English Literature with Creative Writing

English literature with creative writing is a degree that takes English seriously from two directions at once: as a tradition of texts to be read, understood, and interpreted, and as a living craft to be practised and developed. Literary study trains you to read with precision and depth, to situate texts within their historical and cultural contexts, and to argue persuasively about what they mean and why they matter. Creative writing asks you to take what you learn from reading great literature and apply it to your own work, developing a distinctive voice and a serious commitment to the craft of writing in whatever forms most engage you.

At the University of Reading, this three-year, full-time programme gives both strands of the degree equal seriousness and integrates them in productive ways. You will study English literature across a substantial range of periods and genres, from medieval texts to contemporary fiction and poetry, developing close reading skills, historical and cultural awareness, and the capacity for rigorous critical argument. Alongside this, you will develop your creative writing in workshops and tutorials, working in prose, poetry, or other forms, receiving and giving feedback, and learning to revise and refine your own work with craft and self-awareness.

Reading has a distinguished creative writing programme, and many of the creative writing faculty are themselves practising writers.

Graduates go on to careers in publishing, journalism, copywriting, communications, education, the arts, and many other fields where both critical intelligence and the ability to write well are valued. Some graduates pursue professional careers as writers, while others use their combination of literary knowledge and writing ability in adjacent creative and cultural roles. Further study at postgraduate level in creative writing, publishing, English literature, or journalism is also a natural progression for those who want to develop their expertise further.