Creative Writing

Overview

The Creative Writing programme is offered at the Goldsmiths, University of London.

You'll be expected to combine your own creative writing – whether poetry, fiction or life writing – with research into the genre or area of literature in which you are working, to gain insight into its history and development, and to engage with relevant contemporary debates.

This might be genre in the more traditional sense, for example satire, fictional autobiography, verse drama, or particular traditions to which you feel your work relates, for example projective verse, postmodernist fiction, or Caribbean poetics.

This element of the PhD – the critical commentary – will constitute around 30 per cent of the final work; the major part – 70 per cent – will be a creative work of publishable standard: a novel, memoir, book of poems or collection of stories, for example.

Assessment is by thesis and viva voce.

Former PhD students include Bernardine Evaristo, whose Jerwood Fiction Uncovered-winning book Mr Loverman was written, in part, at Goldsmiths. 

North American applicants especially should note that the British system does not include preparatory taught classes or examinations as part of the MPhil/PhD programme, except for an initial course in research methods.

Skills

You'll develop transferable skills, including:

• enhanced communication and discussion skills in written and oral contexts
• the ability to analyse and evaluate different textual materials
• the ability to organise information
• the ability to assimilate and evaluate competing arguments

Careers

• Publishing
• Journalism
• Public relations
• Teaching
• Advertising
• The civil service
• Business
• Media