edinburgh university ma creative writing

We value your privacy

We use cookies to allow this site to work for you, improve your user experience, and to serve you advertising tailored to your interests. Let us know if you agree to all cookies. You can manage your preferences at any time

Your Privacy

We use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer, to allow the site to work for you, improve your user experience, to provide us with information about how our site is used, and to deliver personalised ads which help fund our work and deliver our service to you for free.

The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalised web experience.

You can accept all, or else manage cookies individually. However, blocking some types of cookies may affect your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

You can change your cookies preference at any time by visiting our Cookies Notice page. Please remember to clear your browsing data and cookies when you change your cookies preferences. This will remove all cookies previously placed on your browser.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, or how to clear your browser cookies data see our Cookies Notice

Manage consent preferences

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.

They are essential for you to browse the website and use its features.

You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. We can’t identify you from these cookies.

These help us personalise our sites for you by remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers, whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then these services may not function properly.

These cookies allow us to count visits and see where our traffic comes from, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are popular and see how visitors move around the site. The cookies cannot directly identify any individual users.

If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to improve its performance for you.

These cookies may be set through our site by social media services or our advertising partners. Social media cookies enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They can track your browser across other sites and build up a profile of your interests. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to see or use the content sharing tools.

Advertising cookies may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but work by uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will still see ads, but they won’t be tailored to your interests.

Personalise what you see on this page.

• United States

LOOKING FOR

• Undergraduate courses
• Postgraduate courses
• CHOOSE ONE OR MORE

Popular universities

• University of Kent
• University of East Anglia UEA
• University of Chester
• Coventry University
• University of Aberdeen
• University of Portmouth
• Nottingham Trent University
• University of Sunderland
• London Metropolitan University
• London South Bank University
• University of East London
• BROWSE ALL UNIVERSITIES

Course search

Popular undergraduate courses.

• Computer Science
• LLB Bachelor of Laws
• Biomedical Sciences
• Physiotherapy
• Sports Science

Open days search

Upcoming open days.

• BIMM University
• University of Bedfordshire
• Edge Hill University
• Ravensbourne University London

Article search

Popular topics.

• League tables
• Choosing what to study
• Financing your studies
• Choosing where to study
• Career prospects

Popular articles

• How to use the league tables
• Helping you decide where and what to study
• Why use our university league tables?
• Types of degrees in the UK
• How to revise for exams: Top tips
• BROWSE ALL ADVICE

Creative Writing MSc The University of Edinburgh

Course options

Qualification.

MSc - Master of Science

The University of Edinburgh

• TUITION FEES
• ENTRY REQUIREMENT
• UNIVERSITY INFO

Course summary

Based in the first UNESCO World City of Literature, this one-year, full-time taught Masters programme is tailored towards your practice in either fiction or poetry

There is a strong practical element to the programme, helping you develop your creative skills through workshops, presenting your work for peer discussion, and hearing from guest writers and other professionals on the practicalities of life as a writer.

You’ll also sharpen your critical skills through seminars exploring the particulars of your chosen form and through option courses in literature, helping you move from theoretical considerations to practical applications.

The programme culminates with the publication of ‘From Arthur’s Seat’, an anthology of student work.

Over the course of this programme, you’ll complete a body of creative work that has been rigorously peer reviewed.

Our students go on to careers in a wide variety of fields, including publishing, marketing, arts administration, web and audio book editing, script and ghost writing, and gaming narrative design.

Modules (Year 1)

Tuition fees.

• Afghanistan
• Antigua & Barbuda
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Burkina Faso
• Central African Republic
• Congo (Democratic Republic)
• Czech Republic
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Equatorial Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Ivory Coast
• Korea DPR (North Korea)
• Liechtenstein
• Marshall Islands
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Northern Ireland
• Palestinian Authority
• Papua New Guinea
• Philippines
• Puerto Rico
• Republic of Ireland
• Sao Tome and Principe
• Saudi Arabia
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• South Africa
• South Korea
• South Sudan
• St. Kitts & Nevis
• Switzerland
• Trinidad & Tobago
• Turkmenistan
• United Kingdom
• Vatican City
• Western Samoa

£ 28,800 per year

Tuition fees shown are for indicative purposes and may vary. Please check with the institution for most up to date details.

University information

University league table, campus address.

University of Edinburgh, Student Recruitment and Admissions, 33 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City Of, EH8 9JS, Scotland

Suggested courses

MA Creative Writing

Leeds Trinity University

University league table

Is this page useful?

Sorry about that..., how can we improve it, thanks for your feedback.

MA Creative Writing

Want to make a career in writing? Edinburgh Napier University has the course for you.

Thursday, November 23, 2023

We are now open for sept 2024 applications plus: how we select you, what makes us unique.

We have a rolling selection process. If you successfully complete all three stages, we offer you a place within 24 hours of being interviewed by us. That means we usually start wait-listing people from May each year. Some places in the September 2024 cohort are already occupied by students who deferred starting for a year, and the remaining places will fill up fast. The sooner you apply, the better!

What makes our creative writing MA so popular? For a start, we put genre fiction front and centre in our course. If you love science fiction, fantasy, crime, horror, historical or stories for YA readers, many creative writing MFAs and MAs don't want to know - but we embrace great genre writing and people who want to write it.

Monday, July 31, 2023

We are closed for new applications to join our sept 2023 ma creative writing ma cohort.

You can still apply to our fully online MA Writing Genre Fiction programme. A new cohort is due to start that innovative course of study in January 2024. You can find out more information about it here.

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

We are now open for sept 2023 applications plus: how we select you, what makes us unique.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

We are now closed for new applications to join our ma creative writing sept. '22 cohort.

Watch this space for further updates!

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

New memoirs coming from ma creative writing graduates catherine simpson & ali millar.

One Body is described as 'the candid and often darkly funny story of how Catherine navigates her cancer treatment and takes stock of the emotions and reflections it provokes, until she is in remission. She comes to appreciate the skin she is in – to be grateful for her body and all that it does and is.'

The Last Days by Ali Millar is described as 'a tale of love and darkness, of faith and absolution ... one woman's courageous journey to freedom from the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is one of the Scotsman 's 2022 books to watch.

Since graduating Ali has worked in Edinburgh and London,as a producer and broadcast journalist. The Last Days will be her first published book, exploring a childhood growing up in the shadow of religion. It asks the question, can you escape from the life into which you were born?

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Angry robot books publishing second novel by award-winning ma graduate ever dundas.

The novel is set in a fictional UK, where HellSans is a ubiquitous typeface, enforced by the government in all communications and in all public spaces as the ultimate control device. The majority of the population experience bliss when they see the typeface, but there’s a minority who are allergic to it. HellSans Allergy Sufferers (HSAs) are persecuted, and live on the streets or in a ghetto on the outskirts of the capital.

“ HellSans was written as a response to my experience as a disabled person in Tory austerity UK,' Dundas explains. 'When the pandemic hit, everyone talked about suddenly existing in a dystopia, but disabled people had already been living a dystopia of stigma and discrimination for over a decade. HellSans is first and foremost a science fiction thriller but also reflection of that experience.'

Dundas won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award for debut novel Goblin , which was their Major Project while studying on the Creative Writing MA programme at Edinburgh Napier University. 

HellSans was acquired by Angry robot editor Simon Spanton who describes the novel as fierce, fast and fun. 'It shines a bright light on how society works against the marginalised. Passionate but never preachy, HellSans does exactly what SF does best: makes you think about how things are and how things could be. Being able to welcome Ever, such an active and involved voice in so many parts of the Scottish publishing scene, to Angry Robot is a really exciting development for us.'

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Oneworld buys debut novel from ma creative writing graduate pim wangtechawat.

The Moon Represents My Heart was acquired in a two-book deal and will be published as the super-lead title in spring 2023. Italian rights have also been sold to publisher Keller Editore.The novel was Pim's major project while she was studying at Edinburgh Napier University from 2019-20,

The Moon Represents My Heart  follows the generations of a British-Chinese family of time travellers. When Tommy’s parents time-travel and never return, time stands still. But as everyone begins to move forward, Tommy is stuck in the past which has ramifications for his life in the present. The Moon Represents My Heart  is described as "a story about relationships between parent and child, whether one can accept the choices of the other, and whether they would make the same decision again".

Publisher Juliet Mabey told trade industry weekly The Bookseller that "Pim has written a truly heart-warming, richly poetic novel, brimming with tenderness, joy and loss, and I found myself rooting for each character in this immersive, multivocal time-travelling novel. Sitting in that wonderful sweet spot between literary and upmarket fiction, I’m incredibly excited to be able to include it in the launch list for our new commercial fiction imprint here at Oneworld.”

Earlier this year Pim signed with literary agent Liza DeBlock at Mushens Entertainment. "I absolutely loved The Moon Represents My Heart and Pim’s writing is gorgeous,' says DeBlock. "I laughed, I cried, and this story made me relive every best day of my life.”

"I’m beyond excited that The Moon Represents My Heart — a deeply personal debut inspired by my Chinese heritage — has found the perfect home," Pim told The Bookseller. "As an author from Bangkok writing in my second language, it is a lifelong dream to have my novel published!"

The whole Creative Writing team at Edinburgh Napier University congratulates Pim on her success, and we can't wait to read the finished novel when it is published in 2023. Time travel, family heartbreak and a surprise cameo by a famous martial arts star - it's going to be epic!

• Creative Writing

8th July – 3rd August 2024

This 4-week course offers developing writers a supportive environment in which to further their writing skills in fiction, poetry, and drama. Students have a unique opportunity to develop their own critical analysis by attending Modernism and Contemporary Literature lectures, as well as author-led Masterclasses. SUISS tutors, who are published writers and experienced teachers, lead the students in 3-hour group seminars and individualised mentoring sessions.

In addition, our Creative Writing students have the opportunity to attend private readings by well-known British authors, many of who will be reading at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

The Creative Writing course offers:

• Workshop Seminars: SUISS tutors lead small group writing seminars catered to students’ writing interests.
• Author-led Masterclasses: Prominent contemporary British writers offer students an opportunity to engage in unique discussions and activities.
• Lectures: Students attend select Modernism and Contemporary Literature lectures to gain additional perspectives of critical analysis.
• Individual Mentoring Sessions: Students receive 30min of individualised mentoring sessions with a SUISS tutor per week.
• Publishing Lecture: A Literary Agent identifies key aspects of the publishing industry in an exclusive lecture for the students.
• Editorial groups: According to shared interests, students discuss their work with their peers in an informal, interactive environment.
• Northern Light : An opportunity to be published in our biennial publication.

Reading List

Creative Writing students attend selected lectures from our Modernism  and Contemporary Literature  courses. Students are strongly advised to read as many of the texts as possible before arriving in Edinburgh, as time will be limited once the programme is underway. The lectures are pitched high, and lecturers are advised that all students will be familiar with the texts at the time of lecture.

Core texts and lectures for the Creative Writing summer programme, on which the tuition will be based, are listed below.

Essential reading  (in alphabetical order) :  

T.S. Eliot,  The Waste Land  

Harry Josephine Giles,  Drone  

James Joyce,  Dubliners     China Miéville short stories (from  Three Moments of an Explosion )*  

Alan Moore,  V for Vendetta   Selected imagist poetry*  

Ali Smith: selection of short stories*  

Virginia Woolf,  Mrs Dalloway 

Suggested further reading**:

Neil Astley (Ed.), Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times John Gillard, The Very Short Story Starter: 101 Flash Fiction Prompts for Creative Writing Louise Glück, Proofs and Theories: Essay on Poetry Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within Robert Hass, A Little Book on Form: An Exploration into the Formal Imagination of Poetry Stephen King, On Writing Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird Alice LaPlante, The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing Alysoun Owen (Ed.), Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2023 Deryn Rees-Jones, Consorting with Angels Calum Rodger (Ed.), makar / unmakar: twelve contemporary poets in Scotland

*Students are not required to purchase volumes of poetry or short stories – specific reading selections for these lectures and seminars will be circulated to all students in advance.

**NB: Students are not required to read texts listed in ‘further reading’. However, if you are interested in complementary material, these texts will expand your knowledge and discussion of the essential reading list as well as the subject of creative writing more broadly. All of the further reading is available to loan from the University of Edinburgh library or the SUISS library.

For more information on the course, see our Sample Creative Writing Syllabus .

• Student Hosts
• Text & Context
• Theatre & Performance
• Social & Cultural
• Course Assessment
• Grades and Transfer Credit
• Fees & Accommodation
• Scholarships
• Support Us!
• Alumni in the Spotlight
• Alumni Memories
• Work by former students
• Previous directors
• Publications

• Architecture and Design
• Asian and Pacific Studies
• Business and Economics
• Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies
• Computer Sciences
• Cultural Studies
• Engineering
• General Interest
• Geosciences
• Industrial Chemistry
• Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies
• Jewish Studies
• Library and Information Science, Book Studies
• Life Sciences
• Linguistics and Semiotics
• Literary Studies
• Materials Sciences
• Mathematics
• Social Sciences
• Sports and Recreation
• Theology and Religion
• Publish your article
• The role of authors
• Promoting your article
• Abstracting & indexing
• Publishing Ethics
• Why publish with De Gruyter
• How to publish with De Gruyter
• Our book series
• Our subject areas
• Your digital product at De Gruyter
• Contribute to our reference works
• Product information
• Tools & resources
• Product Information
• Promotional Materials
• Orders and Inquiries
• FAQ for Library Suppliers and Book Sellers
• Repository Policy
• Free access policy
• Open Access agreements
• Database portals
• For Authors
• Customer service
• People + Culture
• Journal Management
• How to join us
• Working at De Gruyter
• Mission & Vision
• De Gruyter Foundation
• De Gruyter Ebound
• Our Responsibility
• Partner publishers

Your purchase has been completed. Your documents are now available to view.

2 The Evaluation of Creative Writing at MA Level (UK)

From the book the handbook of creative writing.

• Jenny Newman
• X / Twitter

Supplementary Materials

Please login or register with De Gruyter to order this product.

Chapters in this book (63)

Our cookies

We use cookies for three reasons: to give you the best experience on PGS, to make sure the PGS ads you see on other sites are relevant , and to measure website usage. Some of these cookies are necessary to help the site work properly and can’t be switched off. Cookies also support us to provide our services for free, and by click on “Accept” below, you are agreeing to our use of cookies .You can manage your preferences now or at any time.

Privacy overview

We use cookies, which are small text files placed on your computer, to allow the site to work for you, improve your user experience, to provide us with information about how our site is used, and to deliver personalised ads which help fund our work and deliver our service to you for free.

The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalised web experience.

You can accept all, or else manage cookies individually. However, blocking some types of cookies may affect your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

You can change your cookies preference at any time by visiting our Cookies Notice page. Please remember to clear your browsing data and cookies when you change your cookies preferences. This will remove all cookies previously placed on your browser.

For more detailed information about the cookies we use, or how to clear your browser cookies data see our Cookies Notice

Manage consent preferences

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.

They are essential for you to browse the website and use its features.

You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. We can’t identify you from these cookies.

Functional cookies

These help us personalise our sites for you by remembering your preferences and settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers, whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies, then these services may not function properly.

Performance cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and see where our traffic comes from, so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are popular and see how visitors move around the site. The cookies cannot directly identify any individual users.

If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site and will not be able to improve its performance for you.

Marketing cookies

These cookies may be set through our site by social media services or our advertising partners. Social media cookies enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They can track your browser across other sites and build up a profile of your interests. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to see or use the content sharing tools.

Advertising cookies may be used to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but work by uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will still see ads, but they won’t be tailored to your interests.

Creative Writing PhD

The university of edinburgh, different course options.

• Key information

Course Summary

Tuition fees, entry requirements, similar courses at different universities, key information data source : idp connect, qualification type.

PhD/DPhil - Doctor of Philosophy

Subject areas

Creative Writing

Course type

The PhD in Creative Writing provides the capstone to the postgraduate Creative Writing suite, offering students graduating from the MSc an opportunity to undertake work at a higher level. You will aim towards the production of a substantial, publishable piece of creative writing, accompanied by a sustained exercise in critical study.

The academic staff you will be working with are all active researchers or authors, including well-published and prize-winning writers of poetry, prose fiction and drama.

Training and support

We encourage you to share your research and learn from the work of others through a programme of work-in-progress seminars, reading groups, visiting speakers and conferences.

Our postgraduate journal, Forum, is a valuable conduit for research findings and provides an opportunity to gain editorial experience.

UK fees Course fees for UK students

To be confirmed

International fees Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

A UK masters degree with distinction, or its international equivalent, in creative writing, normally with distinction.

MA Novel Writing (Distance Education)

Middlesex university, ma in english (creative writing and english literature), university of hull, ma in creative writing (online), phd creative writing, ma creative writing, manchester metropolitan university.

The professional and creative writing specialization provides students with the opportunity to practice writing in a wide variety of professional and creative genres. The program provides mentorship from award-winning writers working in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction; it also provides opportunities for students to hone their professional, rhetorical, and technical writing skills, using advanced research methods. Students develop individual courses of study, which culminate in a graduate-level portfolio of student writing. The program prepares students to begin writing-intensive careers, advance in the workplace, or prepare for further graduate programs; students awarded a teaching assistantship will also be prepared to teach at the college level. This specialization may be fully completed online.

Program Learner Outcomes Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• employ inclusive and anti-racist practices in the disciplines of professional and creative writing, including collaborative feedback strategies for improving creative work;
• incorporate critical mentoring and peer feedback in the development of professional-level final projects; and
• apply professional-level skills in writing and visual rhetoric through the creation of a web-presence for self-marketing.

English MA Core

The Department of English offers a comprehensive Master of Arts program with two disciplinary specializations: literary studies and teaching and professional and creative writing. These disciplinary specializations share a set of core courses and electives and provide opportunities to study with a dual-modality cohort, allowing students to complete the degree both in-person and online. Both specializations offer a limited number of teaching assistantships on a competitive basis for resident on-campus students. Students with a teaching assistantship generally complete the program within two years, and those without an assistantship can complete the program in four quarters (10-15 credits per quarter).

• analyze diverse global variations in writing, literature, language, and professional presentation in our changing culture;
• apply professional-level writing skills by successfully meeting the rhetorical needs of situations requiring the application of a variety of genres and styles;
• appraise a range of literary and professional theoretical perspectives, genres, conventions, projects, and forms;
• employ scholarly research practices appropriate to the discipline of English studies; and
• identify opportunities for professional development.

Core Courses

Select three of the following core English Studies core:

• ENG 513 - Composition Theory Credits: (5)
• ENG 518 - Advanced Literary and Critical Theory Credits: (5)
• ENG 556 - Studies in Rhetoric Credits: (5)
• ENG 585 - Publishing Strategies and Practice for Writers Credits: (5)

Total Core Credits: 15

Required courses credits: 8, required intro course credits: (3).

• ENG 511 - Introduction to Graduate Writing Credits: (3)

Select ONE of the following Literary Genre courses Credits: (5)

• ENG 553 - Studies in Fiction Credits: (5)
• ENG 554 - Studies in Creative Nonfiction Credits: (5)
• ENG 555 - Studies in Poetry Credits: (5)

Department-Approved Electives Credits: 20

Select a minimum of 20 credits of department-approved electives. Up to two 400- or 500-level Literature courses may be counted for elective credit.

• ENG 420 - English Linguistics Credits: (5)
• ENG 504 - Advanced Technical Writing Credits: (5)
• ENG 510 - Teaching First-year Composition Credits: (5)
• ENG 564 - Advanced Fiction Writing Credits: (5)
• ENG 565 - Advanced Poetry Writing Credits: (5)
• ENG 566 - Advanced Creative Nonfiction Credits: (5)
• ENG 568 - Contemporary Writers Colloquium Credits: (5)
• ENG 572 - Workplace Writing Research Methods Credits: (5)
• ENG 573 - Grant Writing: Theory and Practice Credits: (5)
• ENG 574 - Professional Writing with New Media Credits: (5)
• ENG 592 - Practicum Credits: (1-5)
• ENG 598 - Special Topics Credits: (1-6)

Final Portfolio Credits: 2

• ENG 589 - Portfolio Credits: (2)

Total Credits: 45

College and department information.

English Department     College of Arts and Humanities    

Online Availability ​The program will have both a designated online only option and an in-person or hybrid option.

Program Codes EPCW, EPCWO, EPCWOP, EPCWP

• The Student Experience
• Financial Aid
• Degree Finder
• Undergraduate Arts & Sciences
• Departments and Programs
• Research, Scholarship & Creativity
• Centers & Institutes
• Geisel School of Medicine
• Guarini School of Graduate & Advanced Studies
• Thayer School of Engineering
• Tuck School of Business

Campus Life

• Diversity & Inclusion
• Athletics & Recreation
• Student Groups & Activities
• Residential Life

English and Creative Writing

Department of english and creative writing.

• [email protected] Contact & Department Info Mail
• Undergraduate
• Modified Major
• Transfer Credit
• Creative Writing Concentration
• Past Honors
• Course Group I
• Course Group II
• Course Group III
• Course Group IV
• Courses - No Course Group
• Creative Writing Courses
• Courses (No Major Credit)
• Foreign Study Courses
• Independent Study and Honors
• The Historical Philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois
• Creative Writing Prizes
• Department Prizes
• Undergraduate Fellowships
• Foreign Study
• London Foreign Study Program
• News & Events
• News & Events
• Illuminations
• Robert Hayden
• Black Nature Conference
• Sanborn Tea

Search form

2024 creative writing prize winners.

Please join the Department of English and Creative Writing in congratulating the 2024 Creative Writing Prize winners!

Andrea Cohen at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Professor Matthew Olzmann at Creative Writing Prizes Reading. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Ulla-Brit Libre reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Sanjana Raj reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Ethan Gearey reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Maeve Kenney reading at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Zhenia Dubrova at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Anne Rhee at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Jessica Yang at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

Judge Andrea Cohen at 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony. Photo by Alberto Paniagua

The 2024 Creative Writing Prizes Ceremony was held on Thursday, May 9, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. in Sanborn Library, and included readings from the prize winners and this year's judge, Andrea Cohen .

Andrea Cohen's poems and stories have appeared in  The New Yorker, Poetry, The Threepenny Review ,  The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Republic, Glimmer Train ,  etc. A new book of poems,  The Sorrow Apartments,  is forthcoming from Four Way Books. Other collections include  Everything  (Four Way, 2021),  Nightshade  (Four Way, 2019).  Unfathoming ( Four Way, 2017),     Furs Not Mine  (Four Way, 2015),  Kentucky Derby  (Salmon Poetry, 2011),  Long Division (Salmon Poetry, 2009) , and  The Cartographer's Vacation  (Owl Creek Press, 1999). Awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship,  Glimmer Train's  Short Fiction Award, and several fellowships at MacDowell. Over the years, she has taught at The University of Iowa, Emerson College, UMASS-Boston, Boston University, The Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, and Merrimack College, where she was the founding director of the Writers' House. She directs the Blacksmith House Poetry Series in Cambridge, MA, and will be teaching at Boston University in the spring of 2024.

The Sidney Cox Memorial Prize

• Sanjana Raj, "The Museum of Unnatural History"

Honorable Mentions:

• Maeve Kenny, "The Four Seasons"
• Eloise Langan, "Oh, Rats."

The Academy of American Poets Prize

• Maeve Kenney, Poems

The Jacobson-Laing Award in Poetry

• Ethan Gearey, "I've Been in Love"

The Mecklin Prize

• Maeve Kenney, "The Four Seasons"
• Armita Mirkarimi, "Nostalgia is a Wishing Well"
• Eloise Langan, "Saint Bonnie"
• Natala Schmitter-Emerson, "A Story that Never Ends"

The Grimes Prize

• Yevheniia Dubrova, "Blue Heron"

The Lockwood Prize

• Anne Rhee, Poems
• Jessica Yang, "Pacific Ghosts"

William C. Spengemann Award in Writing

Erskine Caldwell Prize

Ralston Prize

• Ulla-Brit Libre

• Schools & departments

Creative Industries MSc

Awards: MSc

Study modes: Full-time

Programme website: Creative Industries

Upcoming Introduction to Postgraduate Study and Research events

Join us online on the 19th June or 26th June to learn more about studying and researching at Edinburgh.

Choose your event and register

Programme description

An interdisciplinary degree with edinburgh futures institute.

Creative and cultural industries shape how we experience our lives, including the ads and movies we see, the music we listen to and the festivals and performances we attend. They shape our quality of life, generating cultural, social and economic value to individuals, organisations and society. To create this value, creative organisations rely on data to:

• generate new opportunities
• create new strategies
• track the effectiveness of their strategies
• persuade others of their value, whether funders, consumers or collaborators

This unique MSc programme brings together cross-disciplinary expertise and knowledge in data analytics, creative thinking, business and law to understand the complex challenges facing the creative industries. It is a bold, innovative programme designed to develop your knowledge and skills for leading the cultural and creative institutions of the future.

You will learn to apply interdisciplinary knowledge within a project team in order to respond to live challenges set by our partner organisations, and you will create and apply knowledge from different areas using data-informed approaches. A strong focus of the programme is on learning to collaborate and work with others as you develop the leadership skills needed to coordinate the diverse specialisms, organisations and individuals needed to deliver creative experiences and products.

Studying with us will help you build professional and leadership skills as you work directly with world-class cultural organisations in the City of Edinburgh. This programme makes excellent use of Edinburgh as a cultural capital and you will benefit from established relationships with organisations in cultural heritage, festivals and advertising.

Postgraduate study at the Edinburgh Futures Institute

This programme is part of an interconnected portfolio of postgraduate study in the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI).

EFI supports interdisciplinary teaching, learning and research that is focussed on complex global and social challenges. Our programmes are taught by academic experts from many different subject areas.

As an EFI student, you will develop creative, critical and data-informed thinking that cuts across traditional disciplinary boundaries. You will have the space to think deeply about questions linked to your own passions and professional goals and will develop a project based on an issue that you care about.

As well as knowledge specific to your area of study, studying at Edinburgh Futures Institute will give you the skills and understanding you need to become a creative, confident and critical citizen in a fast-changing world.

These include:

• core data skills
• data ethics
• the ability to interrogate issues of global scope using methods from across disciplines
• creative and analytic approaches to knowledge

You can join us regardless of whether you already have skills in the use and application of digital data.

Programme structure

Students on this programme study the following:

• Core courses (30 credits) specific to your programme.
• Edinburgh Futures Institute core courses (40 credits) which teach the essential, critical and hands-on data skills, enquiry methods, ethical and creative capacities needed to underpin your programme-based studies.
• A wide choice of short 10-credit optional courses (50 credits), at least two of which must be on topics related to your programme, with scope to study across the entire portfolio.
• A project (taking the form of a 20-credit ‘knowledge integration and project planning’ course, and a 40-credit final project).

This is a full-time one-year programme, based on-campus in Edinburgh so it can benefit from the city’s strong cultural organisations.

Core courses

In addition to the Edinburgh Futures Institute shared core courses, you will take the following core courses for your programme:

• Creative Markets teaches the fundamentals of strategy, competitor analysis and business models that enable leaders to create and capture value amidst the demand uncertainty that permeates the creative industries.
• Intellectual Property in the Creative Industries examines intellectual property rights in the creative industries to protect intangible assets and identify which rights generate possible revenues and are appropriate for different business models.
• Client Consulting project applies knowledge of Creative Markets and Intellectual Property to a client-led challenge with a cultural or creative organisation.

Edinburgh Futures Institute core courses

On our core courses you will work in cross-disciplinary teams with students from other Futures Institute programmes. You will learn to collect, manage and analyse computational datasets, and to use emerging methodologies for mapping and designing the future. You will also learn the fundamentals of data ethics, and how to use creative skills in the analysis and representation of data-informed and qualitative inquiry.

Optional courses

Edinburgh Futures Institute offers a wide range of more than 40 optional courses taught by academic staff from many different discipline areas, including those associated with your programme. The exact courses offered vary from year to year. In 2024-25 the courses associated with your programme may include:

• Cities as Creative Sites: Urban Studio
• Critical Creative Diversity
• Culture, Heritage and Learning Futures
• Pitching Your Stories, Services and Products
• Strategic Change Leadership for Creative Industries

Optional courses from across the wider portfolio will cover a range of themes and topics, such as:

• critical perspectives on how new technologies are changing society
• data, programming and research skills that advance the skills taught in the Edinburgh Futures Institute shared core
• the causes and consequences of inequalities around the world
• how new and rapidly changing technologies and data sources are transforming the future of democracy
• what the future of education might look like
• how narratives drive the way we understand the world
• bringing service design and service management together to build change in a data-driven society

The project

In your final project, you will apply your learning in depth to a domain, issue or concern which drives you. Your final project can be based on your own personal or professional interests, defined by your employer, sponsored by one of the Futures Institute’s industry, government or community partners, or aligned to one of our research programmes.

You will submit your final project as a written piece of work or combine text with other forms – for example, video, visualisation, a digital artefact, performance, or code.

You will identify your project topic relatively early on in the programme, and work on it in parallel with the taught courses. We expect you to take an interdisciplinary approach to your project in order to connect with the creative, data and future-orientated nature of the Futures Institute.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this programme, you will be able to:

• build deep understanding of creative industries and markets, and the critical challenges they face
• understand the role of data and data-driven innovation in addressing these challenges and apply data-informed insights to the creative industries
• integrate insights from Business and Law to conceptualise innovative business models for the creative industries
• work with world-class cultural organisations to apply team-based learning to live challenges
• develop leadership, communication, team-working and analytic skills relevant to the creative industries

Career opportunities

The Creative Industries programme provides core knowledge and ability - for example in marketing, digital strategy and consumer and audience engagement - that you will be able to apply to real, live challenges faced by the cultural sector.

It will prepare you to take up leadership and management roles in a variety of creative and cultural sectors such as:

• the creative industries
• arts management
• cultural heritage
• cultural tourism

For mid-career professionals, the programme offers the opportunity to expand, deepen and apply knowledge to new contexts, strengthening existing skills and developing new approaches which can be applied in professional work.

The core elements of the programme address the data and higher-order skills we know are important for the future of work, confident and critical citizenship, and a thriving, just society.

Studying at Edinburgh Futures Institute

What does interdisciplinary study mean.

Interdisciplinary study is at the heart of Edinburgh Futures Institute programmes. It means the ability to synthesise and apply knowledge and skills from across different disciplines and is crucial to addressing many current complex challenges and planetary-scale issues.

We support you to develop interdisciplinary perspectives in different ways. For example, our shared core courses draw on diverse disciplines to support you to work creatively and ethically with all kinds of data. Each programme develops interdisciplinary perspectives in the ways most appropriate to their specific domain and focus. And finally – because you have such wide choice in the optional courses you choose to take with us – you will have the flexibility to design your own disciplinary pathway through your studies, integrating your insights and reflecting on their interdisciplinary power through your project-related work.

How you will learn at the Futures Institute

Our approach to teaching puts student experience and choice at its heart and connects global cohorts in new ways.

You will study in teaching spaces and digital learning environments designed to enable shared on-site and online teaching and learning activity. Your classes and contributions will be recorded and livestreamed so that they can be shared – and so you can build a learning community – across modes and time-zones.

Students studying online have a presence in our on-site classrooms (via video, audio and text), and students studying on-campus are able to work with diverse teams located across the globe. All of your courses require significant synchronous engagement in the classroom and significant asynchronous engagement online. While there will be opportunities to engage in some activities asynchronously from different time zones, applicants should be aware of the requirement to join live classes at particular times. Please get in touch with us to discuss your particular circumstances before applying. All students have a presence in the digital spaces where teaching happens – video-based classes, real-time collaboration spaces, live chats, asynchronous forums, shared exhibition and blogging spaces and more.

• Fusion Teaching Privacy Notice

Teaching methods include:

• expert lectures, both live and livestreamed
• data skills and programming workshops online and on-campus
• on-site and virtual drop-ins
• hybrid seminars
• interactive journal clubs
• external stakeholder challenges and code-alongs
• data visualisation exercises
• creative and collaborative whiteboard activities
• online discussion

Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) uses a distinctive timetabling model in which the programme core and options courses are delivered over five weeks. Four of these weeks involve asynchronous activities, interactions and tasks. In the middle of the course, an intensive two-day block of synchronous activity is held, building on the early weeks of the course and enabling the class to work together intensively to develop knowledge and skills that support the final weeks of course activity. Shared core courses are taught alternate weeks throughout the semester.

Video: Find out more about the programme

Creative Industries Programme from The University of Edinburgh on Vimeo .

Entry requirements

These entry requirements are for the 2024/25 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2025/26 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2024.

A UK 2:1 honours degree, or its international equivalent, in any discipline.

We will also consider your application if you have other professional qualifications or experience; please contact us to check before you apply.

Students from China

This degree is Band C.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country
• English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency at a level that will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.5 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 23 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced ( CAE ) / C2 Proficiency ( CPE ): total 185 with at least 176 in each component.
• Trinity ISE : ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 70 with at least 62 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS , TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE , in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old* at the beginning of your programme of study. (*Revised 05 March 2024 to extend degree validity to five years.)

Find out more about our language requirements:

Fees and costs

Scholarships and funding.

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding

Further information

• Postgraduate Admissions Office
• Phone: +44 (0)131 650 4086
• Contact: [email protected]
• Programme Director, Vikki Jones and Giovanni Formilan
• Contact: [email protected]
• Edinburgh Futures Institute
• 1 Lauriston Place
• University of Edinburgh
• Central Campus
• Programme: Creative Industries
• School: Edinburgh Futures Institute
• College: Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

Select your programme and preferred start date to begin your application.

MSc Creative Industries - 1 Year (Full-time)

Application deadlines.

We operate a number of selection deadlines. We may make a small number of offers on an ongoing basis, but we will hold the majority of applications until the next published selection deadline before deciding which applicants to make offers to.

If we have not made you an offer by a specific selection deadline this means one of two things:

• your application has been unsuccessful, in which case we will contact you to let you know, or
• your application is still being considered and will be carried forward for consideration in the next selection deadline and we’ll be in touch once a decision is made

If you are applying for funding or will require a visa then we strongly recommend you apply as early as possible.

Deadlines for applicants applying for study in 2024-25 are:

• How to apply

You must submit one reference with your application.

We will decide which applications to offer places to on the basis of:

• educational achievement
• professional experience (where relevant)
• quality of personal statement

Your personal statement should include why you are interested in studying on this particular programme and – if relevant – how it will support your career development. The

Edinburgh Futures Institute provides a space where students can pursue projects on issues they care about, so it would also be helpful (though not essential) if you could indicate the area on which you would most like to focus during your time in EFI.

Find out more about the general application process for postgraduate programmes:

Creative Writing Program Marks Three Decades of Growth, Diversity

By Luisa A. Igloria

2024: a milestone year which marks the 30 th  anniversary of Old Dominion University’s MFA Creative Writing Program. Its origins can be said to go back to April 1978, when the English Department’s (now Professor Emeritus, retired) Phil Raisor organized the first “Poetry Jam,” in collaboration with Pulitzer prize-winning poet W.D. Snodgrass (then a visiting poet at ODU). Raisor describes this period as “ a heady time .” Not many realize that from 1978 to 1994, ODU was also the home of AWP (the Association of Writers and Writing Programs) until it moved to George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The two-day celebration that was “Poetry Jam” has evolved into the annual ODU Literary Festival, a week-long affair at the beginning of October bringing writers of local, national, and international reputation to campus. The ODU Literary Festival is among the longest continuously running literary festivals nationwide. It has featured Rita Dove, Maxine Hong Kingston, Susan Sontag, Edward Albee, John McPhee, Tim O’Brien, Joy Harjo, Dorothy Allison, Billy Collins, Naomi Shihab Nye, Sabina Murray, Jane Hirshfield, Brian Turner, S.A. Cosby, Nicole Sealey, Franny Choi, Ross Gay, Adrian Matejka, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Ilya Kaminsky, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, Jose Olivarez, and Ocean Vuong, among a roster of other luminaries. MFA alumni who have gone on to publish books have also regularly been invited to read.

From an initial cohort of 12 students and three creative writing professors, ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program has grown to anywhere between 25 to 33 talented students per year. Currently they work with a five-member core faculty (Kent Wascom, John McManus, and Jane Alberdeston in fiction; and Luisa A. Igloria and Marianne L. Chan in poetry). Award-winning writers who made up part of original teaching faculty along with Raisor (but are now also either retired or relocated) are legends in their own right—Toi Derricotte, Tony Ardizzone, Janet Peery, Scott Cairns, Sheri Reynolds, Tim Seibles, and Michael Pearson. Other faculty that ODU’s MFA Creative Writing Program was privileged to briefly have in its ranks include Molly McCully Brown and Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley.

"What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here." — Luisa A. Igloria, Louis I. Jaffe Endowed Professor & University Professor of English and Creative Writing at Old Dominion University

Our student body is diverse — from all over the country as well as from closer by. Over the last ten years, we’ve also seen an increase in the number of international students who are drawn to what our program has to offer: an exciting three-year curriculum of workshops, literature, literary publishing, and critical studies; as well as opportunities to teach in the classroom, tutor in the University’s Writing Center, coordinate the student reading series and the Writers in Community outreach program, and produce the student-led literary journal  Barely South Review . The third year gives our students more time to immerse themselves in the completion of a book-ready creative thesis. And our students’ successes have been nothing but amazing. They’ve published with some of the best (many while still in the program), won important prizes, moved into tenured academic positions, and been published in global languages. What we’ve also found to be consistently true is how collegial this program is — with a lively and supportive cohort, and friendships that last beyond time spent here.

Our themed studio workshops are now offered as hybrid/cross genre experiences. My colleagues teach workshops in horror, speculative and experimental fiction, poetry of place, poetry and the archive — these give our students so many more options for honing their skills. And we continue to explore ways to collaborate with other programs and units of the university. One of my cornerstone projects during my term as 20 th  Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth was the creation of a Virginia Poets Database, which is not only supported by the University through the Perry Library’s Digital Commons, but also by the MFA Program in the form of an assistantship for one of our students. With the awareness of ODU’s new integration with Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) and its impact on other programs, I was inspired to design and pilot a new 700-level seminar on “Writing the Body Fantastic: Exploring Metaphors of Human Corporeality.” In the fall of 2024, I look forward to a themed graduate workshop on “Writing (in) the Anthropocene,” where my students and I will explore the subject of climate precarity and how we can respond in our own work.

Even as the University and wider community go through shifts and change through time, the MFA program has grown with resilience and grace. Once, during the six years (2009-15) that I directed the MFA Program, a State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) university-wide review amended the guidelines for what kind of graduate student would be allowed to teach classes (only those who had  already  earned 18 or more graduate credits). Thus, two of our first-year MFA students at that time had to be given another assignment for their Teaching Assistantships. I thought of  AWP’s hallmarks of an effective MFA program , which lists the provision of editorial and publishing experience to its students through an affiliated magazine or press — and immediately sought department and upper administration support for creating a literary journal. This is what led to the creation of our biannual  Barely South Review  in 2009.

In 2010,  HuffPost  and  Poets & Writers  listed us among “ The Top 25 Underrated Creative Writing MFA Programs ” (better underrated than overrated, right?) — and while our MFA Creative Writing Program might be smaller than others, we do grow good writers here. When I joined the faculty in 1998, I was excited by the high caliber of both faculty and students. Twenty-five years later, I remain just as if not more excited, and look forward to all the that awaits us in our continued growth.

This essay was originally published in the Spring 2024 edition of Barely South Review , ODU’s student-led literary journal. The University’s growing MFA in Creative Writing program connects students with a seven-member creative writing faculty in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.

Enhance your college career by gaining relevant experience with the skills and knowledge needed for your future career. Discover our experiential learning opportunities.

Picture yourself in the classroom, speak with professors in your major, and meet current students.

From sports games to concerts and lectures, join the ODU community at a variety of campus events. 

• Staff intranet
• Staff directory

MA Writing Genre Fiction

T his course is ideal for writers of commercial genre fiction who are looking to take their craft to the next level.  If you already have talent and ideas, this online programme is designed to add the expertise you need to approach your chosen market with confidence, originality and skill. During your studies you will focus on popular fiction genres enabling you to professionalise your practice as a writer; be it science fiction, fantasy, romance, crime, horror and historical fiction — you choose which to put at the heart of your learning journey. In addition, our team of award-winning and bestselling authors will give you regular one-to-one creative and editorial mentoring sessions to support your development.

This MA is designed to be studied part-time over five trimesters. In the first, second and third trimester, you will study two modules each trimester. In the fourth and fifth trimester, you will undertake a single module: Major Project. This programme has a start date in January every year. During the first trimester, the two modules you take (Creating Narrative, and Narrative Position) each have one live weekly online seminar, which will be timetabled for a time which aims to suit the whole cohort depending on geographical locations. There is also one module with a live weekly seminar in the second trimester (Writing Genre Fiction) and third trimester (Authorship), again timetabled for a mutually suitable time. For other modules (Creative Development, Editorial Development and Major Project), you will have occasional live events again the time of these will aim to suit the geographical locations of the cohort. Mutually convenient times for one-to-one meetings with your programme tutor will be arranged in advance.

Before applying for the programme please ensure you are have flexibility to attend the live online sessions which will most likely take place within the UK business day (9.00 – 5.00 p.m. UK time), allowing for relevant daylight savings hour changes at different points of the year. All other modules are taught one-to-one, with live online meetings arranged individually with your tutor at mutually convenient times within the UK business day (9:00am - 5:00pm UK time).

Mode of Study:

Online learning (Part-time)

Start date:

Katie Griffiths MA Creative Writing graduate

MA Creative Writing graduate Pim Wangtechawat's Major Project novel, The Moon Represents My Heart, secured representation at a top literary agency, a two-book publishing deal, and an adaptation option from Netflix with Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians, Captain Marvel) attached to executive produce and star.

Introducing our Creative Writing tutors - David Bishop, Elizabeth Dearnley, Nicholas Binge and Noelle Harrison. Learn more about their backgrounds and their impressive careers in writing so far.

Course details

Uniquely, the course offers a dynamic and pioneering range of popular genre fiction specialisms. Students can pursue their passion for fantasy, crime, mysteries and thrillers, historical, romance, science fiction, horror and writing for young adults.

We host an exciting array of guest speakers each year, ranging from award-winning authors to high-profile industry experts. Recent visiting speakers have included authors Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, L.R. Lam, Sandra Ireland, comics creators Emma Beeby and Will Morris, agents Jenny Brown and Juliet Mushens, and editor Frankie Edwards.

How you’ll be taught

Assessments

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer .

Entry requirements

English language, international students, admissions policies.

What are the entry requirements for Writing Genre Fiction?

To apply you will need a Bachelor Degree with honours in any discipline or other qualifications/experience which demonstrate through our recognition of prior learning process that you have appropriate knowledge and skills in Writing Genre Fiction equivalent to SCQF level 10.

Can I get admission into Writing Genre Fiction based on my working experience in this sector?

This course has academic entry requirements which are assessed alongside relevant work experience. Full details of any relevant work experience, including references should be submitted with your application and may be considered for entry where the minimum academic entry requirements are below those required. Usually, unrelated work experience is not considered sufficient for entry without meeting the minimum academic entry requirements. Please contact us with your specific circumstances by submitting an enquiry form above and we will be happy to discuss your options.

Can I make an appointment with an advisor to discuss further about the admission process?

If you want to get more information on the admission process, please get in touch with the Postgraduate admissions team by submitting an enquiry form above.

As all learning, teaching and assessment activities are conducted in English, if your first language is not English you must have a minimum International English Language Testing System score of 7.0 with all four elements having a score of no less than 7.0.

• BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
• All Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

See who can apply  for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of  bursaries and scholarships  available to our students.

• Undergraduate student fees and funding information
• Postgraduate student fees and funding information
• International student fees and funding information

Please note:

The discount for Edinburgh Napier alumni can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount.

For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.

Please read our full T&C here

What can you do with the Writing Genre Fiction postgraduate degree?

What kinds of careers can you explore as a writer.

• Writer of commercial genre fiction
• Screenwriter and adaptation
• Playwriting and game writing
• Teacher of Creative Writing
• Proofreader
• Book coach or mentor
• Working in the publishing industry
• Work in literary arts community
• Arts administration
• Copywriting
• Brand storytelling

Giving Students Options for a Concept Paper in a Business Communications Course

The Communication Spotlight features innovative instructors who teach written, oral, digital/technological, kinetic, and visual communication modes.

Jennifer Hite received her BA majoring in Environmental Studies with a minor in Political Science from University of California at Santa Barbara, her MA in Communication Management from the Annenberg School of Communication at University of Southern California. She received a PhD in Organizational Behavior at UCI/The Paul Merage School of Business. Professor Hite has been an Instructor at the Annenberg School of Communication at USC, School of Business Administration at USC and UCI/The Paul Merage School of Business. She is a member of the Academy of Management, International Communication Association and the Society for Human Resources Management.

What is the assignment? 

Concept Paper: Project or Idea Pitch

Project overview: You can choose from one of two tracks for the assignment:

• Introduce a new product or
• Introduce an existing product to another country.

Track 1: Introduce a New Product

Students selecting this track will produce a concept paper and pitch that follow the requirements of the Stella Zhang New Venture Competition . By the end of the quarter, you’ll have a solid concept paper and pitch ready if you choose to compete.

Product selection, Track 1: The product must be a completely new product or a better version of an existing one that is affordable to most Americans. In addition,

• A new service or a digital product may not be used.
• If you’ve already submitted a concept paper for the New Venture Competition, you may not use the same idea or paper for MGMT 191W. However, we encourage you to use the original work you create for MGMT 191W for the competition.

Track 2: Introduce an Existing Product to Another Country

Students selecting this option will introduce an existing product to a country they are not familiar with. Here are the requirements for both the product and the country you choose.

Product selection, Track 2: The product must be an existing one that is affordable to the people in the country you’ll be introducing it to. In addition,

• It must be a consumer product ; that is, an item of common or daily use, typically bought by individuals for private consumption.
• It must be a product consumers can purchase in brick-and-mortar stores.
• Although the product you choose may already be available in the country, your goal is to find one that is not already easily available in the country .
• It cannot be a product consumers rent or that they must subscribe to, such as a meal service.
• It cannot be for commercial use only.

Country selection, Track 2 : The country you use for the report must be one you have never visited, are not from, do not have any cultural ties to, have any relatives from, or know very much about.

How does it work?

In just three pages, students must develop a complete pitch that’s designed to convince investors (Track 1) or their CEO (Track 2) to adopt their product or idea. They build a credible argument by using library resources and careful paragraph development. The paper requires them to carefully analyze the potential market characteristics as well as any competitors, and to use color to engage the reader. The skills they develop in this project are easily transportable to work assignments once they graduate.

What do students say?

“The Concept Paper was a very informative assignment. It was the combination of a research paper and a corporate pitch/report, which worked to mimic potential assignments I will have once I graduate and get a corporate job. I particularly liked that my research was catered towards a specific audience, which led to it being more refined and avoiding any unnecessary information.” – Student Response

Student Artifact: 

This paper, pitching a new product idea, engages the audience with color and in the first paragraph with an attention-getting opening. They use bullet points and numbered lists to draw the reader’s eye and to quickly summarize information. The analysis of the market potential establishes the reach of the product, backed by recent, credible research. In addition, the analysis of the product’s competitors focuses on the product’s advantages over others. The paper is concise, well-written, and well-researched.

Read the full paper here .

Why does this work?

By asking students to choose between two options for their concept paper – either introducing a new product or an old product to a new market – the assignment is essentially asking students to choose their purpose and their audience. This choice can prompt students to think about the relationship between purpose and audience and craft their writing accordingly.

Check out these resources for developing business writing assignments in your communication classes:

• Implementing Student Choice within an Assignment from University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• Business Writing Handout from UNC to help students understand typical expectations for business writing
• This particular assignment asked students to use figures in their writing. Your students might find this resource from the CEWC helpful for using tables and figures.

You may also like...

Collaborative Writing to Solve Real-World Problems

Assigning a Creative Short Story in a Gender & Sexuality Studies Course

Engaging Public Audiences with Multimedia