English and Creative Writing
English and creative writing is a combination that treats the study and the practice of literature as mutually illuminating pursuits. Reading literature carefully, in the way that English studies teaches you to do, makes you a more thoughtful and inventive writer: you develop an awareness of form, voice, and structure that is hard to acquire from writing alone. And writing, in turn, changes how you read: the decisions you make on the page as a writer sensitise you to the choices other writers have made, giving you a different kind of critical attentiveness.
The two practices deepen each other.
At the University of Sussex, this three-year, full-time degree reflects a sense that imaginative minds and committed voices are needed in a world that faces real challenges, from climate change to social justice to the need for spaces of reflection and renewal. You will read widely across literature in English and engage with the critical and theoretical traditions that inform how we interpret texts, while also developing your own creative practice across fiction, poetry, life writing, and other forms. A foundation year is available for students who need an additional preparatory year, and a sandwich year, year abroad, and work placement are all available within the programme.
The typical entry tariff of 136 points reflects a welcoming but academically rigorous approach.
Graduates of English and creative writing find careers in publishing, journalism, education, the arts, community and arts organisations, broadcasting, copywriting, and the cultural sector. Many also go on to pursue independent writing practices alongside professional work. Teaching at secondary level, with a PGCE following the degree, is a common and fulfilling route.
Postgraduate study in creative writing, English literature, or related fields is available for those who wish to develop their scholarly or creative practice further. The skills of careful reading, clear writing, and imaginative thinking are genuinely transferable across professional life.