Fees and key information

Course type
Undergraduate
UCAS code
WQV3
Entry requirements
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Why study this course?

Study on a degree that combines theoretical study with the development of your own creative voice as a writer. Taught by experienced poets and novelists, our Creative Writing and English Literature BA will increase your understanding of literature through the study of the historical and contemporary genres in national and international contexts. Publishing, the arts, education, communications and business sectors are just a few of the areas open to you after graduation.

For an insight into the projects you'll participate in, take a break and browse through Anthology IV, a collection of short-form pieces written, compiled and published by students on the course.

As you progress through this undergraduate course you will:

  • understand the local, national and global context of London's literary and publishing culture
  • consider the ethical, political and environmental conditions writers live and work within
  • study modern and contemporary novels, poetry collections and plays
  • complete a long creative project
  • collaborate with fellow students within and outside of the degree
  • learn from and work with published writers and publishing professionals
  • meet publishing industry figures
  • benefit from excellent digital research resources
  • study at a university committed to the transformative power of education and dialogue

This combined degree in Creative Writing and English Literature gives budding writers the best of both worlds. You may want to be a performance poet, adapt a work of literature for the screen or stage, think about literature from a philosophical perspective or find out more about the publishing industry. The blend of modules on this course makes all of these goals achievable.

The English literature modules cover all the major genres of poetry, drama and prose, which helps you gain an understanding of their development through history. You’ll study major literary and cultural movements such as Romanticism and Modernism, and will have the opportunity to choose niche specialisms such as the literature of childhood or the literature of London.

On the creative writing modules, you’ll learn how to edit your work and develop your writing across literary and commercial genres as well as developing the ability to think critically about the cultural, ethical and political dimensions of writing. The skills you'll gain by editing and critiquing your own work will be valuable when working on essays in other areas.

You'll benefit from our exceptional facilities and have the resources of the British Library at your fingertips. London is a vast hub of literary and cultural history, and you will benefit from organised visits to theatres, galleries, libraries, archives and events, giving context and support to your studies.

You'll be taught by experienced academics who are dedicated to undergraduate teaching, as well as published poets, novelists and dramatists, whose knowledge of the publishing industry can give you the valuable professional insight needed to kick-start your career. Staff are dedicated to helping you get the most out of your degree and the enthusiastic, high quality teaching on this course has been highly rated by students.

After you graduate you will be an excellent candidate for a career in publishing, the creative and cultural industries, the arts, education and the communications sector.

Benefit from London's literary and cultural history

Benefit from organised visits to theatres, galleries, libraries, archives and events, giving context and support to your studies

Make use of a wide range of incredible resources

You'll benefit from our exceptional facilities and have the resources of the British Library at your fingertips

Excellent career prospects

After you graduate you will be an excellent candidate for a career in publishing, the creative and cultural industries, the arts, education and the communications sector

Student reviews

Our real, honest student reviews come from our own students – we collect some of these ourselves, but many are also collected through university comparison websites and other nationwide surveys.

London Met is a welcoming, inclusive, amazing place for people from all walks of life and from all over the world. It’ll make you feel at home and it will get you ready to go out into the world, always offering new, exciting challenges. The lecturers at London Met are always there to help you, not only as students but as people. What you’ll learn will not only enrich you on a cultural level but on a personal one.

Prudenza Lacriola

The University doesn’t judge a person’s worth or intelligence on their grades alone, and, after speaking with me personally, they offered me a place on the course I wanted. The tutors at London Met are brilliant. They are continuously supportive and helpful, taking the time to help me and my peers with various things throughout the three years. The learning environment at the University has enabled me to progress in so many critical ways.

Laura Barrington

The prof we have they are genius. Very interesting method of teaching, and focus on details.

Vincenzo MarucciWhatuni

Our lecturers are always so passionate – it’s actually hard to not engage in lessons. They have all been extremely understanding and supportive throughout the pandemic too. Going out of their way to put on extra workshops and meetings, even throughout reading weeks and holidays. It has been stressful for all of us but they work hard to keep up morale and to keep a sense of community alive.

Jasmine Damaris

My experience at London Met has been amazing. My focus has been to complete my degree, but I also learned the value of having a degree and networking. I am a single black mother raising a single black female child. I wanted to be her role model and inspiration. Obtaining my degree has given me a confidence in myself that I never had before as I hadn’t believed in ME. I want my child to realise that YOU are the only person that counts and that YOU are okay, ENOUGH to be yourself, because YOU MATTER!!!

Janet Barnett

The creative writing course helped improve the quality of my writing immeasurably. Learning about all different styles of writing helped me hone my own style. 

 

Lil Chase

I started my degree when I was in my late twenties which made me a mature student. Because of this, there were some universities who were unable to offer me a place. London Met allowed me to submit a portfolio of work and accepted me based partly on that portfolio. I still feel extremely grateful that I was offered the opportunity. I was determined to do the best I could and I graduated with a first class degree.

Emily Critchley

I started getting published during my BA and have since experimented with different genres - poetry, memoir, historical, romance, paranormal, fantasy and non-fiction.

Linda Ghio

The lengths they went to during the pandemic to give us as much information as possible and deliver their lessons as best as they could in these strange times was incredible. On a personal level, the lecturers have constantly pushed me to take more risks with my writing, to experiment and have fun with language and structure. 

 

Daniel Redford

With London Met I learnt that everyone comes from different walks of life, but that doesn’t mean a door is closed for you because of your background or status.

Fatha Hassan

London Met cares about its students and goes above and beyond to ensure the student experience is valued at every level. I have had tremendous support from my lecturers and student services who are always willing to assist no matter what. 

Christina Arnephie

Course details

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

  • a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification)
  • GCSE English at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent)

If you don't have traditional qualifications or can't meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing our Creative Writing and English Literature (including foundation year) BA (Hons) degree.

If you are a mature student with significant work experience, you are invited to apply for this course on the basis of the knowledge and skills you have developed through your work.

As part of your application to study Creative Writing and English Literature we would also like you to submit two pieces of writing of 500 words each.

The first should be a creative piece and you may write this in the form of a short piece of fictional prose, a longer poem or sequence of shorter poems, a fragment of dialogue for performance on stage with one of more characters and some indication of setting, theme and scene or a piece of creative non-fiction such as nature writing, travel writing or memoir. You can write in any style, form or register and you have complete freedom in terms of theme.

The second piece of writing should be a critical appraisal of your interest in studying Creative Writing and English Literature. This should combine reflection on your experience of reading and writing literature so far and speak clearly to the themes of justice, equity and participation. London Met is committed to making your education a transformative force for social justice and social mobility. You should try to answer the following question: "How can reading, writing and publishing literature contribute to a better world?''

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Tier 4 student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa (previously Tier 4) you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

You will be assessed through a mixture of critical essays on literary topics and portfolios of creative work produced in relation to workshops and critiques.

Graduates have gone on to successful careers in publishing, editing and related industries as well as publishing their own creative work. This course is also excellent preparation for further study or research.

Creative Writing graduate and Somali-British poet Warsan Shire recently collaborated with Beyonce on her new album, Lemonade. The album, which sees the American superstar recite extracts from five of her poems, has catapulted Warsan into stardom in the US. Having graduated from London Metropolitan University in 2011, Warsan published Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth that same year and was named the first Young Poet Laureate of London in 2014.

If you study your undergraduate degree with us, as a graduate of London Met, you'll be entitled to a 20% discount on a postgraduate course if you continue your studies with us.
* exclusions apply

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things such as equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

Follow our School of Art, Architecture and Design on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with everything that's happening in our creative community.

Discover Uni – key statistics about this course

Discover Uni is an official source of information about university and college courses across the UK. The widget below draws data from the corresponding course on the Discover Uni website, which is compiled from national surveys and data collected from universities and colleges. If a course is taught both full-time and part-time, information for each mode of study will be displayed here.

How to apply

If you're a UK applicant wanting to study full-time starting in September, you must apply via UCAS unless otherwise specified. If you're an international applicant wanting to study full-time, you can choose to apply via UCAS or directly to the University.

If you're applying for part-time study, you should apply directly to the University. If you require a Student visa, please be aware that you will not be able to study as a part-time student at undergraduate level.

When to apply

The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.

If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.

To find out when teaching for this degree will begin, as well as welcome week and any induction activities, view our academic term dates.

Are you from outside the UK? Find out how to apply from your home country

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