Creative Writing and English with Foundation

Creative writing and English is a degree that develops two complementary but distinct capacities: the ability to write with craft and intention, and the ability to read and analyse literature with critical depth. At the University of Westminster, the BA Creative Writing and English with Foundation runs over four years of full-time study, with the foundation year providing the preparatory stage, and the main degree including a sandwich year, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities. This structural richness gives you extensive professional and international experience alongside the academic development of your writing and literary understanding.

The creative writing strand teaches writing not as an innate talent but as a craft that can be developed through study, practice, and feedback. You will work across a range of forms, which typically include fiction, poetry, scriptwriting, and creative non-fiction, learning the technical dimensions of each and developing your own distinctive voice and range as a writer. Workshops, in which writing is shared and discussed with peers and tutors, are central to creative writing education, building both your critical awareness and your ability to give and receive constructive feedback.

The English literature strand develops your capacity to read widely and analytically, engaging with texts from different periods, traditions, and cultures and situating literary works in their historical and theoretical contexts. The two strands reinforce each other: studying how other writers have worked enriches your own creative practice, while the craft perspective informs your literary analysis.

Graduates of creative writing and English programmes move into careers across the creative and cultural industries. Publishing, journalism, screenwriting, editing, copywriting, communications, content creation, teaching, and arts administration are among the most common paths. Some graduates pursue writing careers directly, building portfolios of work and developing professional relationships with agents, editors, and producers over time.

Others go on to postgraduate study, including MFA or MA programmes in creative writing, literary studies, or journalism, where they develop their practice further or prepare for academic careers. The combination of analytical rigour and creative skill the degree develops serves well in any career that involves communicating with audiences, understanding texts, or producing compelling written work.