English and Creative Writing and Psychology
English literature, creative writing, and psychology is a three-subject combination that draws on some of the richest ways of understanding human experience: the analytical close reading that literary study develops, the creative and craft-focused practice of writing, and the scientific investigation of mind and behaviour that psychology provides. Each discipline illuminates the others in distinctive ways. Psychology gives creative writers a rigorous framework for understanding motivation, emotion, and character.
Literary study provides both writers and psychologists with an understanding of how narrative shapes human understanding. And creative writing offers a practice-based complement to the more analytical work of both literature and psychology.
At the University of Strathclyde this four-year full-time programme takes an innovative and modern approach to the combination, giving you a comprehensive understanding of English literature as a core basis for creative work while developing your skills in textual analysis, interpretation, and writing across a range of forms and genres. The emphasis is on developing applicable skills for a future career, combining the intellectual rigour of literary and psychological study with the creative confidence and craft awareness that writing practice develops. You will study core areas of psychology alongside the literature and creative writing curriculum, developing genuine breadth and the ability to move between analytical and creative modes of engagement.
Graduates from this combination pursue careers across a wide range of fields. Writing and publishing, journalism, creative industries, education, counselling and support services, human resources, marketing, and the cultural sector are all well-established paths. The combination is also well suited to further study in creative writing, psychology, or psychotherapy, and many graduates continue to postgraduate work that deepens their expertise in one or more of the three disciplines.