About Creative Writing, MPhil - at Newcastle University

Our Creative Writing MPhil, PhD offers you the opportunity to develop a substantial, original piece of creative work and a related academic thesis. Our supervision expertise, partnerships and passion for creative writing offers you an energetic, creative and well-resourced research culture to immerse yourself in.

We offer supervision from a diverse range of experienced writers who are recognised specialists in their field. Areas of expertise include:

• poetry
• prose fiction, including fiction for children or young adults
• writing for stage, screen, or radio
• writing creative non-fiction, including:
  • memoir
  • biography
  • narrative non-fiction
  • essay writing
  • the literature of travel, nature and place.

You can see the range of research topics our current students are working on.

Your research will have two main components:

1. The creation of a substantial, original piece of creative work:

• a novel
• a collection of short stories
• a collection of poetry
• a play script or screen play

2. An academic thesis related to your creative work, which could cover:

• topics
• genres
• themes
• a writer or group of writers.

Many of our students go on to publication or performance either during or shortly after their studies.

Partners

We have strong links with a variety of partners, who all provide a wealth of materials, knowledge and opportunities:

• Seven Stories: The National Centre for the Children's Book
• Wordsworth Trust (Dove Cottage)
• Bloodaxe Books
• Northern Stage
• Live Theatre
• Tyneside Cinema.

We are closely linked to the Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts (NCLA), which puts you in regular contact with leading national and international creative practitioners. This develops your awareness of the creative, social and cultural issues that impacts and influences creative writing.

Research culture

Our rich research culture is fed by frequent public readings, seminars and workshops by staff, visiting artists, and postgraduates within the School. We also jointly sponsor The Newcastle/Bloodaxe Poetry Lectures with Bloodaxe Books. Recent writers include:

• Paul Muldoon
• Marilynne Robinson
• Ali Smith
• Kazuo Ishiguro
• Nuruddin Farah
• Andrea Levy.

You will have the opportunity to participate with the NCLA and other faculties on multi-disciplinary research projects. For example, students have worked with linguists, computer scientists, musicians, film-makers, archivists, and visual artists on projects funded by leading research councils such as the AHRC, Clore Duffield, Wellcome Trust, and Arts Council England.

Delivery:

You will be taught and based on our Newcastle campus, although there are opportunities to work with our partner institutions.

You will be assigned a supervisor or a supervisory team who you will meet on a regular basis. Your supervisor will be able to give you advice on reading, research training, help you use our research facilities and support you in the development of your work. Our Faculty training programme will support your your training and skills development throughout the programme. The time you spend with your supervisors will develop and encourage a strong level of communication, supervision and research training for you to be able to produce a substantial and original piece of creative work.

Being part of our rich research culture means that you will be encouraged to participate in and lead events for our research groups.

As part of the Northern Bridge consortium, we have access to the latest research training offered across Newcastle University, Durham University, and Queens University Belfast. You will be able to apply for funds to support yourself in your studies and to attend training events relevant to your research.

Facilities

The School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics is a lively and diverse community with over 700 undergraduates and 200 postgraduates.

We are based in the Percy Building where the majority of your seminars and tutorials will take place. Our purpose-built postgraduate suite includes several dedicated computer clusters, meeting rooms, a kitchen and lounge area.

You also have access to the award-winning Peter Robinson Library, which has a strong range of archival materials in Special Collections. It also houses the Bloodaxe archive, a unique collection of materials relating to one of Britain's leading poetry publishers., and an extensive audio-visual collection.

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Entry requirements for this course

Contact Newcastle University to find course entry requirements.

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