Creative Writing MA (Distance Learning)
Subject and course type
- Language and Media
- Postgraduate
Whether you want to develop your overall craft of creative writing, or specialise in a particular form, this Creative Writing MA will help you achieve your goals.
Our award-winning former creative writing students include Booker-shortlisted Oyinkan Braithwaite, Joe Pierson, who won the Bridport Prize, Stefan Mohammed, awarded the Dylan Thomas Prize, Bafta-winner, Sarah Woolner, the acclaimed poet Dom Bury and celebrated novelist Faiqa Mansab.
You are reading:
Push the boundaries, explore new genres, and find your voice
Delivered by Distance Learning and taught in virtual forums and classrooms, you will be able to ensure your studies suit your schedule.
You will join a thriving research department, which covers the following areas:
- 19th and 20th century British and American fiction
- fictions of globalisation
- modernism
- gothic writing
- travel writing
- women's writing from the 18th century to the present
- New Woman and fin de siècle fictions
- Shakespeare
- literature of the English Reformation period
- postcolonial studies
- theories of gender
- life writing and trauma
Why choose this course
Our Creative Writing MA (Distance Learning) will enable you to study with a range of well-established and award-winning writers in a dynamic writing environment. All without having to relocate or give up current commitments.
Taught in our virtual forums and classrooms, new lessons from each module can be accessed at a time that’s convenient for you. You will learn in workshops, one-to-one or in small groups, with support from practising and published practitioners and fellow students.
You will practise writing in a range of forms and styles and take a module exploring critical theory and experimental/avant-garde writing. And your creative dissertation and critical essay will give you the chance to specialise further.
The non-compulsory campus days will give you a chance to visit the campus and attend a relevant lecture, as well as meet fellow Writers’ Workshop students. Those travelling longer distances who wish to stay longer are also welcome to attend events taking place on campus for the rest of the week, featuring staff, writers in residence, students and guests.
Throughout this course, you will become part of Kingston's thriving community, with events such as:
- a series of masterclasses with publishing specialists and professionals. These have included agents such as Briony Woods and Jemima Hunt, and researchers such as Hanif Kureishi and Paul Bailey
- weekly guest lectures from leading journalists. These include
- Samira Ahmed – an award-winning journalist with 20 years' experience in print and broadcast
- David Jenkins – editor of Little White Lies
- Richard Moynihan – Head of Digital Journalism, The Telegraph
- Alex Stedman – Fashion Blogger at The Frugality and former Style Editor at Red magazine
- regular readings through Writers' Centre Kingston, which offers an annual programme of events from talks to workshops and festivals. These are hosted and curated in partnership with local institutions, such as The Rose Theatre, the Rich Mix Cultural Foundation, the Museum of Futures and Kingston First
- regular philosophy lunchtime lectures, which focus on a major figure in the history of Western philosophy. These introduce students to that thinker's work, usually through the discussion of one of her or his emblematic works
You will also have the opportunity to contribute to Kingston University's publication, Ripple, which includes fiction, poetry, reviews and creative non-fiction and is edited by students on the course. This provides:
- a platform for the publication of creative work
- a chance to get hands-on experience of the publishing process
The Art School Experience
As part of Kingston School of Art, students on this course benefit from joining a creative community where we encourage collaborative working and critical practice.
Our workshops and studios are open to all disciplines, enabling students and staff to work together, share ideas and explore multi-disciplinary making.
Course content
The Creative Writing MA (Distance Learning) follows the same course structure as the successful and popular Creative Writing MA. You'll be taught through individual tutorials, streamed lectures and readings held at or sponsored by the University.
The Writers' Workshop module will encourage you to develop your writing 'voice' through engagement with fellow students across a range of genres (in fiction or creative non-fiction), while the Special Study module enables you to specialise in one genre, such as fiction, non-fiction, poetry or drama.
You will learn the elements of fiction, poetry and drama as well as studying relevant critical theory and trying out your own fictional experiments in the Critical Challenges module. You'll take part in online masterclasses and put all you have learned into practice in the dissertation module. It is possible to use both workshop modules and the dissertation together to work towards a substantial part of a longer piece such as a novel.
This Creative Writing MA will give you the knowledge and confidence to enter the cultural debate and to begin to identify outlets for your own writing.
Timetables
Full-time students can attend two campus days, scheduled annually, usually in November and February.
Part-time students normally attend the November campus day in the first year and the February campus day in the second year.
Modules
Full-time students take two 30-credit modules each semester, including a Special Study workshop on a particular genre e.g. poetry, drama or fiction, in the second semester. You'll participate in general workshops, reading sessions and tutorials with your assigned dissertation supervisor throughout the course.
You may then choose to complete a 15,000-word 60-credit dissertation accompanied by a 3,000-word critical review, for which you'll receive one-to-one supervision as you work towards a September completion.
Core modules
60 credits
This module focuses on your own creative writing and research into your chosen form or genre, developed in consultation with your supervisor. You learn via one-to-one tutorials with your personal supervisor. You produce two pieces of writing:
- a creative dissertation – a portion of a novel, a body of poetry, a play screenplay or other creative form of no more than 15,000 words; and
- a critical essay of approximately 3,000 words – considering the relationships between your own writing and the literary contexts/theoretical concerns that inform published writing in your chosen genre or form.
Your supervisor must agree in advance the final structure, approximate word length and for presentation conventions of these pieces.
30.00 credits
This online workshop module will be devoted to the creative writing of students all working in the same form and genre of their choice. It will enable students to develop drafts in their chosen form and genre, and to master its specific codes and conventions. Draft work to be reviewed may include, for example, poetry, prose fiction, non-fiction, writing for the stage, or screenwriting, perhaps in a choice of genres such as crime writing, fantasy fiction, writing for children, historical fiction, science fiction, romance and autobiography. Students will be advised how best to strengthen their knowledge of that form or genre in order to reflect critically and constructively on their own writing. Attention will then be given to the production of a substantial piece or a collection of pieces of creative writing that reflects their knowledge of and engagement with their chosen form or genre.
30.00 credits
This module provides the opportunity to examine ways in which reading is essential to writing practice and teaches you to apply literary techniques and strategies from contemporary fiction, life writing and poetry texts to your own work. You will develop the concept of ‘reading as a writer' in order to explore how contemporary concerns are brought to the fore by artistic strategies, and examine how an understanding of these can provide models for your own creative practice. You will submit work including a reflective reading journal as well as a creative piece in a genre of your choice.
30.00 credits
This is a workshop-based online module in which students will present and discuss their own work and that of their peers within a group of students writing in a variety of genres and forms. The draft work presented in the module will normally include forms such as poetry, prose fiction, non-fiction, writing for the stage or screenwriting, in a variety of genres, but it may also include genres such as science fiction, romance, crime fiction, writing for children, historical fictional, and autobiography. Students will develop a strong knowledge of the writing workshop ethos, its requirements and etiquette as mutual practical criticism of peer writing will be accompanied by discussion of the scope or constraints of the various genres as well as the implications of working in various forms. Attention will be paid to the relevant components of good writing: appropriate use of language, narrative pace, dialogue, expression, characterisation and mood.
30.00 credits
The module is designed to introduce students to some issues of critical and literary theory. The module is also designed to make students more aware of how their work impacts upon wider literary, cultural, political and philosophical issues. Awareness of these theories and of some of the issues surrounding the production and reception of literary texts will stimulate them, encouraging creative and conceptual thinking. The module will explore debates about literature and the practice of creative writing through readings of essays and texts that are relevant to criticism and theory. The academic component of the assessment will support the creative work with the objective that students will also have to demonstrate critical, academic, analytical skills.
Career opportunities
Student success stories
Some of our departmental graduates have achieved notable successes, having published short stories and novels which were started as part of their degree and attracted good literary agents, for example:
- Oyinkan Braithwaite's novel, My Sister the Serial Killer, reviewed by The New Yorker and BBC Radio 4's Open Book and Front Row, has won the Crime and Thriller book of the year at the British Book Awards; Oyinkan is the first black woman to do so.
- Grainne Murphy has recently signed a two-book deal with Legend Press. Her debut novel, Where the Edge Is, was published in September 2020, with The Ghostlights to be published in 2021.
- Ben Halls' debut The Quarry was book of the day in The Guardian in March 2020.
- Amy Clarke has signed a two-book deal. Like Clockwork is a psychological suspense novel about a true crime podcast host who is obsessively trying to solve the decades-old cold case of a notorious Minnesotan serial killer whose victims were each one year younger than the last. It is due to be published in March/April 2021 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, with a second book to follow.
- A story Seraphina Madsen wrote for the MA Critical Challenges module was published in the UK's pre-eminent literary journal, The White Review, and secured her an agent and a book deal.
- Stevan Alcock is another MA student whose debut novel – workshopped on our MA – was published by 4th Estate.
- Hannah Vincent is a former MFA student with novels out with Myriad Editions and Salt.
- Myriad Editions also run a writing competition each year aimed at finding new writers, with MFA student Karly Stilling winning in 2015. This year the award was won by another current Kingston student, Sylvia Carr. Former MA (now PhD student) Joseph Pierson was a recent runner up.
- Julia Lewis is a former MFA student and experimental poet who has gone on to publish a wide range of work. She also rewrote MA tutor James Miller's novel Lost Boys as a collection of experimental poetry.
- Stefan Mohamed won the Dylan Thomas Prize and has gone to have a successful career as a writer of YA fiction.
- MA student Vicky Newham signed a two book deal for her crime series. Vicky is on the Daggers longlist for the best crime novel by a first-time author.
- Faiqa Mansab published her debut novel This House of Clay and Water in Pakistan and India to great acclaim and it has been optioned by the talented Sheherzade Sheikh for screen adaptation.
- Other successes include Susie Lynes and Lauren Forry.
- Other former students have gone on to work in editorial posts in the publishing industry.
All successful applicants who take up their place with us in September will be entered into our competition to have a consultation with Annabel White, an agent at top London literary agency Curtis Brown.
So make sure the creative work you submit with your application is your very best – it might win you a meeting with a literary agent.
Teaching and assessment
Continuous assessments in individual accredited modules plus assessment of final dissertation.
When not attending timetabled sessions, you will be expected to continue learning independently through self-study. This typically involves reading and analysing articles, regulations, policy documents and key texts, documenting individual projects, preparing coursework assignments and completing your PEDRs, etc.
Your independent learning is supported by a range of excellent facilities including online resources, the library and CANVAS, the University's online virtual learning platform.
At Kingston University, we know that postgraduate students have particular needs and therefore we have a range of support available to help you during your time here.
Year 1: 5% of your time is spent in timetabled learning and teaching activity.
Scheduled learning and teaching: 93 hours
Guided independent study (self-managed time): 1,707 hours
For part time students:
Year 1
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 44 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 556 hours
Year 2
- Scheduled learning and teaching: 49 hours
- Guided independent study (self-managed time): 1,151 hours
Contact hours may vary depending on your modules.
Assessment typically comprises portfolios and a dissertation.
The approximate percentage for how you will be assessed on this course in each full time or part time year:
Type of assessment
- Year 1: Coursework 100%
We aim to provide feedback on assessments within 20 working days.
Class sizes are kept small for this course and usually limited to 10. However this can vary by module and academic year.
Fees and funding
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time (Distance Learning) | £10,300 |
| Part Time Distance Learning | £5,665 |
| International | |
| Full Time (Distance Learning) | £17,600 |
| Part Time Distance Learning | £9,680 |
| Fee category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Home (UK students) | |
| Full Time (Distance Learning) | £9,900 |
| Part Time Distance Learning | £5,445 |
| International | |
| Full Time (Distance Learning) | £16,900 |
| Part Time Distance Learning | £9,295 |
Funding support for postgraduate students
If you are a UK student living in England and under 60, you can apply for a loan to study for a postgraduate degree on the government's website.
Scholarships and bursaries
For students interested in studying Creative Writing MA (Distance Learning) at Kingston, there are several opportunities to seek funding support:
The Inspire the Future Scholarship offers a 40% reduction in fees for taught masters or postgraduate diploma courses with September start dates. 20 scholarships are available for progressing Kingston University graduates.
For more information on how to apply for this scholarship, visit the Inspire the Future Scholarship page.
International postgraduate students could receive up to £5,000 towards tuition in their first year of study.
For more information on how to apply for these scholarships, visit the International Scholarship page.
If you are a Kingston University 2024/25 undergraduate progressing to a 2025/26 postgraduate degree (taught or research), you could get a 15% reduction in tuition fees.
For more information on how to apply for this scholarship, visit the Postgraduate Progression Scholarship page.
Kingston University offers a 10% discount on full and part-time postgraduate degree course tuition fees to our alumni.
For more information on how to apply for this discount, visit our alumni discount page.
Additional course costs
Some courses may require additional costs beyond tuition fees. When planning your studies, you’ll want to consider tuition fees, living costs, and any extra costs that might relate to your area of study.
Your tuition fees include costs for teaching, assessment and university facilities. So your access to libraries, shared IT resources and various student support services are all covered. Accommodation and general living expenses are not covered by these fees.
Where applicable, additional expenses for your course may include:
Our libraries have an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as open-access computers and laptops available to rent. However, you may want to buy your own computer or personal copies of key textbooks. Textbooks may range from £50 to £250 per year. And a personal computer can range from £100 to £3,000 depending on your course requirements.
While most coursework is submitted online, some modules may require printed copies. You may want to allocate up to £100 per year for hard-copies of your coursework. It’s worth noting that 3D printing is never compulsory. So if you choose to use our 3D printers, you’ll need to pay for the material. This ranges from 3p per gram to 40p per gram.
Kingston University will pay for all compulsory field trips. Fees for optional trips can range from £30 to £350 per trip.
Your tuition fees don’t cover travel costs. To save on travel costs, you can use our free intersite bus service. This route links the campuses and halls of residence with local train stations - Surbiton, Kingston upon Thames, and Norbiton.
How to apply
Before you apply
Please read the entry criteria carefully to make sure you meet all requirements before applying.
How to apply online
Use the course selector drop down at the top of this page to choose your preferred course, start date and mode, then click 'Apply now'. You will be taken to our Online Student Information System (OSIS) where you will complete your application.
If you’re starting a new application, you’ll need to select ‘new user’ and set up a username and password. This will allow you to save and return to your application.
Application deadlines
We encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Applications will close when the course is full.
Information required to confirm your place
If English is not your first language, we will require proof of your proficiency to allow us to confirm your place on the course. This will generally be either an IELTS or TOEFL test certificate, which can be forwarded to us after you have submitted your application. If you do not hold a formal English language qualification, please indicate how you have acquired your proficiency in written and spoken English.
After you have applied
If the admission tutor wishes to see a portfolio from you, you will be sent an email within three weeks of the date of the email request. This will ask you to upload your zipped portfolio to the OSIS portal.
If the admissions tutor requires further information or wishes to invite you to an interview, they will contact you directly. You will then hear whether your application has been successful.
Course changes and regulations
The information on this page reflects the currently intended course structure and module details. To improve your student experience and the quality of your degree, we may review and change the material information of this course. Find out more about course changes
Programme Specifications for the course are published ahead of each academic year.
Regulations governing this course can be found on our website.
What our students and graduates say
Initially, it was a bit daunting returning to university as a mature student (in my early 50s) but as there were quite a number of us older students we soon formed a little group and in fact became quite good friends. The thing I possibly enjoyed most about Kingston was the number of workshops on offer pretty much throughout my time there. I found myself signing up for everything, from fiction to thriller to life writing courses. I just loved the vibe of being in that academic and literary environment. It was a huge privilege being able to attend workshops, free of charge, presented by some of the most esteemed literary personalities. In addition, there were publishing events that put us in direct contact with editors, agents and publishers. Weekly events hosted by Kingston Writing School were also hugely inspiring. Listening to authors relating their journeys about the long road from writing to being published was hugely encouraging and something I rarely missed.
The actual MA course and the various modules we had to complete pushed me beyond my comfort zone, particularly in poetry, which is something I'd never had a penchant for. But, thanks to my accomplished lecturers, I ended up enjoying every single one of them.
However, it was one of the extra-curricular workshops that inspired my book, Secrets of a Stewardess. The memoir/life writing workshop was hosted by John Man, author of more than 13 books. I was convinced that I was in the wrong class as I felt that I had absolutely no story to tell, but he somehow managed to coax out of me my years as an airline stewardess in the ‘80s. I also wrote a children's book (which was signed up by an agent) while I was at Kingston University, but used the memoir as part of my dissertation.
I can honestly say that completing my MA in Creative Writing at Kingston University and then being published is one of the most rewarding things I have done. It taught me that you are never too old to achieve your goals - you just need to set them and then work towards them. Studying creative writing gave me the confidence to believe that I actually could write and the whole support system offered at Kingston University, finally helped me to get published.
Secrets of a Stewardess has been published by The History Press who has done an outstanding job of marketing it. WHS Smith Travel bought 2,500 copies upfront; I have been interviewed on BBC Radio 4; I have featured on BBC World Services' The Conversation; I have been interviewed live on Talk Radio Europe; I have had a feature in The Daily Mail newspaper; I have been interviewed and photographed by The Sun newspaper and I featured in Prima magazine's August edition.
