Creative Writing

MA

  • Entry year 2026
  • Duration Full time 1 year, Part time 2 years

Overview

Top reasons to study with us

  • Enjoy literary events in Lancaster's Castle Quarter

  • World Top 40 QS World Subject Rankings 2025 (English Language and Literature)

  • Our rich literary connections extend from Lancaster's LitFest and medieval Castle to Grasmere's Wordsworth Museum

Develop your own writing under the guidance of celebrated author-tutors at one of the very first UK universities to teach Creative Writing. Through a mix of masterclasses, workshops and tutorials you will learn from author-tutors who together can offer specialisms from right across the spectrum of literary genres and forms. At all times the focus will, ultimately, be your own writing and progressing, if you wish, toward publication.

Why Lancaster?

  • Study close to the beautiful Lake District and home of our partners, the Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere
  • Enjoy a rich programme of literary events on campus, online, and in the city’s historic Castle Quarter
  • Gain experience with our student-run literary journals and our partners, Lancaster’s long-running LitFest
  • Discover quiet corners in the University Library – from cosy study nooks to collaborative workspaces and our bespoke Postgraduate Study Space
  • Learn both to perform and promote your writing
  • Explore how writing can lead to a wide range of career destinations

Masterclasses and workshops

This programme is founded on a unique quartet – two series of masterclasses and two series of workshops. The masterclasses will focus on Form, Theme & Genre, and enable you to enhance your work through learning from each tutor’s own writing. The workshops will focus on Voice, Process, Shaping & Editing, and enable you to develop your work through having it discussed by your tutors and peers.

You will acquire a rich overview of all the traditional genres (poetry, prose, short fiction, drama, scriptwriting) as well as newer forms such as song lyric, graphic novel, fantasy, science fiction, memoir, queer fiction, game writing, writing for young adults, and the lyric or personal essay.

Specialise in genre or form

Each series of masterclasses and workshops will be overseen by one author-tutor but taught by several – some poets, some novelists, some playwrights. This means that, when submitting work, you will be able to specialise in one particular genre or form. You will get to know those tutors who write your preferred genre or form, and they will be on hand to advise you as you develop your writing, particularly as you move toward creating your final portfolio.

Writing in the world

The programme will guide you through writing’s many professional dimensions – from redrafting and working with editors through to publishing and promotion. In addition, we will explore how writing flourishes in fields such as museums, film, journalism, new media, podcasting, gaming and fashion.

Literary life

At Lancaster you will be part of a dynamic literary community founded on a series of free literary events, many of which take place in the Castle Quarter, with our October Evening and May Gathering being usually held at Lancaster’s ancient Priory. For many years the students on this programme have together published an anthology which is then launched with a public reading event. Recently, several of the students have also taken part in our annual student in-city showcase as part of Lancaster LitFest, one of the UK’s oldest literary festivals.

In addition, we have a unique partnership with the archive-rich Wordsworth Museum at Grasmere in the nearby Lake District. This includes an annual study retreat day, free entry at any time of the year and the chance to apply for one of four residential internships.

Careers

Many alumni are now celebrated authors. Recent success stories include Camille Ralphs, Andrew McMillan, Nguyen Phan Que Mai, Martha Sprackland and Daisy Johnson, the youngest-ever author to have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (2018).

You’ll develop a host of professional skills, such as researching, drafting, editing, listening, persuading and presenting. From advertising to professional services, your skills will be relevant across many different sectors.

Graduates of this course go on to careers in such areas as:

  • Publishing
  • Journalism
  • Writing
  • Television/media
  • Teaching
  • Librarianship

You may also choose to continue your studies at PhD level. Graduates of Lancaster’s MA in Creative Writing teach at universities worldwide.

Careers and employability support

Our degrees open up an extremely wide array of career pathways in businesses and organisations, large and small, in the UK and overseas. Our specialist Employability team is ready to support you, whether you are starting out your career after leaving higher education or returning to university to open up new career options.

We provide individual employability advice, application support, career events, development opportunities and resources to help you plan and achieve your career goals. We also run a paid internship scheme specifically for arts, humanities and social sciences students.

The Lancaster Award is available to all postgraduate taught students and recognises work experience, volunteering and personal development alongside your studies. Developed with employers, it helps you reflect on key skills, boost your CV and articulate your strengths with confidence.

Whether you have a clear idea of your potential career path or need some help considering the options, our friendly team is on hand.

Find out more about Lancaster’s careers events, extensive resources and personal support for Careers and Employability.

Entry requirements

Academic requirements

2:2 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in a related subject is normally required. We will also consider applications on an individual basis where you have a degree in other subjects or extensive relevant experience.

Additional requirements

A portfolio of original writing (no more than 12 poems or 20 pages of prose/scriptwriting) showing potential for publication.

English language requirements

We require an IELTS (Academic) Test with an overall score of at least 6.5, and a minimum of 6.5 in reading and writing and 6.0 in listening and speaking.

We also consider other English language qualifications and if your score is below our requirement, you may be eligible for one of our pre-sessional English language programmes.

Help from our Admissions team

If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, complete our enquiry form and one of the team will get back to you.

We also have more details on our website about:

Pre-master's programmes

Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored pre-master's pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University master's degrees. Visit INTO Lancaster University for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.

Course structure

We continually review and enhance our curriculum to ensure we are delivering the best possible learning experience, and to make sure that the subject knowledge and transferable skills you develop will prepare you for your future. The University will make every reasonable effort to offer programmes and modules as advertised. In some cases, changes may be necessary and may result in new modules or some modules and combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.

Core

core modules accordion

Optional

optional modules accordion

Fees and funding

We set our fees on an annual basis and the 2026/27 entry fees have not yet been set.

Additional fees and funding information accordion

Scholarships and bursaries

Details of our scholarships and bursaries for 2026-entry study are not yet available, but you can use our opportunities for 2025-entry applicants as guidance.

Check our current list of scholarships and bursaries.

Important information

The information on this site relates primarily to the stated entry year and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.

The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.

More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.

Our Students’ Charter

We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. Find out more about our  Charter and student policies.