Overview

The University of St Andrews offers two Master of Fine Arts degrees:

Creative Writing

Playwriting and Screenwriting.

MLitt students will have the option to apply for transfer into the MFA programme upon successful completion of the taught element of their course, where their MLitt year will count as MFA Year 1.The MFA in Creative Writing has two separate streams: Poetry and Prose. Prospective students should apply for one stream only. For their final submission, students on the prose track will submit a thesis of publishable quality of around 40,000 words; for poetry, a thesis of about 40 pages of verse.The MFA in Playwriting and Screenwriting is a single stream. The final submission for Year 2 students will be either a screenplay or a play of approximately 90 minutes performance time.

Careers

The benefits of postgraduate study at St Andrews stretch far beyond graduation. As well as joining a long line of notable alumni and academics, postgraduate students are supported in their next steps by both the Careers Centre and the University alumni relations team. See the University's page on Using your English degree.
The University also provides an extensive and award-winning generic skills development programme – GRADskills – for all of its early career researchers, including MFA students.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Research Skills for Creative Writing
Writing Poetry
Practical Pedagogy for Creative Writers

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 24 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2027-09-13 00:00:00
- Apply before 2027-05-31 00:00:00

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

100

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PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

7.5

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Credits

180 alternative credits

Delivered

On Campus

Campus Location

St Andrews, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Creative Writing View 187 other Masters in Creative Writing in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

100

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

7.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

MFA Year 1 entrants will normally be required to hold a good honours level undergraduate degree or equivalent. MFA Year 2 direct entrants will require to hold, or expect to obtain, a distinction level MLitt in Creative Writing or Playwriting and Screenwriting.
CV or resume
2 academic references (directly from referees via the automated system)
An academic critical writing sample of approximately 2,000 words which should be on a literary topic.
A portfolio of original verse, prose, playwriting or screenwriting (approximately 10 poems or around 10-15 pages of prose, playwriting or screenwriting).
Certified academic transcripts of study, including modular grades (interim UG level transcripts are permitted at this stage where final results are not yet known)
MFA research proposal
Statement of Purpose
IELTS/CPE/TOEFL certificate (if applicable) with an IELTS 8.0 grade minimum in each sub-category, or equivalent

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

27200 GBP / year

≈ 27200 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

12630 GBP / year

≈ 12630 GBP / year

Additional Details

Shown fee is for 1st year.

First year: equivalent fee for taught postgraduate students.

Second year: equivalent research fee for the relevant academic year.

Living costs

Saint Andrews

United Kingdom

660 - 1140 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Win a €10000 Scholarship! Deadline: 30 June 2020

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find Master's scholarship opportunities for Creative Writing.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

On this page

About

Overview

Careers

Programme Structure

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Credits

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic Applies to you

Additional Details

Living costs

Saint Andrews

Funding

Need help with your student visa?

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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