Creative and Critical Writing

The PhD programme at Cardiff caters to individuals keen to join a thriving community of writers—from novelists and memoirists to poets and scriptwriters—all of whom share the common purpose of immersing themselves in the composition of a substantial piece of creative research.

The programme includes a compulsory critical element in which students relate the creative work they produce to its wider critical and cultural contexts and evaluate the conceptual and theoretical contribution the work represents.

Programme aims

• The PhD programme is designed to enable students to put together an original piece of creative work—a novel, collection of poems or short stories, a play, film script, or work of creative non-fiction—together with a reflective critical commentary.
• The programme offers knowledge and expertise to take you on to a role in Higher Education, or employment requiring high-level skills in research or advanced subject knowledge.
• The programme recruits a diverse range of Home/EU and International students who want to engage in a research environment characterised by world-leading research expertise in all aspects of creative writing.

Distinctive features

• The PhD programme offers a monthly seminar series specific to Creative Writing research students.
• The School makes funding available each year for PGR students who wish to attend conferences / undertake library or archive visits in order to assist with their PhD studies.
• PhD students are encouraged to attend the annual writers’ retreat at Gregynog Hall, a country house with a distinguished artistic heritage that is set in glorious countryside in mid-Wales.
• PhD students are also encouraged to publish and advice can be sought from Creative Writing staff, all of whom are published authors.
• We offer teaching opportunities on the undergraduate degree and PhD students can undertake the School’s unique “Learning to Teach” programme, accredited by the Higher Education Academy.

Key facts

Postgraduate research courses

There are a number of possible entry routes to our postgraduate research courses. We will consider applicants who have successfully completed a Masters from a recognised Jordanian institution.

In some cases, we will consider applicants who only have a Bachelor's degree (minimum Second Class, Higher Division), although applicants may be required to complete a Master's course at Cardiff University prior to embarking upon PhD studies.