30 credits from the MA English Literary Studies as long as any necessary prerequisites have been satisfied, where the timetable allows and if you have not already taken the module in question or an equivalent module.
Providing you have not taken 30 optional credits from the MA English Literary Studies, you may take elective modules up to 30 credits from another MA programme offered at the University (subject to availability, and where appropriate, the required prerequisites). This replaces a 30 credit optional module from the Creative Writing MA.
Please note that Creative Writing and English Literary Studies are distinct MA programmes. You must be enrolled on the MA Creative Writing to undertake a dissertation in Creative Writing.
Stage 1
Stage 1: 60 credits of compulsory modules and 120 credits of optional modules (you may take up 30 credits from the MA English Literary Studies)
Compulsory Modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| EASM123 | Creative Writing Dissertation | 60 | Yes |
Optional Modules
You must choose 120 credits of optional modules from the list below but to include at least 90 credits of Creative Writing modules.
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CW options MA CW-ELS 2023-4 | |||
| EASM121 | The Poetry of Events - Building a Plot | 30 | No |
| EASM156 | Writing Nature: Ecology, Place, Memoir (Creative Writing) | 30 | No |
| EASM166 | Prose Writing Workshop | 30 | No |
| EASM169 | Publishing and Power: Black and Asian Literary Networks in the UK | 30 | No |
| EASM122 | Writing for the Screen | 30 | No |
| EASM133 | The Structures of Realism | 30 | No |
| EASM185 | Story Machines: Interactive Texts and Narrative Games | 30 | No |
| EASM196 | Writing for the Planet: Creative Writing as Climate and Ecological Activism | 30 | No |
| EGLS options MA CW-ELS 2023-4 | |||
| EASM151 | Modernism and Material Culture | 30 | No |
| EASM169 | Publishing and Power: Black and Asian Literary Networks in the UK | 30 | No |
| EASM174 | Writing Women in the English Middle Ages | 30 | No |
| EASM150 | Empire, Decadence and Modernity: Literature 1870-1910 | 30 | No |
| EASM152 | Criticism and Theory: Critical and Literary Theory in a Global Context | 30 | No |
| EASM157 | The Literature of Cold War America | 30 | No |
| EASM167 | World Cinema / World Literature | 30 | No |
| EASM171 | Expanding Queerness: Critical Debates in Theory, Literature, Film and Television | 30 | No |
| EASM191 | Environments of Early Modern Drama | 30 | No |
| EASM192 | Global Voices: Shakespeare and the Early Modern World | 30 | No |
| EASM109 | Bodies Politic: Cultural and Sexual Politics in England, 1603-1679 | 30 | No |
| EASM154 | The Body and Identity | 30 | No |
| EASM180 | Crossing Medieval Boundaries | 30 | No |
| EASM177 | The Global Publishing Marketplace: Creating Audiences | 30 | No |
| EASM179 | Translation and Publishing: New Approaches to Literary Activism | 30 | No |
6. Programme Outcomes Linked to Teaching, Learning and Assessment Methods
Intended Learning Outcomes
A: Specialised Subject Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
1. Students will develop an advanced grasp of issues concerning language, form and aesthetics, and the skills to distinguish between the requirements of the various genres and media. Students will develop sophisticated critical grasp of the historical and political background to material explored in the various modules | For all modules: The Department uses a variety of learning and teaching methods including seminars, student study groups, and web and IT resources. The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. At MA level seminar discussion, to which student contribution is essential, is the key element in teaching and learning methods; to this end, students must prepare for classes by reading recommended essays / book chapters to be discussed each week. Modules offer the opportunity for feedback on draft materials before submission of work to be assessed. Students are expected to meet regular deadlines and to produce well-presented work for each seminar. Creative Writing students regularly attend sessions organised within the ambit of the Department's Creative Writing and Arts Programme, delivered by visiting practitioners such as writers, filmmakers and Television executives. We use a software programme called Exeter Learning Environment, or ELE (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/), which allows us to place all relevant course material within an easily navigable format. An ELE site acts as a 'home' for a module's materials. Discussion lists for the exclusive use of students studying that particular module are available on ELE. Department of English MA degrees are awarded through the accumulation of credits during a one (Full-time) or two year (Part-time) period of study. Students must complete 4 x 30 credits modules, and a dissertation worth 60 credits. Creative Writing modules have very specific needs and requirements; assessment in each of the Creative Writing modules generally comprises of a joint submission of original work produced with the context of the course, and of a critical essay reflecting on the creative process as it applies to each subject area. This is the case with both the end of term essay and the end of year dissertation.
| The assessment profile of the Department of English degree programmes is planned to meet English Benchmark requirements, and to encourage as well as test students' acquisition of key skills in conjunction with subject-specific knowledge. The assessment processes are subject to regular review through the Department's Board of Examiners, Education Group, Postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee, the College of Humanities Education Strategy Group, feedback from students, external examiners' reports, and internal/external Quality Assurance audits. The backbone of assessment in English remains the formal essay, as stipulated by the QAA benchmark statement, and substantial work is invested in raising students' awareness of research and writing skills. The full criteria for assessment are available on the Department of English postgraduate web-pages: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/postgraduate/ |
Intended Learning Outcomes
B: Academic Discipline Core Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
2. In all modules, students will gain the ability to engage in an intellectually sophisticated and confident manner with advanced critical and theoretical approaches to textual study. They will further develop bibliographic and research skills through their individual written assignments, and engage in structured 'research group' work towards enhanced appreciation of the productive values of collective work. Research methodologies are furthered throughout all modules with a view to enabling students to develop independent research skills and to base their creative practice in sound principles of observation and reading. Students will acquire the ability to judge critically the range of methodologies available for their own research work, and develop their research prospectuses with close attention to their own scholarly profiles | In all modules, students will gain the ability to engage in an intellectually sophisticated and confident manner with advanced critical and theoretical approaches to textual study. They will further develop bibliographic and research skills through their individual written assignments, and engage in structured 'research group' work towards enhanced appreciation of the productive values of collective work. Research methodologies are furthered throughout all modules with a view to enabling students to develop independent research skills and to base their creative practice in sound principles of observation and reading. Students will acquire the ability to judge critically the range of methodologies available for their own research work, and develop their research prospectuses with close attention to their own scholarly profiles. | The assessment profile of the Department of English degree programmes is planned to meet English Benchmark requirements, and to encourage as well as test students' acquisition of key skills in conjunction with subject-specific knowledge. The assessment processes are subject to regular review through the Department's Board of Examiners, Education Group, Postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee, the College of Humanities Education Strategy Group, feedback from students, external examiners' reports, and internal/external Quality Assurance audits. The backbone of assessment in English remains the formal essay, as stipulated by the QAA benchmark statement, and substantial work is invested in raising students' awareness of research and writing skills. The full criteria for assessment are available on the Department of English postgraduate web-pages: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/postgraduate/ |
Intended Learning Outcomes
C: Personal/Transferable/Employment Skills and Knowledge
| Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) On successfully completing this programme you will be able to: | Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) will be... | |
|---|---|---|
| ...accommodated and facilitated by the following learning and teaching activities (in/out of class): | ...and evidenced by the following assessment methods: | |
3. debating skills, communication of argument in writing and oral debate, advanced skills in retrieval of appropriate information from complex archives and textual materials, development of an advanced understanding and application of contemporary critical and theoretical ideas | For all modules: The Department uses a variety of learning and teaching methods including seminars, student study groups, and web and IT resources. The precise method of teaching varies according to each module. At MA level seminar discussion, to which student contribution is essential, is the key element in teaching and learning methods; to this end, students must prepare for classes by reading recommended essays / book chapters to be discussed each week. Modules offer the opportunity for feedback on draft materials before submission of work to be assessed. Students are expected to meet regular deadlines and to produce well-presented work for each seminar. Creative Writing students regularly attend sessions organised within the ambit of the Department's Creative Writing and Arts Programme, delivered by visiting practitioners such as writers, filmmakers and Television executives. We use a software programme called Exeter Learning Environment, or ELE (http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/), which allows us to place all relevant course material within an easily navigable format. An ELE site acts as a 'home' for a module's materials. Discussion lists for the exclusive use of students studying that particular module are available on ELE. Department of English MA degrees are awarded through the accumulation of credits during a one (Full-time) or two year (Part-time) period of study. Students must complete 4 x 30 credits modules, and a dissertation worth 60 credits. Creative Writing modules have very specific needs and requirements; assessment in each of the Creative Writing modules generally comprises of a joint submission of original work produced with the context of the course, and of a critical essay reflecting on the creative process as it applies to each subject area. This is the case with both the end of term essay and the end of year dissertation | The assessment profile of the Department of English degree programmes is planned to meet English Benchmark requirements, and to encourage as well as test students' acquisition of key skills in conjunction with subject-specific knowledge. The assessment processes are subject to regular review through the Department's Board of Examiners, Education Group, Postgraduate Student-Staff Liaison Committee, the College of Humanities Education Strategy Group, feedback from students, external examiners' reports, and internal/external Quality Assurance audits. The backbone of assessment in English remains the formal essay, as stipulated by the QAA benchmark statement, and substantial work is invested in raising students' awareness of research and writing skills. The full criteria for assessment are available on the Department of English postgraduate web-pages: http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/english/postgraduate/ |
7. Programme Regulations
Classification
Full details of assessment regulations for all taught programmes can be found in the TQA Manual, specifically in the Credit and Qualifications Framework, and the Assessment, Progression and Awarding: Taught Programmes Handbook. Additional information, including Generic Marking Criteria, can be found in the Learning and Teaching Support Handbook.
8. College Support for Students and Students' Learning
We have a number of specialist research resources and projects available to postgraduates: the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is the largest film-related archive in the UK outside the British Film Institute; the Chris Brooks Collection is a major resource for scholars of Romanticism and 19th-century fiction and culture; and the Global Circulation Project on cultures in contact is based in Exeter. Our unique collections of writings and correspondence by authors connected with the South West such as Daphne du Maurier, RD Blackmore, Agatha Christie, William Golding and Ted Hughes supplement research resources held in the University library. The University library holds a number of resources important for our research, including the Hypatia Collection of women’s literature and history as well as online resources.
Students at both campuses have access to a wealth of online information including: over 400 online journal titles; Early English Books Online (which contains facsimile texts of virtually all books printed in England, 1475-1700); the extensive Gale Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) research archive; search tools such as FirstSearch; the digital journal repository JSTOR; and other similar databases providing access to full text articles. For further information about research in our English Department, please see the English Research webpages.
9. University Support for Students and Students' Learning
Please refer to the University Academic Policy and Standards guidelines regarding support for students and students' learning.
10. Admissions Criteria
Undergraduate applicants must satisfy the Undergraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Postgraduate applicants must satisfy the Postgraduate Admissions Policy of the University of Exeter.
Specific requirements required to enrol on this programme are available at the respective Undergraduate or Postgraduate Study Site webpages.
11. Regulation of Assessment and Academic Standards
Each academic programme in the University is subject to an agreed College assessment and marking strategy, underpinned by institution-wide assessment procedures.
The security of assessment and academic standards is further supported through the appointment of External Examiners for each programme. External Examiners have access to draft papers, course work and examination scripts. They are required to attend the Board of Examiners and to provide an annual report. Annual External Examiner reports are monitored at both College and University level. Their responsibilities are described in the University's code of practice. See the University's TQA Manual for details.
14. Awarding Institution
University of Exeter
15. Lead College / Teaching Institution
Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS)
16. Partner College / Institution
Partner College(s)
Not applicable to this programme
Partner Institution
Not applicable to this programme.
17. Programme Accredited / Validated by
0
18. Final Award
MA Creative Writing
19. UCAS Code
C772
20. NQF Level of Final Award
7 (Masters)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | ECTS credits |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 01/12/2009 |
Date of last revision | 17/06/2021 |
|---|
