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This is a four-year version of the BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing course, with an integrated foundation year. Explore and develop your own creative talent. Acquire skills in pitching, presenting, and networking. Work with established organisations and develop your portfolio for a varied and fulfilling writing career.
The BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing degree enables you to understand writing as a profession while exploring and developing your own creative talent. You'll be supported by published writers and senior academics to hone your writing and apply your knowledge to literary, technical, and professional work. You'll acquire skills in pitching, presenting and networking and learn about a range of industries where writers are in high demand.
If you're interested in taking your writing further into a range of creative industries such as publishing, the literary arts including novel writing, poetry, and nonfiction, as well as in the media, script and screen writing, marketing, communications, and other related activities, this course is for you.
You'll learn from experts in their field who'll connect you to creative institutions and networks both regionally and nationally, as you gain expertise in creative and professional writing. You’ll have the chance to work with established organisations as well as develop your portfolio for a varied and fulfilling writing career, and take part in the Sunderland Creative Writing Festival and the renowned Sunderland Literature Festival.
At each stage of the course, you'll study modules such as Submitting Short Fiction and Poetry, Regional Writing, Environmental Writing and The Business of Writing, alongside English literature and English language core learning to develop essential knowledge and critical skills.
In the first year – the foundation year – you'll study five modules. After completion of this foundation year, you'll then move on to BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing three-year degree.
You'll be taught via lectures and seminars, with access to our online teaching environment (VLE). Our teaching is designed to help you become an active, independent, and reflective learner. Lectures are used to communicate the core content of modules, while seminars and workshops provide you with the opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills through a range of tutor-guided activities, including creative writing practice, peer review groups, and redrafting, as well as more academic skills such as close textual analysis, and the guided reading of primary and secondary material. We'll encourage you to work in pairs and in small groups, as well as individually.
You'll be assessed via portfolios of creative work, essays, through innovative measures such as pitches, group projects and presentations. There'll also be the chance to take up an industry placement.
You'll also be supported through one-to-ones with academic staff during office hours or online, depending on teaching conditions.
We don’t currently display entry requirements for United States. Please contact the Student Admin team on studentadmin@sunderland.ac.uk or 0191 515 3154.
Entry requirements are provided for guidance only and we may offer you an entrance interview which will help us determine your eligibility for your chosen degree. This enables us to consider making you an offer if you're perhaps a mature student who's been out of education for a period of time, or you've gained significant knowledge and skills through employment rather than traditional education.
Eligible entry qualifications:
If you're unsure of whether you think you might be suitable for the course, please contact us.
**If you've studied for a GCSE which has a numerical grade, you'll need to achieve a grade 4 or above. Equivalent alternative qualifications are also accepted, such as Level 2 Key Skills in Communication and Application of Number.
If English isn't your first language, please see our English language requirements.
The annual fee for this course is £5,760 if you're from the UK/Ireland/EU settled/pre-settled.
Undergraduate fees are set according to rules from Government in line with forecast inflation. The fee for your first year of study for 2025/26 will be £5,760. You will pay tuition fees for every year of study. Fees may increase every year based on the Retail Price Index.
If you're a full-time UK/Irish/EU settled/EU pre-settled student, you may be eligible to receive financial support to cover your fees for the full four years. UK and EU settled students may also be eligible to receive a maintenance loan.
Please note, this course isn't available to international students.
Learn more about settled status, pre-settled status, special discounts, visa requirements, and Common Travel Area (CTA) agreements for the Republic of Ireland applicants in our Help and Advice article.
Take a look at the scholarships and bursaries that may be available to you.
This information was correct at the time of publication.
After your foundation year, you'll move onto the BA (Hons) English: Creative and Professional Writing course. This course blends the best of a traditional English degree with innovative teaching and exciting connections to the creative industries both regionally and nationally to help budding writers, creatives, and creators make their mark. This is not a ‘traditional’ creative writing degree, but one that prepares you for writing both creatively and professionally.
Whether you want to succeed as a poet or novelist, social content editor or games narrative designer, or want to learn about what’s needed to be a book publicist or copywriter, this degree puts the creative and writing professions within your reach. The course introduces you to the skills necessary for the kinds of careers you'll find across the creative industries in the 21st century, and helps you get into the career you want.
You'll be well placed to enter many areas within the creative industries, such as literary agencies, publishing houses, galleries, museums, theatres, and writing development organisations, as well as across the journalism, media, marketing, communications, and PR industries.
Potential jobs include freelance writer, novelist, poet, games designer (narrative), publicist, publishing assistant, marketing, PR/communications, copywriter, advertising executive, digital writer, editor, content writer, proofreader, researcher, translator, journalist, reporter, scriptwriter, screenwriter, and radio writer. Many of our graduates work as editors, journalists, writers, teachers, and within publishing.
Creative Industries Week gives everyone in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries the opportunity to participate in a range of projects, workshops, talks, industry visits, and career events. This exciting week encourages interdisciplinary working, broadens your experience, builds your confidence, and helps to develop your career path.
Your course will keep you busy in class and across campus as you get involved with our publishing platforms. As part of the course, you’ll go on placement to organisations that suit your goals, from literary agencies to copywriting houses, including student writing residencies and opportunities in the region’s cultural venues and festivals.
You’ll have the opportunity to be involved in Spark Sunderland, the 24/7 community radio station, based in the David Puttnam Media Centre. Spark is award-winning and has been consistently recognised at the Student Radio Awards, Community Radio Awards, and the prestigious New York Festival Radio Awards for many years. Students are responsible for programme production and creative ideas which could be your step into writing radio drama or scripting comedy shows. In the same building, you can also learn from the many writers who work from here, including BBC Newcastle journalists and the team at Tyne & Wear TV, a professional TV station run from our Media Centre.