Programme Specification for the 2025/6 academic year
MA Creative Writing (Online)
1. Programme Details
| Programme name | MA Creative Writing (Online) | Programme code | PNA2EGLEGL02 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study mode(s) | Part Time |
Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Campus(es) | Streatham (Exeter) |
NQF Level of the Final Award | 7 (Masters) |
2. Description of the Programme
The Exeter Online Creative Writing MA is designed to help you develop your writing, edit it, and get it out into the world.
Part of Exeter’s globally respected English and Creative Writing department, this fully online MA lets you study when and where it suits you — at your own pace, from anywhere in the world. You’ll be taught through a mix of online lectures, flexible peer workshop groups, generative writing activities, inspiring reading, and personal tutoring — all designed to fit around your schedule. Throughout the course, you’ll receive dedicated online support and constructive feedback from a published writer and experienced tutor, helping you refine your craft with expert guidance. Over the course, you’ll learn to align your writing with the issues that resonate most deeply with readers. You’ll discover what makes great books work and how your own writing fits into the bigger literary picture. Finally, you’ll gain practical skills in publishing, including how to pitch, promote, and navigate the industry with guidance from experienced professionals. Everything you learn will build towards a final manuscript project: a substantial and distinctive portfolio of your own creative work. The course welcomes those who wish to write poetry and all forms of prose, including short fiction, the novel, life-writing and creative non-fiction. You’ll follow a structured curriculum designed to help you build productive writing habits and become part of a creative community that offers encouragement, motivation, and mutual support.
3. Educational Aims of the Programme
The MA in Creative Writing (Online) will provide an intellectually rigorous and creatively stimulating environment that nurtures the development of writers who are both critically engaged and professionally prepared. Drawing upon contemporary research, industry practices, and diverse literary traditions, the programme will enable students to refine their craft across multiple genres and forms.
Specifically, the programme aims to:
- Provide high-quality, research-informed teaching that combines creative practice with critical analysis, fostering a holistic understanding of writing as art, craft, and academic discipline.
- Develop students’ abilities to critically evaluate their own and others’ creative work, integrating insights from diverse textual traditions and theoretical frameworks.
- Enable students to cultivate a sustained, independent creative practice that engages thoughtfully with social, cultural, and ecological concerns, encouraging writing that contributes meaningfully to better futures.
- Assist students in acquiring up-to-date professional knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the evolving creative industries, including pitching, collaboration, and audience engagement.
- Foster a collaborative and supportive community of writers, encouraging constructive feedback, reflective practice, and ethical engagement within peer and professional networks.
- Prepare students to undertake substantial creative projects that demonstrate advanced imaginative, editorial, and technical skills, alongside an ability to articulate their practice in relation to contemporary creative and academic discourses.
The programme is delivered fully online via the Exeter Learning Environment (ELE), a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) designed to support a flexible and inclusive learning experience. The VLE provides a dynamic platform for interaction, collaboration, and resource access, enabling students to engage with course materials and communities at their own pace while maintaining meaningful tutor and peer contact.
Key learning and teaching methods include:
- Online Lectures from staff and guest speakers.
- Structured Workshop Forums where students share work-in-progress and exchange detailed, constructive feedback in a supportive, professionally scaffolded environment.
- Guided Reading and Critical Reflection activities that connect students with diverse genres, traditions, and theoretical perspectives to enrich creative and analytical skills.
- Generative Writing Exercises encouraging experimentation with form, voice, and technique.
- Tutorials providing personalised feedback and support.
- Independent Research and Study
- Digital Collaboration Tools integrated within ELE to facilitate peer interaction, editorial discussions, and collective learning.
- Professional Development Opportunities embedded within modules to enhance skills in pitching, project management, and navigating the creative industries.
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.
The MA Creative Writing (Online) is a part-time, online-only programme of study at Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 7 (as confirmed against the FHEQ). This programme would normally be completed across a minimum of two years of part-time study.
Programme entry points are in January, May and September. The taught modules on the programme (EASM214Z, EASM215Z, EASM216Z and EASM218Z) run in rotation, with each module repeating every four terms, as shown in the table below. The dissertation module (EASM217Z The Manuscript) will first run in May 2027 and be offered every term thereafter. You may take taught modules in any order; however, EASM217Z is to be completed after you have completed all four modules.
Start dates of programme modules through 29/30*:
|
EASM218Z Writing for Better Futures |
Jan 2026 |
May 2027 |
Sept 2028 |
Jan 2030 |
|
EASM214Z Reading into Writing |
May 2026 |
Sept 2027 |
Jan 2029 |
May 2030 |
|
EASM215Z The Workshop |
Sept 2026 |
Jan 2028 |
May 2029 |
Sept 2030 |
|
EASM216Z The Industry |
Jan 2027 |
May 2028 |
Sept 2029 |
Jan 2031 |
|
EASM217Z The Manuscript |
Offered every term from May 2027 |
|||
*These are intended dates and subject to change.
All modules except the dissertation (EASM217Z) are designed to be standalone, without relying on previous taught content. New students will receive a bespoke pathway lecture or guidance document, as well as resources on the main programme page. This is intended to ensure students have access to core materials and the baseline knowledge required.
Any taught module may be taken as part of the MA or as a stand-alone micro-credential. The dissertation (EASM217Z) is only offered as part of the MA.
Exit Awards
Exit awards of PGDip (120 credits) and PGCert (60 credits) are available to students who have completed the required number of credits but are unable for any reason to complete the 180 credits required for the MA.
Stage 1
Compulsory Modules
180 credits of compulsory modules
| Code | Module | Credits | Non-condonable? |
|---|---|---|---|
| EASM218Z | Writing for Better Futures | 30 | No |
| EASM214Z | Reading into Writing | 30 | No |
| EASM215Z | The Workshop: Craft and Process | 30 | No |
| EASM216Z | The Industry: Pitching, Promoting and Publishing | 30 | No |
| EASM217Z | The Manuscript | 60 | 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. Critically evaluate the connections between your reading and creative practice, synthesising insights from diverse texts to inform, challenge, and extend your own writing. | Learning and teaching activities to facilitate ILO 1 will include online lectures, guided reading, generative writing exercises, independent research, and digital collaboration activities using tools such as Menti. ILO 2 will be facilitated through the above, plus professional development opportunities in the form of guest speakers. ILO 3 will be delivered primarily through structured workshop forums, critical reflection, and tutorials. ILO 4 will also involve guest speakers, as well as independent research, and group projects based on real professional goals. | Formative assessment will include peer and tutor feedback on short generative tasks scaffolded to build up to the summative assessment; private and shared critical reflection journals; and standardised outlines of planned work. Summative assessments include creative portfolios, reflective critical commentaries, annotated iterations of drafts, excerpts from feedback given to peers, and professionally focused ‘industry projects’. |
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: | |
5. Demonstrate the necessary advanced creative and imaginative skills to support the effective conception, design, and production of a substantial and original creative writing project. | Learning and Teaching activities for ILO 5 include tutorials, independent research and writing, generative writing exercises, guided reading, and structured workshop forums. ILO 6 will be facilitated through: online lectures, guided reading, critical reflection, independent research, and structured workshop forums. ILO 7 will be student-led and will be taught through independent research guided by tutors. ILO 8 will rely on guided reflective practice, professional development opportunities such as guest speakers, and the use of case studies. | Formative assessments will include: ongoing tutor and peer feedback, self-marked activities (such as quizzes, and walk-through guides), guided critical reflection, and scaffolded summative assessment plans. Summative assessments include: the writing of a substantial and original creative portfolio, reflective essays, case studies, and professional focused ‘industry projects’. |
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: | |
9. Communicate effectively to specialist and non-specialist audiences through advanced writing, speaking, and narrative skill. | ILOs 9, 10 and 12 will be taught through online lectures, structured workshop forums, tutorials and professional development opportunities, such as creative pitches, and ‘writer-in-residence’ style creative briefs. Students will have the opportunity to display ILO 11 through their final dissertation, which will involve independent research, guided reading, and tutor supervision. | Formative: Assessment of transferable and professional skills will primarily be formative, with guidance and scaffolding given for workshopping and teamwork. If necessary, students will be supported individually through tutorials. Summative assessments include: the writing of a substantial and original creative portfolio, reflective essays, case studies, and professional focused ‘industry projects’. |
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
Core content for the programme will be made available online and asynchronously via our dedicated Exeter Learning Environment (ELE) to allow maximum flexibility in when you study to fit around your other commitments. We provide a range of rich online materials, a variety of learning activities and encourage you to participate in learning communities. Each module sets out the key expectations and requirements at the start of teaching and you will receive timely feedback on your progress throughout your programme.
The Student/Staff Liaison Committee (SSLC) enables students and staff to jointly participate in the management and review of the teaching and learning provision.
Personal and academic tutoring: It is University policy that all Faculties should have in place a system of academic personal tutors and pastoral mentors. The role of academic personal tutors is to provide you with advice and support for the duration of the programme, including details of how to obtain support and guidance on personal difficulties such as accommodation, financial difficulties and sickness. Pastoral mentors are a point of contact, embedded within departments, who can support you if you are facing challenges that impact your ability to study and be successful in your programme.
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
Not applicable to this programme.
18. Final Award
MA Creative Writing (Online)
19. UCAS Code
Not applicable to this programme.
20. NQF Level of Final Award
7 (Masters)
21. Credit
| CATS credits | 180 |
ECTS credits | 90 |
|---|
22. QAA Subject Benchmarking Group
23. Dates
| Origin Date | 11/08/2025 |
Date of last revision |
|---|
