MA in Creative Writing
The DCU MA in Creative Writing is designed to help you discover your inner writer by immersing you in the world of Drama, Poetry, and Fiction.
This exciting new programme gives early-career and up-and-coming writers the chance to spend a year working with experienced writers in a supportive and intellectually stimulating environment. You can develop your writing skills and connect with the broader literary community.
The MA in Creative Writing provides intensive, practical courses in drama, poetry, screenwriting, and prose fiction. It also offers specialised classes in critical reading and creative practice
We aim to teach students a wide range of creative writing techniques in various forms such as drama, fiction, poetry and screenwriting. We believe that even if a student has a primary interest in one form, exposure to all these creative disciplines can be beneficial. Many aspects of writing, such as imagery, rhythm, narrative structure, voice/language style and the use of rhetorical techniques apply across different forms and genres, not just one.
Students will study important literary works from both Ireland and the world, and they will have the opportunity to share and receive constructive feedback on their own work in progress. This process will help them develop a broad technical vocabulary that enhances their understanding of their own writing and the work of others. Even students interested in specialised genres like life-writing, children's literature or fantasy can benefit from this approach and will have a chance to work in their chosen form in the Writing Project. Our hope is that all students will integrate the knowledge gained from each seminar into their final creative work or portfolio.
Why DCU?
- High quality staff with real expertise and a thorough sense of commitment and teaching experience
- Writers with national and international reputation on faculty: Marina Carr, playwright and Kit Fryatt, poet
- Small class sizes ensure that everybody has a voice, and typically promotes a close and mutually supportive relationship between students
Why do this programme?
The DCU MA in Creative Writing is open to early-career and emerging writers of all kinds. Perhaps you have begun to publish and wish to develop your work to a higher standard. Perhaps you have not yet published and are looking for a course that will give you the tools and techniques to submit successfully. Perhaps you have been writing for years and now feel that the time has come to study the craft with greater intensity.
The DCU MA in Creative Writing aims to help writers to complete a body of work in their chosen field (drama, fiction, poetry, screenwriting), and to develop the critical skills necessary to evaluate their own work and the work of others. Graduates from the MA in Creative Writing programme will have developed a wide range of transferable skills, including those of critical analysis, professional discipline, and creative thinking. A thorough grounding in craft is indispensable to any writer in any field, and the skills learned during the MA in Creative Writing at DCU will prepare students for writing careers in a world of expanding opportunity across many sectors. The DCU MA in Creative Writing will inculcate a mastery of language and technique; an ability to produce good work to deadline; a sense of professionalism; and a flexible approach to their own work and the work of others.
Requirements
For admission to the MA in Creative Writing, successful applicants will have:
• A degree at the level of an Irish or UK Honours undergraduate degree (H2.2 or above) or equivalent, in a Humanities discipline but holders of other degrees or appropriate professional experience should provide information in their personal statement.
• Applicants with appropriate combinations of professional qualifications and experience may also be considered. This includes discipline-specific knowledge and know-how; transferable skills; basic research competency; personal effectiveness.
• Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applicants are required to submit a cover letter along with their application under the Transcripts section of the portal, affirming their intent to apply for RPL. For more information on RPL see here.
•International candidates who are non-native speakers of English must satisfy the University of their competency in the English language.
Due to the specialist nature of this programme, additional criteria may be used to assess suitability to undertake this programme. For further information, please contact the Programme Chair using the contact details above