Find out how to make your way in the world as a writer, through our MA in Creative Writing. Discover your literary voice, exploring your creative potential in a supportive and well-resourced environment.

Overview

A cross-cultural, interdisciplinary programme, you spend your first term at our Canterbury campus with full access to its excellent academic and recreational facilities. You also visit Paris, where you meet our Paris staff and are taken on a tour of the city. We offer advice and support to help you relocate.

In the spring term, you then relocate to the Paris School of Arts and Culture where you study at the Columbia Global Center, in a historic corner of Montparnasse.

In your final term, you complete your MA by writing a portfolio of creative work defined in collaboration with your academic supervisors.

Teaching and assessment

You take a total of four modules, for which you will produce approximately 5,000 words each (or an equivalent number of poems or translations). In addition, you write a creative dissertation of about 12,000 words (or an equivalent number of poems or translations).

Programme aims

This programme aims to:

• provide you with the opportunity to obtain a postgraduate qualification (MA) in one year, and to allow you, if required, a smooth transition to doctoral studies
• give you the breadth of experience of studying creative writing modules in Canterbury in the Autumn term, and then spending the Spring term in Paris writing ‘in residence’ while pursuing one other Kent at Paris module
• extend and deepen your understanding of your own writing practice through coursework and research
• enable you to develop an historical awareness of literary and creative writing traditions, particularly those that have been located in, or in some other way focussed on, Paris develop your independent critical thinking and judgement
• develop your independent creative thinking and practice
• develop your knowledge and understanding of relevant aspects of contemporary Paris and the literary history of the city with a view to you incorporating some of these aspects into your own creative and critical writing
• develop your understanding and critical appreciation of the expressive resources of language

Careers

Many career paths can benefit from the writing and analytical skills that you develop as a postgraduate student in the School of English. Our students have gone on to work in academia, journalism, broadcasting and media, publishing, writing and teaching; as well as more general areas such as banking, marketing analysis and project management.