Creative Writing with Foundation

Creative writing is the discipline of making literature: fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, screenwriting, and the experimental forms that cross between and beyond these categories. It is both a craft and an art, requiring technical skill in the handling of language and form alongside the imaginative risk-taking that makes writing come alive. Studying it at university gives you a structured context in which to develop your voice and your practice, to read analytically with an eye to how other writers have solved the problems you are facing, and to receive honest and constructive feedback from tutors and peers.

At the University of Plymouth, this four-year programme includes a foundation year, which provides a grounding in academic and writing skills before the main degree begins, making it accessible to students from a range of educational backgrounds. The programme also includes a sandwich year in industry, a year abroad, and work placement opportunities, giving you an unusually rich set of structured experiences beyond the classroom. The sandwich and placement elements might involve work in publishing, journalism, arts organisations, education, or any of the many professional contexts where writing and communication skills are central.

The year abroad gives you the chance to live and write in a different country, which is among the most valuable things a writer can do.

Throughout the programme, you will work across multiple forms of writing, developing your range and flexibility as a writer. Plymouth has a creative arts community with strong connections to the South West's cultural sector, and the programme benefits from that broader creative environment.

Graduates of creative writing programmes work in publishing, journalism, broadcasting, education, advertising and copywriting, public relations, the arts, and a wide range of other fields where the ability to write well and communicate effectively is valued. Many also develop their practice as writers alongside other careers. Postgraduate study in creative writing is a common route for those who wish to deepen their practice or move into teaching.