Creative Writing with Foundation Year

Creative writing is the discipline concerned with the craft of making literary texts, whether in fiction, poetry, drama, creative non-fiction, or the growing range of forms that sit between and across these categories. It is a practice that requires both technical mastery and creative courage: the ability to deploy the resources of language with precision and effect, and the willingness to experiment, fail, and revise in the search for work that is genuinely alive. Creative writing degrees develop both the craft skills and the critical understanding to read and discuss literature intelligently, drawing on the close relationship between reading carefully and writing well.

At York St John University, this programme includes a foundation year, a sandwich year with placement, and a year abroad option, offering an unusually rich set of experiences within the degree. The foundation year provides a supported entry into creative degree-level study. You will be supported by an award-winning team of practising writers and a community of fellow writers, working across genres and forms, developing your own creative voice while also engaging with the full range of literary traditions.

The year abroad and placement experiences extend your creative and professional formation beyond the classroom.

Creative writing graduates pursue a wide range of careers. Many continue to develop their writing practice alongside professional work in publishing, journalism, editing, copywriting, arts administration, broadcasting, education, and the literary sector. The skills developed through creative writing, including the ability to construct compelling narratives, to communicate with precision and impact, and to engage critically with texts and ideas, are transferable across many professional contexts.

Many graduates go on to postgraduate study in creative writing, English literature, or related fields, and some develop sustained careers as published authors, poets, or playwrights.