Our MA in Creative Writing is a one-year full-time course delivered via an innovative blend of residential workshops, writing retreats, and distance learning – allowing you to engage in experiential learning but also to work flexibly around the residential elements on your own writing projects.
Core to this programme are three week-long writing residentials, held at the Ambleside Campus of the University of Cumbria. These residentials will each last for one week (7 days) and you will have an opportunity to work within a range of genres - including poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction - with a particular, though not exclusive, focus on themes relating to writing place, and will also explore a range of critical debates such as the role of art in addressing contemporary environmental concerns. You are required to attend these residentials including the possibility of some evening events and organise accommodation and/or local travel, the cost of which is not included in the course fees. Outside the main residential blocks, you can work flexibly, using online teaching resources to support your development as a writer.
The landscape of the English Lake District has been a source of inspiration to generations of poets and writers. This blended learning MA offers a unique opportunity to work for focused periods of time within this geographical landscape at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus in the heart of the Lake District National Park, now a UNESCO world heritage site.
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Your Career with a Creative Writing Master's Degree
The course can enhance prospects in a range of careers that demand high-level communication and creative skills. Specific career pathways might include becoming a writer or working in the publishing or the creative industries; the course can also support students wishing to go on to study at MPhil/PhD level.
Why Choose University of Cumbria
Our MA course aims to challenge and enrich your writing skills by allowing you to experiment with different genres including fiction, creative non-fiction, script and poetry, particularly exploring the concept of place and how the literary arts approach current issues and affairs.
- Flexible delivery including residential workshops, writing retreats and distance learning
- Freedom to develop your own creative pieces
- Studying surrounded by the stunning and inspiring scenery of the Lake District, which has inspired many of the UK's greatest writers
- Opportunities to be involved in Carlisle’s and the Lake District's thriving literary scene and take part in literary festivals
- Small class sizes mean we can help you to personally develop and flourish throughout your studies
- Our lecturers are all accomplished writers and bring their invaluable first-hand experience to their teaching
- The opportunity to attend extracurricular literary talks and events with visiting experts and writers
