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University of Essex

Colchester, England, United Kingdom

BA Literature and Creative Writing

All writers are first of all readers and all readers are writers, for without the active participation of readers a book is never fully realised. Our BA Literature and Creative Writing offers a unique approach to the practice of reading and writing, combining more familiar British and American perspectives and readings with other influential schools of writing, from the study of tradition and myth to the innovative practice of the Workshop of Potential Literature or Oulipo in France.

You deepen your knowledge of literary tradition across a variety of genres in order to develop your practical skills of understanding, expression and invention. Pursue your love of reading and explore some of the most important novels, poems, and plays from the United States, the Caribbean and Europe while developing your own writing through a variety of planned readings and writing exercises. We'll teach you to be your own editor; critically judging your own and others' work is invaluable in transforming your work from something good to something great.

At the beginning of your course, you receive a highly focused introduction to the study of literature alongside intensive modules in creative writing, covering myth, innovation and tradition, prose, and poetry. A module on writing for radio allows you to go into a studio and record a radio play. You then progress to look at a range of specialist topics such as:

experimental writing and surrealism
myth and fairytale
translating novels for the screen
American literature
Shakespeare
science fiction
Our course develops your abilities as a reader and writer while allowing you to take options from the other courses within our Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies including filmmaking, journalism and drama.

Essex has nurtured a long tradition of distinguished writers whose work has shaped literature as we know it today, from past giants such as the American poets Robert Lowell and Ted Berrigan, to contemporary writers such as mythographer and novelist Dame Marina Warner, and Booker Prize-winner Ben Okri.

A typical timetable involves a one-hour lecture and a one-hour seminar or a two-hour seminar for each module every week, but there are variations in place depending on the module.

We're 7th in the UK for Creative Writing in the Guardian University Guide 2024.

Campus Information

Colchester campus

Wivenhoe Park, Colchester CO4 3SQ, United Kingdom

Intakes

  • Oct

Application Processing Time in Days: 30

Minimum English Language Requirements

English Level Description IELTS (1.0 -9.0) TOEFL IBT (0-120) TOEFL CBT (0-300) PTE (10-90)
Expert 9 120 297-300 86-90
Very Good 8.5 115-119 280-293 83-86
Very Good 8 110-114 270-280 79-83
Good 7.5 102-109 253-267 73-79
Good 7 94-101 240-253 65-73
Competent 6.5 79-93 213-233 58-65
Competent 6 60-78 170-210 50-58
Modest 5.5 46-59 133-210 43-50
Modest 5 35-45 107-133 36-43
Limited 4 32-34 97-103 30-36
Extremely Limited < 4 < 31 < 93 < 30

Job Opportunity Potential

You get more than just a degree with Essex Business School, you get a head start on your career. 
Our courses allow you to experience the cutting edge of modern business practices and are designed to equip you with the essential skills and knowledge that you will need for an exciting and fast-paced career in business and beyond. 

On this page you will find information on a wide variety of career pathways for business school graduates. From Accountant to Wall Street Wizard (yes, we encourage our graduates to build their own job titles where possible) you will discover where a degree from Essex Business School could take you.

We are a big department with academic expertise in five key subject areas: accounting, finance, entrepreneurship, management and marketing. Therefore, this page will guide you through the key skills and alumni destinations for each of our subject areas.

As business themes operate through every industry you will find that doors open for business school graduates in virtually every sector. On this page you’ll hear from business school graduates who have taken their opportunities and built upon the skills gained on their degrees to become entrepreneurs, traders, business leaders and so much more.

Which career will suit me?

  • Graduates from business subjects typically have good commercial awareness which makes them very versatile candidates and attractive to recruiters.
  • Many graduates go on to have successful careers in HR, finance, marketing, new venture creation and consulting and are often suited to professional level employment soon after graduation.
  • Graduates from Essex Business School are very well suited to entrepreneurship and often set up their own businesses either as students or shortly after graduating.

At Essex Business School, we have five core subject areas, plus The Essex MBA. To find out about the specific career prospects for your chosen subject, click on one of the panels below. To find out more about how Essex Business School supports your employability skills and career prospects more generally as a department, please keep scrolling.

PSW Opportunity

  • 2 Years PSW is applicable after completing a minimum duration of 9 months course (like- Undergraduate, Postgraduate Level)
  • 3 Years PSW is applicable after completing PhD level courses.

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

FOR INDIA

  • Most of our Undergraduate Bachelor degree courses will consider an average of 60% from the best four subjects from Indian high school qualifications. If you achieve 70% in English from CBSE or CISCE exam board qualification, you will not normally require a separate English language test score.

FOR BANGLADESH

  • Previous university/college study is required in addition to local high school qualifications for our Undergraduate Bachelor degree courses. We accept a number of international qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate with the majority of our courses requiring grade 30 or above, or the SATR with the majority of our courses requiring a minimum of 1100 out of 1600 with 550 in each test.

FOR NEPAL

  • Previous university/college study is required in addition to local high school qualifications for our Undergraduate Bachelor degree courses. We accept a number of international qualifications, including the International Baccalaureate with the majority of our courses requiring a grade 30 or above or the SATR with the majority of our courses requiring a minimum of 1100 out of 1600 with 550 in each test.

FOR SRI LANKA

  • Most of our Undergraduate Bachelor degree courses will consider BBB from Sri Lanka Advanced Level.

IELTS (Academic)

6.0 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component

Second and Final Year Direct Entry

6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each component

Essex Pathways degrees including foundation year (EU applicants only)

5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 

Certificate of Higher Education in East 15 Acting School in each component

5.0 overall with a minimum of 4.0 in each component

TOEFL (iBT)

76 overall, with a minimum of 18 in reading, 17 in listening, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing

Pearson Test of English Academic

50 overall, with a minimum of 42 in each component

Cambridge English Qualifications

A score of 169 overall on the Cambridge English Scale, with a minimum of 162 in each component