About Creative Writing, PhD - at University of Birmingham

The PhD in Creative Writing aims to support you in the development of a long-form piece of creative writing (for example, a novel or a script), or a sequence of related works (poems and short stories). You will be working in an environment which supports and encourages the development of craft and participation within a community of writers and scholars.

You will outline, in detail, a specific creative project, for completion within 3 years (full-time), and will also be able to identify critical concerns and interests related to your creative practice.

The final submission is a document which is divided between the creative piece and a related critical document (the weightings are listed below).

PhD submission will usually entail: For prose: a creative document (50 - 80%) of either long-form prose/novel, or a collection of short-form prose/stories supported by a critical paper (20-50%) of a similar length to a critical literary PhD submission (around 80,000 to 100,000 words). For poetry: a creative document of collected poems or a single work with a developed critical thesis (around 50,000 words) For scriptwriting (for film and live performance): a single project or a collection of multiple shorts should be of comparable length and commitment as the prose element, with a critical element between 20-50% of the overall submission. Other creative formats (for example a script for a graphic novel) will follow the poetry or prose model, with a 20-50% split for the critical element. The submission will be of publishable quality (meaning both elements, creative and critical, will be ready for submission to an editor / agent). The creative and critical elements will entail considered independent research and development. The creative document will be original work of significant, publishable quality which demonstrates an understanding of craft, genre, and form. The critical document will present a structured and developed argument which demonstrates an awareness of context, and discuss, where relevant, critical and creative processes.

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Entry requirements for this course

Contact University of Birmingham to find course entry requirements.

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