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MSt - Master of Studies
University of Oxford
Part Time
SEP-25
2 years
Select a course option
MSt - Master of Studies
University of Oxford
Part Time
SEP-25
2 years
Select a subject
Select a an exam type
About the course
The MSt in Creative Writing is a two-year, part-time master's degree course offering a unique combination of high contact hours, genre specialisation, and critical and creative breadth.
The emphasis of the course is cross-cultural and cross-genre, pointing up the needs and challenges of the contemporary writer who produces their creative work in the context of a global writerly and critical community.
The MSt offers a clustered learning format of five residences, two guided retreats and one research placement over two years. The research placement, a distinguishing feature of the course, provides between one and two weeks' in-house experience of writing in the real world.
The first year concentrates equally on prose fiction, poetry, dramatic writing and narrative non-fiction. There is a significant critical reading and analysis component, which is linked to the writerly considerations explored in each of the genres. In your second year you will specialise in one of the following.
The residences in particular offer an intensive workshop- and seminar-based forum for ideas exchange and for the opening up of creative and critical frameworks within which to develop writerly and analytical skills. There is a strong element of one-to-one tutorial teaching. Tutorials take place within residences and retreats, and relate to the on-going work produced for the course.
You will be assigned a supervisor who will work closely with you throughout the development of the year two final project and extended essay. All assessed work throughout the two years of the course is subject to one-to-one feedback and discussion with a tutor. This intensive, one-to-one input, combined with the highly interactive workshop and seminar sessions, is a distinguishing feature of the course.
Assessment
The MSt is assessed by coursework. In the first year, four assignments (two creative, two critical), one creative writing portfolio and one critical essay are submitted. Work is set during each residence and handed in for assessment before the next meeting. Feedback on work submitted is given during tutorials within the residence or retreat. In the second year, submissions comprise one research placement report, one extended critical essay, and a final project – a substantial body of creative work in the genre of choice.
You will be set specific creative and critical work to be completed between residences and handed in to set deadlines. Creative submissions in the first year must be in more than one genre. In the second year, submitted work focuses around the genre of your choice.
Graduate destinations
Graduate destinations have included doctoral programmes in creative writing
As a minimum, applicants should hold or be predicted to achieve the equivalent of the following UK qualifications or their equivalent: a first-class or upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours in a related field. For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA normally sought is 3.6 out of 4.0.
Students living in
Domestic
£9,630 per year
Students from Domestic
This is the fee you pay if the University is in the same country that you live in (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland)
£15,105 per year
Students from EU
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from somewhere in the EU.
£15,105 per year
Students from International
The amount you'll pay if you come to study here from a country outside the EU.