Creative Writing (online) Online distance learning

Note: This programme is also delivered on campus. To find out more about this programme or the research opportunities available, visit our Creative Writing subject page

If you're a talented and ambitious writer looking to develop your craft and take your writing to the next level, Glasgow's renowned Creative Writing MLitt is ideal. Develop your writing practice wherever you are in the world by gaining creative and critical skills on this exciting and supportive online course.

You will normally have a 2.1 Honours degree (or equivalent), though this is not a pre-requisite. The primary basis for admission is the appraisal of a portfolio of your creative work.

Please include a portfolio of original work (poetry, fiction, life-writing or other prose, drama, and in some instances a portfolio of work in or of translation). A maximum of 20 pages (one side only, double spaced throughout) per submission will be considered, and the portfolio can contain prose, verse, script, or a combination of these.

We also require a letter of reference. Your referee should be an academic or a creative referee where possible. Where this is not possible, you can provide a referee who can vouch that you are who you say you are and that your work and achievements are your own. It is particularly helpful if your referee is familiar with your writing and can provide references on that basis.

For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic and Academic Online (not General Training)

• 7.0 overall with no subtest less than 7.0
• IELTS One Skill Retake Accepted
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Common equivalent English language qualifications accepted for entry to this programme

TOEFL (ibt, my best or athome)

• 100 overall with Reading 24; Listening 24; Speaking 23; Writing 27
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements, this includes TOEFL mybest.

Pearsons PTE Academic

• 66 overall with no subtest less than Reading 68; Listening 66; Speaking 65; Writing 82
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

• 185 overall, no subtest less than 185
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Oxford English Test

• 8 overall with no subtest less than 8
• ests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

LanguageCert Academic SELT

• 75 overall with no subtest less than 75
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Password Skills Plus

• 7.0 overall with no subtest less than 7.0
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

Trinity College Tests

• Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEIII Pass with Pass in all sub-tests
• Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

Alternatives to English Language qualification

• Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  
  • students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have completed their degree in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.
• Undergraduate 2+2 degrees from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
  
  • students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country within the last 6 years.

For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

Pre-sessional courses

The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We would strongly encourage you to consider the pre-sessional courses at the University of Glasgow's English for Academic Study (EAS) Unit. Our Pre-sessional courses are the best way to bring your English up to entry level for University study. Our courses give you:

• direct entry to your University programme for successful students (no need to take IELTS)
• essential academic skills to help you study effectively at University
• flexible entry dates so you can join the right course for your level.

For more detail on our pre-sessional courses please see:

• Pre-sessional courses

We can also consider the pre-sessional courses accredited by the below BALEAP approved institutions to meet the language requirements for admission to our postgraduate taught degrees:

• Heriot Watt
• Kingston Upon Thames
• Middlesex University
• Manchester University
• Reading University
• Edinburgh University
• ST Andrews University
• UCL
• Durham

For further information about English language requirements, please contact the Recruitment and International Office using our enquiry form

Skills gained in the study of our Creative Writing MLitt may lead to career opportunities in literary and cultural fields such as editing, publishing and arts development. Many of our alumni are successful authors. Our graduates have also gone into journalism, publishing, and a range of other professions. Positions held by recent graduates include managing director, freelance writer, author, copywriter and community arts worker.