Creative Writing and English Literature with Foundation Year

Creative writing and English literature is a degree that puts you simultaneously in the position of writer and reader, examining how literary works achieve their effects while developing your own capacity to produce original work of quality. English literature gives you the historical and critical depth to understand the tradition you are writing within and pushing against, developing close reading, contextual knowledge, and interpretive skills across a wide range of forms and periods. Creative writing develops your craft across fiction, poetry, and other genres, building the self-awareness and the technical fluency needed to write well.

At York St John, the programme invites you to explore writing from around the world, from different eras and from underrepresented voices alongside classic texts, using extensive reading and literary analysis to inspire your own original writing. The programme begins with a foundation year, providing a supportive and structured introduction to degree-level literary and creative study for students who benefit from additional preparation. The full programme runs over four years full-time, with a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and a work placement, giving you professional and international experience alongside your creative and academic development.

The typical entry tariff for direct entry is 56 points.

Graduates of creative writing and English literature programmes pursue careers in publishing, journalism, writing and editing, education, the cultural sector, arts administration, and a wide range of roles where literary and communicative competency are valued. The practice of writing itself, and the critical reading that literary study develops, is applicable across virtually every professional context. Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in creative writing or English to develop their practice and knowledge further, or build independent writing careers alongside other professional work.