BA (Hons) English Literature with Creative Writing with a Year Abroad

Course Overview

Do you love to write as much as you love to read? Do the books you read spark your imagination and inspire you to be creative? At UEA, we believe that good readers make good writers. It’s for this reason that we combine the study of English Literature and Creative Writing at all levels of this innovative course.

You’ll immerse yourself in a thriving community of writers and thinkers. Learning from practicing writers and passionate teachers, you’ll sharpen your ability to sculpt language into stories, scenes and images. You’ll build worlds, develop your voice and find ways to express the inexpressible. Alongside this, you’ll study literatures from around the world, past and present. You’ll discover how writers and thinkers have expanded literary possibilities, made art out of lived experience and shown us, in myriad ways, what it means to be human. In the process, you'll become a more discerning and attentive reader and writer.

On this course, you’ll spend a third of your time on Creative Writing and two thirds on English Literature in your first two years of study. In your third year, you may increase the amount of Creative Writing that you do or focus more fully on Literature. Either way, you’ll develop a balance between the two that best suits you. Your creative and literary training will go hand-in-hand, each enhancing the other, as you explore and experiment with diverse genres, forms and subjects, from creative non-fiction, to podcasting, to the fiction of the apocalypse.

You’ll be based in the UK’s longest-established and most prestigious Creative Writing department, which is part of UEA’s vibrant School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (you can follow our activities on Instagram!). You’ll also have access to world-leading facilities and resources, from the technological delights of the Media Suite to the opportunities of our student-run publishing project Egg Box, from the riches of the British Archive for Contemporary Writing to the Sainsbury Centre. What’s more, you’ll live and work in the beautiful city of Norwich, a UNESCO City of Literature, and home to the National Centre for Writing.

After the course, you'll have a wealth of skills that will open doors to fulfilling careers to you, whether you want to work in the creative or cultural industries, or in business, marketing or social media management. Events such as Working with Words will give you the chance to meet and network with creative industry professionals and UEA graduates working in journalism, publishing or as freelance writers. If you want to join their ranks, this is the course for you!

On this version of the course, you’ll have the exciting opportunity to spend your third year studying at one of our partner institutions across the globe.

This course is open to

UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.

We welcome and value a wide range of qualifications, and we recognise that some students might take a mixture of different qualifications. We have listed typical examples that we accept for entry.

You should hold or be working towards the specified English and Mathematics requirements and one of the examples of typical entry qualifications listed below. If your qualifications aren’t listed, or if you are taking a combination of qualifications that isn’t specified, please contact Admissions.

English and Mathematics

All applicants must hold or be working towards GCSEs in English Language and Mathematics at minimum grade C or grade 4.

In place of Mathematics GCSE we can also consider Functional Skills Level 2 Mathematics.

We accept a wide range of English Language qualifications, please see our English Language equivalencies page.

Typical International Entry Requirements

A levels

AAA including English Literature or one of the subjects listed below:

English Language and Literature, English Language, History, Ancient History, History of Art, Archaeology, Anthropology, Classical Civilisation, Classical Studies, Politics, Government and Politics, Sociology, Drama, Theatre Studies, Film Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies, Psychology or Law.

International Baccalaureate

34 points overall including 6 in HL English, History, Global Politics or Psychology.

We accept many international qualifications for entry to this course. For specific details about your country, view our information for International Students.

INTO UEA

If you do not meet the academic and/or English language requirements for direct entry our partner, INTO UEA offers progression on to this undergraduate degree upon successful completion of a preparation programme. Depending on your interests, and your qualifications you can take a variety of routes to this degree.

English Foreign Language

Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading): 

• IELTS:  6.5  overall (minimum 5.5 in all components) 

We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.

Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.

  If you do not yet meet the English language requirements for this course, INTO UEA offer a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the English skills necessary for successful undergraduate study.

Non-Academic Entry Requirements

Candidates who are shortlisted will be asked to provide a sample of their creative writing: we ask for around 3-5 pages of work, which can be on any subject and in any genre of the candidate's choice. Most choose to send poetry, prose, or a mixture of the two.

Deferred Entry

We welcome applications from students who have already taken or intend to take a gap year. We believe that a year between school and university can be of substantial benefit. You are advised to indicate your reason for wishing to defer entry on your UCAS application.

Admissions Policy

Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all undergraduate applicants.

Employability

You’ll graduate as a first-rate writer, an advanced critical reader and thinker with an independent cast of mind. You’ll know how to manage your time, how to work as part of a team, how to state your position and how to defend it. With the support of our award-winning Careers Service throughout your degree, you’ll have honed your CV and sought out internships. You’ll have attended Working with Words, an annual event in which you get to meet UEA alumni working in the creative industries. You might have gotten involved with the UEA Publishing Project, or its student arm, Egg Box, or undertaken independent research in UEA’s British Archive for Contemporary Writing. In an increasingly text-based world these skills and experiences are highly valued by employers.

You could go on to work as a novelist or scriptwriter, or in many careers in arts, media, publishing, politics, charities and NGOs, teaching or the commercial sector. You’ll also be well placed to study for a postgraduate degree, including our world-famous Creative Writing MAs. Regardless of the direction you choose, you’ll be superbly placed to start writing your own story.

Examples of careers you could enter include: 

• Freelance writer 
• Publishing 
• Journalist 
• Media 
• Marketing 
• Teaching 

Discover more on our Careers webpages.