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Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Undergraduate BA (Hons)
English and Creative Writing
Let your imagination take flight and develop your own creative voice. You’ll produce short stories, autobiographical writing, poetry and script.
Course Overview
-
QW38 -
L27 -
City Campus -
Full-Time -
3 Years -
19 Sep 2022
As part of this course, you’ll:
- Examine literatures past and present, and from around the world
- Be taught by award-winning writers
- Have the chance to work on an extended creative writing project as you collaborate with your peers to produce an anthology and plan a related launch event
- Explore a range of literary and writing contexts to develop the ability to respond creatively to the world around you
- Join a vibrant creative community of students and lecturers with connections to literary festivals and events in the region
- Get the chance to work with our range of industry professionals in the city and beyond
We’ll nurture your passion by developing your creative and critical thinking. You’ll benefit from:
- Inspired teaching and intellectual debate
- Interaction with award-winning authors and playwrights
- A rolling programme of media industry professionals, published lecturers and world-renowned researchers
Leeds is the Northern heart of culture and the arts. Your campus sits in the very centre of the city, surrounded by museums, art galleries, theatres, film production companies and recording studios. We work directly with Leeds museums and galleries and many regional events, including Leeds Lit Fest, poetry performance events and the Leeds West Indian Carnival.
Our location has enabled us to develop relationships with employers and cultural industries in the city and across the region. Former students have completed placements in the editorial team at Hallmark Studios, with the Yorkshire Food Guide and with Peepal Tree Press, an internationally renowned publisher based in the city.
Why study BA (Hons) English & Creative Writing at Leeds Beckett University...Â
- Develop your creative practice
- Applied Humanities practical module option
- Work with award-winning practising writers and active researchers
- Guest lectures delivered by industry professionals
- Professionally experienced expert teaching team
- Strong and meaningful partnerships with industry and community organisations
- Expert careers service
Student View BA (Hons) English with Creative Writing student Richard Barton shares his passion for creating and crafting content on his course. (Course now BA (Hons) English & Creative Writing).
Everything you need to know
Discover all there is to know about the course, from entry requirements and fees to exploring the school you’ll be joining - we’ve got it covered.
Entry requirements
104
points required
If you're applying via UCAS, find out more about how your qualifications fit into the UCAS tariff.
We have now welcomed students from over 140 countries across the globe. If you are interested in studying with us you can find your country and get all the information you'll need about entry requirements and how to apply.
Entry requirements
104
points required
UCAS Tariff Points: 104 points required.
(Minimum 64 from two A Levels or equivalent, excluding General Studies.).
If you're applying via UCAS, find out more about how your qualifications fit into the UCAS tariff.
GCSEs:
GCSE English Language at Grade C or above (Grade 4 for those sitting their GCSE from 2017 onwards) or equivalent. Key Skills Level 2, Functional Skills Level 2 and the Certificate in Adult Literacy are accepted in place of GCSEs.Access to HE Diploma:
Pass overall with a minimum of 104 UCAS tariff points.Scottish Awards:
Minimum of 5 subjects at Grade B at Higher Level.Irish Leaving Certificate:
Minimum of 5 subjects at Grade C1 or above at Higher Level of which at least 3 must be at B2.Selection Criteria
We may use selection criteria based on your personal attributes; experience and/or commitment to the area of study. This information will be derived from your personal statement and reference and will only be used if you have met the general entry requirements.
International baccalaureate
24 Points
IELTS
IELTS 6.0 with no skills below 5.5, or an equivalent qualification. The University provides excellent support for any applicant who may be required to undertake additional English language courses.
Mature applicants:
Our university welcomes applications from mature applicants who demonstrate academic potential. All students will be considered through the contextual admissions policy described above. If you do not meet the requirements through the contextual admissions policy, we may still be able to make you an offer if you have recent relevant work experience through our ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ policy. Please ensure that you list both your qualifications and any relevant work experience in your application so that we can consider you under both schemes where applicable..
All applicants should meet our standard entry requirements of GCSE grade C in English language and, where specified, Maths. Alternative qualifications such as functional skills are accepted in lieu of GCSEs for most courses.
We have now welcomed students from over 140 countries across the globe. If you are interested in studying with us you can find your country and get all the information you'll need about entry requirements and how to apply.
If you're applying via UCAS, find out more about how your qualifications fit into the UCAS tariff.
Selection Criteria
We may use selection criteria based on your personal attributes; experience and/or commitment to the area of study. This information will be derived from your personal statement and reference and will only be used if you have met the general entry requirements.
International baccalaureate
24 Points
IELTS
IELTS 6.0 with no skills below 5.5, or an equivalent qualification. The University provides excellent support for any applicant who may be required to undertake additional English language courses.
Additional entry requirements:
Verify your qualifications
If you are an international student, we can help you to compare and verify your qualifications. Please contact our International Office on +44 (0)113 812 1111 09.00 to 17.00 Mon-Thurs / 09.00 to 16.30 Fri GMT or email internationaloffice@leedsbeckett.ac.uk.Need to improve your English Language skills?
Don't worry if you don't have the level of English required for your chosen course. We offer a wide range of courses which have been designed to help you to improve your qualifications and English language ability, most of which are accredited by the British Council. Check your English and find out more about our English courses.More questions?
No matter what your questions, we are here to answer them, visit our International website to get more information and find out about our online open days.Independent study is a crucial part of learning at university and you will be required to undertake many hours of self-directed research and reading, and preparation and writing of assessments. Your course is delivered through a number of modules, which will help you to plan your time and establish a study routine. Outside of your lectures, workshops and tutorials, a range of support is available to assist with your independent study. Our subject-specific librarians will be on hand to direct you to the specialist learning and study-skill resources. You’ll also be assigned an academic advisor to give you tailored feedback and support.
Our silver status in the latest Teaching Excellence Framework, reflects our commitment to deliver high-quality teaching, learning and outcomes for our students.
Teaching & Learning
What you'll learn
This module will support you as you start to work at degree level and develop strategies for the interpretation of contemporary literary texts. You will engage with a range of post-millennial texts that seek to problematize the contemporary period. You teaching will focus on literary innovations and ways in which texts interact with techniques, approaches and debates in literary studies today. Your learning will explore a range of critical approaches through a number of set texts to help you develop key skills that will inform your work at degree level.
Gain an introduction to the practices and processes of creative writing. Your studies will draw on examples from literary and digital texts, and you will begin to develop an understanding of the contexts of their production and reception. You will begin to use your initiative, creative response and collaborative working in a workshop setting to underpin your creative writing throughout the programme.
Focus on examples of Shakespeare’s works in different genres, and take part in discussion of Renaissance drama. This module will provide a framework through which these texts can be interpreted in relation to the historical moment in which they were produced.
Study an extended range of forms that could include dramatic monologues and short scripts. You will study fundamental theoretical principles and debates such as narrative, voice and object that relate to writing practices, and you will start to explore and experiment with your own writing.
Study a wide variety of poetry written in English and gain an understanding of the development of poetry from the Shakespearean period through to contemporary times. You will be better acquainted with a range of poetry in order to develop your sense of literary history. You will study critical and theoretical perspectives and interpretive tools to enable you to approach the reading and analysis of poetry with confidence.
This module will introduce the principles of adaptation from literary text to a range of mediated forms. You'll focus on the study of one key chosen text, and will explore its adaptations to various other literary and media forms. This study will enable you to consider the key principles that underpin textual adaptation, explore the ways in which form impacts the production of a text, analyse the adaptation as an important ingredient in literary production. You'll respond creatively to literary text or selections of texts, by producing your own short adaptations.
What you'll learn
Explore key aspects of characterisation, story world-building and fictionalisation and build on your year one learning. You will respond to a range of contemporary authors from different cultures to produce your own short stories or extracts from longer works in progress. You will study and practise key aspects of narrative craft such as characterisation, dialogue, dramatisation, point of view and story architecture and understand how these are deployed in both short stories and novels/novellas.
Develop critical and interpretative skills informed by an understanding of the role theory plays in literary studies. This module will enable you to become more confident and more adventurous in your study of literature.
Study poetic voice and audience, and the relationship between them. You will extend your knowledge of contemporary poetry and you will be encouraged to identify potential audiences for your work and start to situate it within a wider literary world.
Option modules may include
Study a selection of literature of the 20th century and examine how literature writes about some of the key events of the for example as WWI, WWII, post-war austerity and the Cold War. You will understand key terms such as modernism and postmodernism. You will consider texts that focus on the idea of alienation and dystopia and the place of the individual in society and explore why writers of the period turned to imagining the future in order to express their concerns with their present moments. In preparation for writing your dissertation, you will be guided through the process of developing your own research question to become a more independent learner.
Explore and unpack the idea of ‘black’ writing as a complex notion by studying texts published in Britain over a long historical period. You'll practise effectively communicating critical insights into the historic marginalisation of black voices in English (especially British) literature, and/or understand the importance of such voices, past and present, in contemporary society through working on simulated ‘live-briefs'.
Gain an understanding of `postcolonial' literature and the conceptual and critical vocabulary you will need to read and analyse texts from formerly colonised regions of the world.
Explore issues of context - what it is, where it comes from and what its relation is to other forms of information. You will develop strong research skills by taking a theoretically informed approach to contextual study of literature.
Explore key features and phenomena of literature in the eighteenth century. You'll study topics such as the rise of the novel form, the development of the Gothic, and the early Romantic movement in Britain. Focusing on new literary emergences, this module will explain these in historical terms as you draw on key theoretical and critical debates on the period.
Understand the way that humanities disciplines and skills intersect with a range of professional working contexts. You will complete 36 hours of live-brief learning to gain first-hand experience of planning, delivery and evaluating a professional working brief set by an industry partner organisation. You will work as a group across 10 weeks alongside a tutor to design, deliver, present and evaluate the brief to industry standards. As well as conducting a reflective case study of your brief, you will complete a CV, cover letter, LinkedIn profile and undertake a recorded mock interview.
What you'll learn
You'll choose to complete a dissertation an extended study on a topic of interest to you, or a sustained creative writing practice project. Whichever option you choose, you will complete the module over two semesters overseen by a designated tutor.
Option modules may include
Examine a body of reading, thought, and practice in contemporary writing loosely understood as `avant-garde' or experimental writing. Given the renegade nature of these works, we'll move away from using such generic categories as poetry or prose, even as we try to understand how these texts usefully extend and interrogate precisely those categories. Through a programme of close reading, in-class and online discussion, and independent study, you'll critically and creatively engage with a rich tradition of contemporary literary practice.
Study the autobiographical branch of creative non-fiction.You will complete a number of creative writing exercises and regular workshops to help you refine your work with feedback from fellow students and tutor feedback in class, online, verbally, and in writing. This module will see you read a range of exemplary works of autobiographical non-fiction with a critical eye to begin making connections between the techniques and approaches of published works and your own.
Understand the key concepts and debates in disability studies and how these can be applied to literary texts. This module will emphasise the centrality of literary studies to the emergent, interdisciplinary area of medical humanities.
This module explores Renaissance tragedy with a particularly the sub-genre of revenge tragedy. You'll explore canonical works such as Hamlet but also less familiar examples of the genre such as The Revenger's Tragedy. You'll understand and analyse the plays in relation to the culture in which they were produced and the ideological tensions which traverse them.
Gain an understanding of the cultural connections between Africa and the African Diaspora through the analysis of a range of key literary works. Through close reading and analysis of the modules primary texts and the interrogation of postcolonial theoretical debates, you'll explore the intersections and tensions between issues of race, gender, identity, education and language within the contexts of slavery, colonialism, migration and exile.
Engage with debates about masculinity which took place during the long 18th century. You'll read a range of literary texts, including novels and poetry and focus on important models of 'manliness' which were prevalent in the period. This module will encourage you to situate texts in relation to historical context, and also to engage with theory.
Study a selection of American plays from the 1920s to the 1990s, focusing on the ways in which they dramatise the relationship between public issues and private concerns. This module investigate the ways in which American drama stages the enduring conflict between the search for individual happiness and the making of social and political bonds in a society based on an ideology of competitive individualism. The module will provide opportunities to refine your skills in collaborative work, oral presentation, guided research, and independent study.
Understand how writers and film-makers have imagined city spaces and identities in a range of postcolonial locations. Through an exciting range of literary and cinematic texts, and drawing on theories of urban space, place, and postcoloniality, you will explore issues that are of central importance to the world many of us live in today, including migrant labour, asylum seekers, refugees, and illegal immigrants; crime, conflict, and policing; memory, history, and urban space; class, gender, race, sexuality, and the postcolonial city amongst others.
Explore the development of the Gothic from its literary origins in the mid-18th century through to the mid-20th century. You'll analyse the literary and cultural properties of Gothicism as it has shifted and diversified over this period and you will be encouraged to engage with Gothic novels alongside a range of forms across a wide cultural and historical spectrum. This module will also introduce you to theoretical and critical methods of analysing the Gothic such as Freud's concept of the uncanny and Julia Kristeva's theory of abjection.
Examine the development of 20th-century fiction by women with particular reference to the genre of romantic fiction. You'll explore how a number of writers have modified and transformed the conventions of romantic fiction and discuss the appeal of romantic fiction in terms of its specific historical contexts and in relation to psychoanalytic models of desire and narrative. This module will provide the opportunity to study these texts alongside some key feminist theories of gender and sexuality of the 20th century. You'll be encouraged to develop advanced analytic skills, coupled with critical self-reflexivity in the understanding and application of theory. The group oral presentation of ideas and argument will build on your existing communication and collaboration skills.
Examine the relationships between writing and the Northern Ireland conflict (1966-98). You'll consider the ways in which writing responds to serious and prolonged political and social crisis and how it offers insights into issues normally considered to be purely within the realm of party or national politics. This module will enable you to understand the way literature negotiates the tensions between the demands of artistic integrity and independence and the pressures to speak out or to contribute towards the resolution of violent political division. You'll also look at texts produced after 1998, a time of somewhat uncertain `peace and reconciliation'.
By reflecting on learning acquired through work placements, this module will focus on promoting self-awareness of your ‘career story’. You'll look at how you evaluate your current skills, explore the future possibilities in your career development and navigate pathways through those chosen possibilities. This module will enable you to become ‘cartographer’ of your own future experience. You'll embark upon a minimum of 80 hours work placement, supported by reflective exercises, and build expertise and confidence through a range of assessments designed by the course team and employer partners. Conceptualised and designed by digital specialists, the module is purposefully created to be delivered and experienced online – reflecting the increasingly distributed nature of work communications and embracing digital environments as an integral aspect of how employees and the self-employed progress their careers.
Examine how stories told in a range of media forms can drive social change. You'll engage with complex social issues and find out how stories can raise awareness and bring about attitudinal changes in audiences. This module will encourage you to learn how characters can be used to create empathy and offer multiple perspectives on social problems. You'll understand how to structure stories, the role of narration and how to craft compelling messages for different audiences. This module will introduce you to different ways of crafting stories such as, fiction (short stories), podcasting, documentary and video. You'll also explore how storytelling is used in, for example, film, television, journalism, marketing and across different social media platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Develop professional skill in the processes, principles and practices of editing. Working as an editor, you'll reconstruct a historical text into a modern format, lead the text’s readers through the intricacies of that text, and introduce that text to an interested, but not necessarily expert, audience.
Fees & Funding
The tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year are not yet confirmed.
The tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year are not yet confirmed.
Fees & Funding
The tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year are not yet confirmed.
Additional course costs
Tuition Fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC,laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies
Other study-related expenses to consider: materials that you will need to complete your course such as books (whilst the library provides access to readings recommended for your modules, you may wish to purchase your own copies of some books); you can also make suggestions for books to be added to Library stock; placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery (you may need to pay for multiple copies of your dissertation or final project to be printed and bound); events associated with your course such as field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations). Other costs could include academic conferences (travel costs) and professional-body membership (where applicable). The costs you will need to cover for graduation will include gown hire and guest tickets, and optional extras such as professional photography.
As well as your mobile phone, you will also need access to a desktop computer and/or laptop to complete assignments and access university online services such as MyBeckett, your virtual learning environment. You can book and borrow AV equipment through the media equipment service accessed online via the student hub and located in the library at each campus. Equipment includes: 360 Cameras, iPads, GoPros, MacBooks, portable data projectors, portable projection screens, flipchart stands, remote presenters, digital cameras and camcorders, SLR cameras, speakers, microphones, headphones, headsets, tripods, digital audio recorders and PC/laptops (a laptop loans service is provided on campus in the library on both campuses). Student laptops are also available from the laptop lockers located in the libraries.
This list is not exhaustive, costs are approximate and will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental, travel or living costs are also in addition to your course fees. If you choose to study via distance learning, you may not be able to access all of the facilities listed if you are not able to visit us on campus.
Additional information
For further information on financing your studies or information about whether you may qualify for one of our bursaries and scholarships, follow the links below:
The tuition fees for the 2022/23 academic year are not yet confirmed.
Additional course costs
Tuition Fees
Your tuition fees cover the cost of registration, tuition, academic supervision, assessments and examinations.
The following are also included in the cost of your course:
- 24/7 Library and student IT support
- Free wifi via eduroam
- Skills workshops and resources
- Library membership, giving access to more than 500,000 printed, multimedia and digital resources
- Access to software, including five free copies of Microsoft Office 365 to install on your PC,laptop and MAC, and access to free high-end software via the Leeds Beckett remote app
- Loan of high-end media equipment to support your studies
In many cases, costs associated with your course will be included in your course fee. However, in some cases there are ‘essential’ additional costs (those that you will be required to meet in addition to your course fee), and/or ‘optional’ additional costs (costs that are not required, but that you might choose to pay). We have included those essential or optional additional costs that relate to your course, below.
Other study-related expenses to consider: materials that you will need to complete your course such as books (whilst the library provides access to readings recommended for your modules, you may wish to purchase your own copies of some books); you can also make suggestions for books to be added to Library stock; placement costs (these may include travel expenses and living costs); student visas (international students only); printing, photocopying and stationery (you may need to pay for multiple copies of your dissertation or final project to be printed and bound); events associated with your course such as field trips; study abroad opportunities (travel costs and accommodation, visas and immunisations). Other costs could include academic conferences (travel costs) and professional-body membership (where applicable). The costs you will need to cover for graduation will include gown hire and guest tickets, and optional extras such as professional photography.
As well as your mobile phone, you will also need access to a desktop computer and/or laptop to complete assignments and access university online services such as MyBeckett, your virtual learning environment. You can book and borrow AV equipment through the media equipment service accessed online via the student hub and located in the library at each campus. Equipment includes: 360 Cameras, iPads, GoPros, MacBooks, portable data projectors, portable projection screens, flipchart stands, remote presenters, digital cameras and camcorders, SLR cameras, speakers, microphones, headphones, headsets, tripods, digital audio recorders and PC/laptops (a laptop loans service is provided on campus in the library on both campuses). Student laptops are also available from the laptop lockers located in the libraries.
This list is not exhaustive, costs are approximate and will vary depending on the choices you make during your course. Any rental, travel or living costs are also in addition to your course fees. If you choose to study via distance learning, you may not be able to access all of the facilities listed if you are not able to visit us on campus.
Additional information
For further information on financing your studies or information about whether you may qualify for one of our bursaries and scholarships, follow the links below:
English and Creative Writing at Beckett allows you to explore the relationship between reading and writing, the critical and the creative, in a vibrant urban environment that draws on all the resources of the city.
Dr Rachel Connor
Course Director
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