Creative Writing MA



"A radical departure in creative writing"
The Times

Overview

If you want to make a career in writing, this course is for you. You already have talent and ideas, we'll add the expertise you need to approach your chosen market with confidence, originality and skill. No ambitions are out of bounds: we love commercial genre fiction and literary experiments equally.

We aim to ensure our graduates are equipped to succeed - and to change the culture they choose to enter. We will add expertise to your talent and ideas, while you learn in the company of industry experts on this innovative, inspiring course for emerging writers.

Our unique combination of genres and specialisms encourages and enables you to professionalise your practice as a writer. We put genres like science fiction, fantasy, crime and horror at the heart of our learning journey. Writing for young adult readers and graphic novels are just some of the options available to you as a student on our programme.

We take an innovative approach to the training and support of aspiring writers, driven by intellectual ambition and practical industry experience.

There are four strands to the programme:

  • pre-writing skills, concepts and technique for full-length narratives
  • writing practice for first person stories and a range of options
  • experimental, theoretical and personal development work
  • regular one-to-one editorial mentoring

Typical entry point to this course is in September. Please enquire for more information.

To ensure there is sufficient time to process your application, we encourage you to submit your application by 30 June.

Due to extremely high demand for our programmes starting in September 2023, we are no longer accepting applications from international applicants for this programme. We’re sorry that you won’t be able to join us in September.

Students chatting at a table from the MA Creative Writing course with lecturer Laura Lam

Mode of Study:

Full-time (available as Part-time)

Duration:

1 year

Meet your tutors

Introducing our Creative Writing tutors - David Bishop, Elizabeth Dearnley, Nicholas Binge and Noelle Harrison. Learn more about their backgrounds and their impressive careers in writing so far.

Course details

Uniquely, the course offers a dynamic range of cross-disciplinary options. Writing for graphic fiction, young adult audiences, screenwriting and interactive media are all available as specialisms, while our pioneering module in genre fiction covers crime, horror, fantasy and science fiction.

We host an exciting array of guest speakers every year, ranging from award-winning authors to high-profile industry experts. Recent visiting speakers have included authors Victoria (V.E.) Schwab, Dhonielle Clayton and James Oswald, comics creators Emma Beeby and Will Morris, Nasty Women anthology editors Laura Jones and Heather McDaid from 404 Ink, agent Jenny Brown, and editor Simon Spanton.

Our approach to full-length narrative development trains you to deploy a range of unique and dynamic pre-writing techniques invented by our programme. This energetic combination of conceptual development and critical self-reflection aims to transform you into a technically adept, purposeful writer ready to make your mark.

Professional development

The MA is a professionalising course that emphasises the publishing industry as a business, and includes sessions on approaching agents, marketing yourself and your work, and understanding publishing contracts. We also offer professional development strands in teaching and learning, community engagement, and publishing on digital platforms.

For students eager to continue working on their major project in a supportive academic environment, we have an articulation agreement with the low residency MFA in Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania. This enables graduates of our programme to join the Seton Hill cohort in year two, attain a MFA qualification and complete a market-ready commercial novel.

  • calendar

    How you’ll be taught

    This is a one year full-time course starting in September, taught over three trimesters.

    The course is taught by a team of industry professionals: David Bishop, a successful working writer and former editor; acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author Laura Lam; award-winning literary thriller author Daniel Shand. You can read more about their established academic and professional careers by viewing our tutors page. 
  • note and pen

    Assessments

     Assessments focus on practical creative challenges and achieving professional levels of critical reflection, enabling students to become more self-sufficient as writers and collaborative practitioners.

    Tasks includes crafting original short stories; creating pre-writing materials for full-length narratives; critical self-reflection on your work; keeping a learning journal of progress through one-to-one mentoring; plus developing strategies and content for teaching, public engagement events, and digital self-publishing.
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    Facilities

    Our students have access to the Writers' Room, a private workspace with wi-fi, available evenings and weekends. It houses an exclusive library of 2,000 hand-picked books, DVDs and graphic novels, and is the venue for reading groups and social events.

Disclaimer

Study modules mentioned above are indicative only. Some changes may occur between now and the time that you study.

Full information is available in our disclaimer.

Entry requirements

What are the entry requirements for Creative Writing?

The entry requirements for this course are an Honours Degree at a 2:2 or above in any discipline with relevant writing experience.

Once your application is received, you may be contacted by the Programme Leader with an invitation to submit a sample of writing: this is the second stage in selection. Please do not send writing samples with your initial application, as a detailed brief and deadline will be provided. The final stage in the selection process is an interview: for international applicants, this is conducted by telephone.

Can I get admission into Creative Writing based on my working experience in this sector?

This course has academic entry requirements which are assessed alongside relevant work experience. Full details of any relevant work experience, including references should be submitted with your application and may be considered for entry where the minimum academic entry requirements are below those required.

Usually, unrelated work experience is not considered sufficient for entry without meeting the minimum academic entry requirements. Please contact us with your specific circumstances by submitting an enquiry form above and we will be happy to discuss your options.

Can I make an appointment with an advisor to discuss further about the admission process?

If you want to get more information on the admission process, please get in touch with the postgraduate admissions team by submitting an enquiry form above.

If your first language isn't English, you'll normally need to undertake an approved English language test.  The English Language requirements for this programme are IELTS (Academic) with an overall score of 7.0 with no individual component score of less than 7.0.  For guidance on the acceptability of other English Language tests please contact pgadmissions@napier.ac.uk

This may not apply if you have completed all your school qualifications in English, or your undergraduate degree was taught and examined in English (within two years of starting your postgraduate course). Check our country pages to find out if this applies to you.

We welcome applications from students studying a wide range of international qualifications.
Entry requirements by country

Please note that international students are unable to enrol onto the following courses:
  • BN Nursing/MSc Nursing (Pre-registration) (Adult, Mental Health, Child, Learning Disabilities)
  • BM Midwifery/MM Midwifery
  • All Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

See who can apply for more information on Graduate Apprenticeship courses.

We’re committed to admitting students who have the potential to succeed and benefit from our programmes of study. 

Our admissions policies will help you understand our admissions procedures, and how we use the information you provide us in your application to inform the decisions we make.

Undergraduate admissions policies
Postgraduate admissions policies

Fees & funding

The course fees you'll pay and the funding available to you will depend on a number of factors including your nationality, location, personal circumstances and the course you are studying. We also have a number of bursaries and scholarships available to our students.

Tuition fees
Students From 2023/24 2024/25
Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland £6,930 tba
Overseas and EU £17,090 tba
Please note tuition fees are subject to an annual review and may increase from one year to the next. For more information on this and other Tuition Fee matters please see Frequently Asked Questions about Fees Click this link for Information of Bursaries and Scholarships
The University offers a 20% discount on Postgraduate Taught Masters programmes to its alumni. The discount applies to all full-time, part-time and online programmes. The discount can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount. For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.
Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2021 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.


Please note:

The discount for Edinburgh Napier alumni can only be applied to year one of a full-time Postgraduate degree, any additional years are exempt from the discount.

For part time Postgraduate degrees the discount will apply to years one, two and three only and any additional years will be exempt from the discount.

Please read our full T&C here

Careers

  • Book deals
  • Representation by literary agents
  • International and national competition wins
  • Collaborations with comic artists
  • Publication in magazines and anthologies
  • Edinburgh International Book Festival appearances
  • Paid editing and writing commissions
  • Performances and teaching
  • Working for national literary organisations
Woman laughing at a table with a book in one hand and a cup in the other hand in The Writers Room at Merchiston.