BA (Hons)
Undergraduate degree - combined honours
Combining Creative Writing and English has a number of benefits. Your Creative Writing modules will give you a space to explore your imagination and translate your ideas into poetry, script and prose, as well as graphic novels and comics, or live literature – events, festivals, readings and performances connected with your craft.
English Literature introduces you to an incredible range of literary worlds. From classic texts to new and unfamiliar writing, you'll be asked to think differently about what ‘literature’ can be and to explore original ways of reading and analysing it. We’ll ask you to place your reading in wider contexts, and to draw on other disciplines to deepen your understanding and sharpen your insights.
It’s not just about reading and writing – you’ll also learn vital professional skills. English Literature and Creative Writing will help you develop the creativity, analysis, communication and collaboration skills, which can open up a diverse range of possible careers. To maximise your potential, we’ll support you in learning how to manage projects, work with your peers, and collaborate in our partnership projects.
During your degree, you’ll encounter people working in a range of organisations in the creative and cultural industries, such as publishing houses, literary agencies, charities, museums and heritage sites, advertising and marketing agencies. You’ll leave with a portfolio of work and experience that demonstrates the practical and professional skills, habits and ways of thinking that you’ve learned – which are highly valued by employers.
and #1 in the South West for Graduate Prospects in English (Guardian University Guide 2025)
and #1 in the South West for Graduate Prospects in Creative Writing (Guardian University Guide 2025)
for English (Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025)
for Value Added in Creative Writing (Guardian University Guide 2025)
Being a better reader helps you to become a better writer, and vice versa. Writers studying English benefit from critical engagement with a wide range of literature, and studying literature helps you understand your own creative practice within the wider literary culture. In parallel, your creative writing skills, as they develop, enable you to recognise elements of style and authorial craft in literature. This combination of critical skills, knowledge and practice will give you the tools to understand the world and seek to shape it.
"The best thing about my course is the opportunity that we are given to explore our own creativity. It’s difficult to participate in a course like Creative Writing and be told that you have guidelines which restrict your creative scope, but here at Bath Spa University the accommodation which is provided for our wide visions is outstanding"
Poppy Westwood, BA (Hons) Creative Writing and English Literature
We combine the academic study of literature with creative practice and skill-based modules to create a practical, applied degree. You’ll learn how to analyse a wide range of literary texts and explore different writing styles and genres, but you'll also learn practical skills such as:
You'll also have the opportunity to collaborate on creative projects with other students both within and outside your course.
Year one
The first year will introduce you to key elements and concepts in both subjects. You’ll develop your skills with a broad curriculum of core modules in Creative Writing and English Literature, plus one cross-disciplinary module.
Year two
Alongside core modules in both subjects, you’ll be able to choose from a selection of Creative Writing and English Literature modules that cover a wide range of genres and topics, including a number that emphasise working with cultural industries or local communities.
Year three
The final year follows the mix of required and optional modules from year two, but with an additional emphasis on independent writing and research. You’ll write a piece of extended creative writing in the form of your choice, and in your English studies, you can choose from a variety of final projects (previously, students have created digital resources, worked at literary festivals and produced educational materials, to name a few examples).
Assessment is based on 100% coursework (there are no exams). Most modules will require you to submit a portfolio of creative writing along with a reflective or contextual essay in which you describe what you've learned in class and from your reading/working on your own writing.
Depending on your module choices, coursework may include essays, journals, portfolios of short critical pieces, projects and dissertations, podcasts, seminar presentations, and web-based projects.
You’ll be taught through a mixture of workshops, lectures, presentations and tutorials. Workshops offer you the opportunity to read and discuss each other's work in a supportive, informal and informative atmosphere. Lectures are used to introduce techniques and themes in detail. Tutorials provide you with the opportunity to discuss your work with your tutor on a one-to-one basis.
To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.
The course is taught at our stunning Newton Park campus, where you’ll be surrounded by wildlife and beautiful eighteenth century landscaping.
You'll have access to a range of excellent facilities, including:
As a Creative Writing and English Literature student, you'll have access to:
As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.
If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.
You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.
Subject-related placements are key to helping you make connections and gain experience in companies and organisations that interest you. You’ll have the opportunity to find exciting, subject-related placements, and we’ll support you to do this. Our students often work with the Bath Literature Festival, for instance, or with production companies such as the BBC.
Employability is a core part of our curriculum. You’ll develop your own projects, and have access to our renowned digital facilities, as well as to our Bath Spa Careers team who'll help you forge a fulfilling future.
Many of our graduates pursue careers in publishing or teaching. Organisations including NewScientist, Trinity College Library, DigitalBox and Cengage Learning EMEA have employed our graduates. Graduate professions include:
Some graduates choose to progress onto postgraduate study. Many of our students go on to study one of our specialist MA programmes in either Creative Writing, Writing for Young People, Scriptwriting, Nature and Travel Writing, or Children’s Publishing.
There are annual prizes for the best overall performance in both core modules in years one and two, and a very special prize for the best final year English Project.
Each year, the Creative Writing department awards a range of prizes to students to celebrate the best writing produced in the final year. The department also awards the Les Arnold Prize for the top student in the second year, honouring the memory of the poet, who started the writing programme in 1992.
Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.
“There are those assumptions that... the only thing you can ever do with a creative writing degree is write a novel. That's not true.”
Listen to Lucy Sweetman, Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing, talking about the range of creative writing degree careers available.
Read the blog post
"Studying English Literature is a natural choice for the book-lovers and wordsmiths among us, but it’s also a great choice for developing research, independent thinking and creative problem solving skills."
There's a wide range of careers you can explore with an English Literature degree, and there are more options than you might think! Read our blog post to find out more.
Read the blog post
The Professional Placement Year (PPY) provides you with the opportunity to identify, apply for, and secure professional experience, normally comprising one to three placements over a minimum of nine months. Successful completion of this module will demonstrate your ability to secure and sustain graduate-level employment.
By completing the module, you'll be entitled to the addition of 'with Professional Placement Year' to your degree title.
Before your PPY, you'll work to identify roles of interest and secure a placement. The Placements Team will support through timetabled sessions and 1:1 appointments.
As well as completing a minimum of 900 placement hours, you will complete two assessments demonstrating your skill development, growth in professional behaviours and how the PPY has impacted your future career aspirations.
| Student | Annual tuition fee |
|---|---|
| UK full time | £9,535 |
| UK part time | £4,768 |
| International full time | £17,430 |
During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.
You may need to pay additional course costs over and above your tuition fees, for example, for specialist equipment or trips and visits. Please check the course Programme Document (linked under the main image on this page) for details of any additional costs. You can also read our Additional Course Costs Policy for further information.
We're looking for students who share our passion for literature in all its forms. You should be inquisitive and willing to challenge yourself and question shared assumptions. You'll want to collaborate with others in exploring the ideas and worlds opened up to us by the written word.
We judge each application on its own merit and many of our most successful graduates have not fit neatly into standard criteria. We also welcome applications from students who demonstrate real commitment to their writing. This commitment may be expressed in publications or awards.
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:
If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.
English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants
IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.
Course enquiries
For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.
Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.
Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply pages.
Course leader: Ms Lucy Sweetman (Creative Writing)
Email: l.sweetman@bathspa.ac.uk
Course leader: Dr Stephen Gregg (English Literature)
Email: s.gregg@bathspa.ac.uk
We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.