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English Literature with Creative Writing (BA)

Why study this course

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Follow your interests

Choose from modules across a widerange of periods and genres.

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Industry experience

Gain skills, confidence and connections through a variety of literary and cultural internships.

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Future-focused

Develop in-demand employability skills, enhancing your career prospects in a wide range of fields.

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Adventure and exploration

Opportunities to study abroad in Europe and beyond, fostering independence and resilience.

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Communicate effectively

Develop employability skills and experience in presenting your ideas in speech and writing.

Our dynamic, flexible degree programme allows you to study literature from different periods and cultures, and across the range of principal literary genres. You will not be restricted to studying the printed word: we are intrigued by the connections between literature and film, art, history, technology, language, and everyday life, and our teaching reflects these interests. You will learn how literature addresses social, environmental, and economic concerns with the aim of creating a better, more inclusive world and developing sustainable solutions for the future of the planet.

The Creative Writing element of the programme provides you with the opportunity to progress from introductory modules on reading and writing creatively to specialised work within specific forms and genres such as fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and scriptwriting, culminating in the production of an extended collection of creative work.

Throughout the programme you will be encouraged to stretch yourself intellectually and imaginatively by exploring literature as both a creative practitioner and a critic. Our approach will help you develop an understanding of the creative process, as well as enhancing your knowledge of genre, literary history, and the varied and dynamic academic field which is English Literature.

You will focus on becoming a careful, attentive, and informed reader and writer, sensitive to the nuances of language and style and able to produce polished and sophisticated creative work. 

You join a friendly and supportive environment with an international reputation for both teaching and research. Our talented Creative Writing team regularly scoop national and international awards, and collectively share experience in theatre, television and film. Our public platforms Cardiff BookTalk and Cardiff Poetry Experiment are popular and hugely engaging.

Subject area: English language and literature

Entry requirements

We accept a combination of A-levels and other qualifications, as well as equivalent international qualifications subject to entry requirements. Typical offers are as follows:

A level

AAB-ABB. Must include Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

Extended/International Project Qualification: Applicants with grade A in the EPQ/IPQ will typically receive an offer one grade lower than the standard offer. Please note that any subject specific requirements must still be met.

Our grade range covers our standard offer and contextual offer. We carefully consider the circumstances in which you've been studying (your contextual data) upon application.

  • Eligible students will be given an offer at the lower end of the advertised grade range.
  • Where there is no grade range advertised and/or where there are selection processes in place (like an interview) you may receive additional points in the selection process or be guaranteed interview/consideration.

Learn about eligible courses and how contextual data is applied.

International Baccalaureate

34-32 overall or 666-665 in 3 HL subjects. Must include grade 6 in HL English Language and Literature, English Literature, or English Literature and Performance.

Baccalaureate Wales

From September 2023, there will be a new qualification called the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales (level 3). This qualification will replace the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (Welsh Baccalaureate). The qualification will continue to be accepted in lieu of one A-Level (at the grades listed above), excluding any specified subjects.

You must have or be working towards:
- English language or Welsh language at GCSE grade C/4 or an equivalent (such as A-levels). If you require a Student visa, you must ensure your language qualification complies with UKVI requirements.

We do not accept Critical Thinking, General Studies, Citizenship Studies, or other similar equivalent subjects.
We will accept a combination of BTEC subjects, A-levels, and other qualifications, subject to the course specific grade and subject requirements.

GCSE

Grade C or grade 4 in GCSE English Language.

IELTS (academic)

At least 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each subskill.

TOEFL iBT

At least 90 overall with a minimum of 17 for writing, 17 for listening, 18 for reading, and 20 for speaking.

PTE Academic

At least 69 overall with a minimum of 59 in all communicative skills.

Trinity ISE II/III

II: at least two Distinctions and two Merits.
III: at least a Pass in all components.

Other accepted qualifications

Please visit our English Language requirements page for more information on our other accepted language qualifications.

You are not required to complete a DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) check or provide a Certificate of Good Conduct to study this course.

If you are currently subject to any licence condition or monitoring restriction that could affect your ability to successfully complete your studies, you will be required to disclose your criminal record. Conditions include, but are not limited to:

  • access to computers or devices that can store images
  • use of internet and communication tools/devices
  • curfews
  • freedom of movement
  • contact with people related to Cardiff University.

Other qualifications from inside the UK

BTEC

DD in a BTEC Diploma in Humanities and Social Science subjects, and grade B in A-level Creative Writing, English Language and Literature, or English Literature.

T level

Acceptance of T Levels for this programme will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Academic School. Consideration will be given to the T Level grade/subject and grades/subjects achieved at GCSE/Level 2.

Qualifications from outside the UK

See our qualification equivalences guide

Please see our admissions policies for more information about the application process.

Tuition fees for 2025 entry

Your tuition fees and how you pay them will depend on your fee status. Your fee status could be home, island or overseas.

Learn how we decide your fee status

Fees for home status

We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.

The University reserves the right to increase tuition fees in the second and subsequent years of a course as permitted by law or Welsh Government policy. Where applicable we will notify you of any change in tuition fee by the end of June in the academic year before the one in which the fee will increase.

Students from the EU, EEA and Switzerland

We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.

Fees for island status

Learn more about the undergraduate fees for students from the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man.

Fees for overseas status

We are currently awaiting confirmation on tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year.

Additional costs

Accommodation

We have a range of residences to suit your needs and budget. Find out more on our accommodation pages.

Living costs

We're based in one of the UK's most affordable cities. Find out more about living costs in Cardiff.

Course structure

This is a three-year full-time degree, with 120 credits of study in each year.

The modules shown are an example of the typical curriculum and will be reviewed prior to the 2025/2026 academic year. The final modules will be published by September 2025.

Year one

In year 1, you'll take 6 core modules that will help you make the transition to studying English literature and writing creatively at university level. These modules will give you key writing, reading, research, creative, and employability skills that you will use throughout your degree and beyond.

Year two

There are no core modules in year 2. Instead, you'll take 40 credits in creative writing and 80 credits in English literature, choosing from a range of options in each case.

English literature modules are grouped into two different ‘baskets’ that have been designed to give you a coherent experience across periods, genres, and thematic areas. Basket A (‘Literary Periods’) covers the range of English literature from the medieval era to the present moment. Basket B (‘Themes, Forms, and Genres’) includes modules that address literature and the environment; film and visual culture; the history and future of the book; race and colonialism; feminisms; and the gothic. These second-year English literature modules build upon work undertaken in year 1 and continue our commitment to allowing you to study literature alongside other forms of culture (such as film). You will choose one module from each basket per semester.

The creative writing modules in year 2 address different forms, such as poetry, screenwriting, and fiction.

Year three

In English literature, you take one 20-credit core module that will give you the opportunity to undertake a detailed examination of a single text across a whole semester and to use the experience and knowledge gained as the basis of a public-facing piece of work. You then choose 60 credits from a wide range of English literature optional modules and you have the opportunity to write a supervised dissertation on a topic of your choosing if you wish, but this is not compulsory.

In creative writing, you produce a 40-credit portfolio of your creative work under the guidance of a member of the academic staff.

The University is committed to providing a wide range of module options where possible, but please be aware that whilst every effort is made to offer choice this may be limited in certain circumstances. This is due to the fact that some modules have limited numbers of places available, which are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, while others have minimum student numbers required before they will run, to ensure that an appropriate quality of education can be delivered; some modules require students to have already taken particular subjects, and others are core or required on the programme you are taking. Modules may also be limited due to timetable clashes, and although the University works to minimise disruption to choice, we advise you to seek advice from the relevant School on the module choices available.

Learning and assessment

Throughout the degree, our research-led teaching will support you to become independent, creative, and critical in your responses to literature and other forms of culture, such as film, art, and photography.

First-year teaching provides a foundation with carefully structured lectures and seminar discussions to help you develop key skills and gain confidence at university. In English Literature, teaching in Years 2 and 3 is lecture- and seminar-based and moves gradually in the direction of specialisation and independent research as you develop as a reader and critic. In Creative Writing the teaching takes the form of workshops based on peer-review of student writing.  In this supportive environment you will develop your abilities to analyse texts and arguments, collaboratively work through problems, construct your own arguments, and present your ideas and your creative writing clearly to others.

Throughout the programme, but particularly in the final-year core English Literature module, you will develop skills in communication and collaboration that you can transfer to the world of employment. In the final-year Creative Writing Project core module, you will produce a substantial, independently researched, and original portfolio of creative work, in the field of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, playwriting, or screenwriting. This portfolio includes a critical commentary on the work and is produced under the guidance of a member of staff.

How will I be supported?

Your main sources of support in your studies are your module leaders, your Personal Tutor and our in-house Writing Development Centre. Your module leaders have weekly office hours sessions during teaching weeks that you can attend if you have any questions about course materials or assessments.

Your Personal Tutor can advise you on academic matters, including study skills, careers, and your academic progress, as well as on pastoral matters. You’ll be invited to meet your Personal Tutor regularly throughout your degree, and they are available for extra meetings as needed. Welsh-speaking students can request a Welsh-speaking personal tutor.

The School’s Writing Development Centre  provides specialist support for academic writing across the programme. You can access online materials, workshops, and one-to-one meetings about any aspect of academic writing to support you with your assessments.

The School of English, Communication and Philosophy’s undergraduate office provides academic and student support and is there to help you with information and guidance if you have any queries. Beyond the School, the university offers a range of support services and events to help you plan your career, manage your emotional, mental and physical health, support you with financial issues, and provide assistance for students with disabilities. These services are located at the University's Centre for Student Life. Libraries, study spaces, and other resource centres will all be available to you.

How will I be assessed?

Your assessments are designed progressively to develop key skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and reflection. These assessments include essays, group discussion assessments, and reflective assessments. In the final year, you will take part in a collaborative project that involves communicating your findings to a non-specialist audience. Optional English literature modules can be assessed by creative work, creative-critical responses, or short opinion pieces.

Creative Writing modules are assessed by short portfolios of creative work that include a critical commentary. The assessment strategy is structured to lead students from formative thinking throughout the module towards the production of an informed critical/creative response.

You’ll receive regular feedback on your progress as you move through the degree. Oral feedback in lectures, workshops and seminars will help you assess your understanding of the course material and your critical responses to it. You’ll receive formative comments on essay ideas and draft work, and detailed feedback on all marked coursework.

What skills will I practise and develop?

The Learning Outcomes for this Programme describe what you will achieve by the end of your programme at Cardiff University and identify the knowledge and skills that you will develop. They will also help you to understand what is expected of you.

On successful completion of your Programme you will be able to:

Knowledge & Understanding:

  • Systematically comprehend literature from different cultures and periods (including pre-1800) and the range of principal literary genres across prose, poetry, and drama.
  • Systematically comprehend the relationships between reading and writing, and between literature and other cultural forms, such as film, art, music, and material/digital cultures.
  • Systematically comprehend creative and critical practices, and how the two can combine to form a creative-critical ethos.
  • Systematically comprehend how culture, language, technology, and economics affect how, where, and by whom texts are produced and received.
  • Articulate a creative and practical understanding of genre and form and of the craft of writing.

Intellectual Skills:

  • Examine different kinds of literary and cultural materials closely and critically.
  • Communicate interpretations accurately for a specialist  audiences.
  • Develop and apply arguments that respond creatively to literary and critical sources.
  • Develop a new place of writing together with critical reflection, informed by understanding of the context of that writing (literary, cultural and personal).

Professional Practical Skills:

  • Compile and systematically evaluate complex information and diverse evidence with accuracy.
  • Communicate persuasively, conveying academic ideas and technical arguments to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, using written or oral techniques.
  • Assess and solve problems independently, taking the views of others into account in a systematic and evaluative way.

Transferable/Key Skills:

  • Explain information and ideas clearly and professionally, applying advanced knowledge and skills to unfamiliar or wider world challenges or contexts.
  • Develop initiative by taking responsibility for structuring and time-managing a research task, working in teams when appropriate.
  • Develop positive and effective working relations with others in teams, especially through constructive and collaborative dialogue and feedback.

Careers and placements

Career prospects

Our graduates are versatile, collaborative, and critically independent individuals who are able to communicate complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences. They demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability, and competence, and they have the ability to motivate themselves and others in meeting agreed responsibilities.

Our graduates progress into a wide range of careers, using the skills developed throughout their studies. Some choose to pursue professions that make direct use of their expertise in the discipline, while others enter the public or private sectors, from teaching to graduate-track management.

Our graduates have gone on to roles in HR, the book trade, professional areas such as librarianship, and also local government and other areas of public life concerned with communication.

During your degree you can take full advantage of the wide-range of career-building opportunities provided by the university's Student Futures team.

Placements

We have an established portfolio of internships with Wales-based literary/cultural magazines for which students can apply. 

You may also apply for exchanges with the range of University partners through the University’s Global Opportunities Centre.

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How to apply

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Data from Discover Uni is not yet available for this course.


HESA Data: Copyright Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited 2021. The Higher Education Statistics Agency Limited cannot accept responsibility for any inferences or conclusions derived by third parties from its data. Data is from the latest Graduate Outcomes Survey 2019/20, published by HESA in June 2022.