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BA (Hons) English & Creative Writing UCAS Code(s): QW38 Campus: Cyncoed School: Cardiff School of Education Course Length: Three years full-time Entry requirements: Applicants should have 5 GCSEs to include English Language at grade C or above, plus one of the following:
If your qualification isn't listed above, please refer to the UCAS website. All applications are considered on their individual merits and we can be flexible in the offer that is made.Applicants will also be asked to submit either a selection of fiction, journalism, poetry, an extract of a screenplay or other creative piece (no more than 2,000 words) to demonstrate their practical abilities. Career Potential: Cardiff has one of the largest media and creative-industry sectors outside London, including BBC Wales, ITV Wales, S4C, BBC Radio Wales, the Western Mail and Wales on Sunday. English & Creative Writing at UWIC is perfectly situated to draw on these amazing opportunities, combining a perfect combination of theory (the English side of the degree) with ‘applied practice’ (the creative writing side), putting you in a strong position when it comes to moving towards a career. In year two of your degree, for instance, you can opt to take a student placement in one of Cardiff’s creative industries. We also have a flourishing creative writing magazine of our own, Nexus, on which you might decide to get your first taste at editorial control or even publication. We also encourage our students to participate in our flourishing Erasmus exchange programme which could see you undertaking several months of exciting study in a European university should you wish it. Course Content: Cardiff offers a wonderful stimulus for all things creative and cultural. Our degree in English and Creative Writing at UWIC will combine your love of literature with your passion for writing: it’s a great combination. Cardiff is a city that has produced a rich pedigree of poets, novelists, scriptwriters and playwrights: from the gruesome brilliance of Roald Dahl, through Bernice Rubens’s Booker Prize winning novel of familial madness (1970) to Trezza Azzopardi’s narrative of Maltese immigration (shortlisted for the Booker Prize, James Tait Black Memorial Prize and winner of the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize in 2000). Poets such as Gillian Clarke (Wales’ first Capital Poet, appointed 2005) have been inspired by the rich tapestry of the regenerated city, whilst the city’s media connections have resulted in scriptwriters of the pedigree of Terry Nation (Doctor Who & creator of the Daleks) and Peter Baynham (Alan Partridge, Borat). A city that has been the inspiration for countless books and poems, and which continues to fascinate contemporary scriptwriters through TV programmes such as Doctor Who and Torchwood, could provide the inspiration you’ve been craving. And in the heart of this vibrant Welsh capital, UWIC is perfectly placed to offer you an intimate and rewarding university experience. Set in one of the most beautiful parts of the city, the Cyncoed Campus has become a centre of excellence in the delivery of Humanities programmes. This degree balanced the study of English literature with the skills necessary to become an effective creative writing practitioner, providing a programme perfectly balanced between theory and practice, delivered from the creative heart of Wales. What you learn as part of the English component—the Literature of Myth, Legend and Fairytale, for example, or Modernism to Postmodernism —can be applied to the Creative Writing component, from Scriptwriting, through Writing Fiction, to Poetry and Journalism. English: The study of English will engage with your enthusiasm for reading and literature, and introduce you to advanced critical thinking in the form of theoretical practice. Your degree investigates the foundations of contemporary literature via an examination of the cultural narratives we tell ourselves. Modules involving myth, detective fiction and gothic and science fiction investigate our manner of representing the world around us. Likewise, an attention to the socio-political production of texts contextualises the study of contemporary English literature. Modules are taught by the research active team (including Charlie Harris, Dr Katharine Cox, Dr Carmen Casaliggi) who have research interests in such areas as literature and landscapes, English language, Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials, labyrinths in contemporary literature and witchcraft. Creative Writing: In terms of Creative Writing, you will be taught by staff who are not only academics, but also successful and current practitioners, from Dr Spencer Jordan (www.spencerjordan.com) whose novel, Journeys in the Dead Season (2005), was considered by the Guardian as ‘a debut of ‘real literary merit’) to Robert Taffurelli former Editor of Film and TV Production Review and Managing Editor of one of London’s largest publishing houses, and a current prolific freelance journalist and Consultant Editor of IBE magazine. In addition, the Cyncoed Campus boasts UWIC’s current writer in residence and Royal Literary Fellow, Heather Dyer, who is also a published children’s writer. Year One: Introductory modules like those offered in Journalism, Creative Writing and Poetry provide you with a taster of content, form and genre; whilst our attention to your academic skills will provide you with a theoretical ‘toolbox’ which you’ll be able to call upon later during your degree. Typical modules include:
The second year introduces the subjects in more depth with specific modules targeting journalism, scriptwriting, the growth of the modern novel form and literary theory whilst our attention to research methods will prepare you for your dissertation. You can also decide to undertake a student work placement (option) or participate in our Erasmus Exchange Programme (option). Typical modules include:
*option modules that will enable you to tailor your degree and follow your areas of interest. Year Three:By year three you’ll have a keen sense of your own writing style as well as a study agreed with your dissertation supervisor into an area of your own interest. This is an opportunity for you to combine the two strands of your degree in English and Creative Writing or to specialise in one area. Typical modules include:
Assessment: Assessment is consists of a mixture of creative work (producing a portfolio), assessed seminar presentations, essays and exams. The degree is enhanced by the use of the university’s e-learning system. Extra-Curricula: Throughout the year, you will be invited to attend theatre trips, poetry and prose performances held in Cardiff. The Department regularly invites external speakers in to give presentations and readings. Last year Edward Hogan (winner of the Desmond Eliot Prize, June 2009) gave a reading and hosted a small workshop with BA English & Creative Writing students. Speakers for 2009/10 include Deborah Kay Davies (Welsh Writer of the Year, 2009); and the sci-fi writer, Alastair Reynolds. Student work is regularly published on the Department’s online creative writing magazine, Nexus, and the University’s student lifestyle magazine, Cardiff’s Calling. Congratulations to Liam Johnson, a student on our BA English & Creative Programme, who, in the 2009 John Tripp Award for Spoken Poetry, was awarded the Runner-up and the coveted Audience Prizes. As the judges noted, “After making such an impression in his first performance poetry competition Liam is definitely one to watch for the future.” More detail at: http://www.academi.org/home/i/135707/ Selection Procedure: Selection is usually on the basis of a completed UCAS application and interview.
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