BA (Hons) English with Creative Writing
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Why study BA English with Creative Writing at Goldsmiths
The degree is ideal if you are curious about literature, with the imagination to turn that curiosity into creativity.
- This flexible BA English with Creative Writing degree allows you to choose from a range of topics – comparisons of literature across different cultures and art forms (also known as comparative literature), American literature and culture, and diverse aspects of language use in linguistics modules.
- You'll have the space to develop your own creative writing practice, while our Work Placement module also offers valuable workplace experience in professional environments relevant to your area of study.
- Goldsmiths has one of the most established and long-running creative writing centres in UK Higher Education, and many of our graduates are now leading writers and editors in their field, winning major literary awards and appearing on the shortlists of national prizes.
- Our teaching staff of celebrated writers and scholars are ready to support you and your work as a Goldsmiths student.
- We’re regularly visited by literary guest speakers, and our students have recently enjoyed events with Ali Smith, Bernadine Evaristo, C A Conrad, George Saunders, Nikesh Shukla, Michael Rosen, Eimear McBride, Joelle Taylor, Olivia Laing, Rachael Allen and Eley Williams.
- Our forward-thinking approach to the fields of creative writing and literary studies is supported by our hosting and running of the Goldsmiths Prize, awarded annually to work that pushes the boundaries of the novel.
- Your literary and creative studies will be supported by lectures and seminars that will give you practical advice to help you improve your essay writing and refine your research strategies.
- Our location on the doorstep of central London means that you will have easy access to one of the most diverse, historic, and dynamic literary centres in the world.
Contact
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Jack Underwood
UCAS code
Q3W8
Entry requirements
A-level: CCC
BTEC: DMM
IB: 27 points overall with Three HL subjects at 555
Length
3 years full-time or 6 years part-time
Fees
Home - full-time: £9790
Home - part-time: £4895
International - full-time: £22000
School
Subject
We are an Adobe Creative Campus. During your studies, you will be able to use Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator and more for free on your own devices.
Watch videos about your course
Prize-winning alumni
Since 2010, Goldsmiths alumni have won the Society of Authors’ prestigious Eric Gregory Award on 16 occasions.
Goldsmiths has one of the strongest records in the UK for graduate writer success, with our alumni among the winners of the Ted Hughes Award for poetry, the Somerset Maugham Award, the Rathbones Folio Prize, the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, the Eric Gregory Award, the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, The Guardian & 4th Estate Short Story Prize, the European Union Prize for Literature, the Dylan Thomas Prize, the White Review Poetry Prize, with other graduates being shortlisted for the Forward Prize, the TS Eliot Prize and numerous other awards.
What you'll study
Compulsory modules
In your first year, you'll take the following compulsory modules:
| Module title | Credits |
|---|---|
| Explorations in Literature | 30 credits |
| Genre | 30 credits |
| Foundation Workshop in Creative Writing | 30 credits |
| Critical Writing | 15 credits |
| Contemporary Creative Industries | 15 credits |
Note about optional modules (if available): The above is indicative of the typical modules offered, but is not intended to be construed or relied on as a definitive list of what might be available in any given year. The module content and availability is subject to change.
Teaching style
This programme is taught through a mixture of scheduled learning - lectures, seminars and workshops. You’ll also be expected to undertake a significant amount of independent study. This includes carrying out required and additional reading, preparing topics for discussion, and producing essays or project work.
How you'll be assessed
You’ll be assessed by a variety of methods, depending on your module choices. These include portfolios of original creative writing and critical commentaries on your work for each of the workshops, coursework portfolios, long essays and examinations (various timescales and formats).
Entry requirements
We accept the following qualifications:
A-level: CCC
BTEC: DMM
International Baccalaureate: 27 points overall with three HL subjects at 555
UAL Extended Diploma: Merit overall
Access: Pass with 45 Level 3 credits including 24 Distinctions and a number of merits/passes in subject-specific modules
Scottish qualifications: CCCCD (Higher) or DDD (Advanced Higher)
European Baccalaureate: 65%
Irish Leaving Certificate: H3 H3 H3 H3
Additional requirements
Grade C in A-level English Literature/A-level English Language and Literature/A-level English Language is required if you have studied A-levels.
Alternatively, an equivalent English subject will be accepted eg Grade 5 in IB Higher Level English.
Alternative qualifications
See our full list of undergraduate entry qualifications.
We welcome students with a range of educational experiences. If you believe you may not meet the standard qualification requirements we would still encourage you to apply because we consider all aspects of your application when making a decision.
We’ll pay particularly careful attention to your personal statement, which is your opportunity to demonstrate your interest in the subject you’ve applied for. Your referees are also welcome to include any relevant contextual comments around your academic achievements. We’ll look at all these things when making a decision on your application, as well as your qualifications and grades.
We also offer this programme as an Integrated Degree in English, where you will complete a foundation year before progressing on to the undergraduate degree. Progression on to the BA in English with Creative Writing requires you to successfully pass the foundation year.
International qualifications
We also accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.
If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for degree-level study.
What our students say
Fees and funding
Annual tuition fees
These are the UG fees for students starting their programme in the 2026/2027 academic year.
- Home - full-time: £9790
- Home - part-time: £4895
- International - full-time: £22000
If your fees are not listed here, please check our undergraduate fees guidance or contact the Fees Office, who can also advise you about how to pay your fees.
It’s not currently possible for international students to study part-time if you require a Student Visa, however this is currently being reviewed and will be confirmed in the new year. Please read our visa guidance in the interim for more information. If you think you might be eligible to study part-time while being on another visa type, please contact our Admissions Team for more information.
If you are looking to pay your fees please see our guide to making a payment.
Funding opportunities
We offer a wide range of scholarships and bursaries, and our careers service can also offer advice on finding work during your studies. Find out more about funding your studies with us.
Additional costs
In addition to your tuition fees, you'll be responsible for any additional costs associated with your course, such as buying stationery and paying for photocopying. You can find out more about what you need to budget for on our study costs page.
There may also be specific additional costs associated with your programme. This can include things like paying for field trips or specialist materials for your assignments. Please check the programme specification for more information.
Our alumni
Poetry
Our BA graduate poets are among the most exciting voices to have emerged over the last decade. Their work is published by world-renowned poetry presses and leading national magazines and journals, but they are also shaping and forwarding British poetry at ground-level, with pamphlets and zines from small and innovative presses, and appearances onstage at reading series and festivals.
Our poet graduates include:
- Rachael Allen graduated from Goldsmiths in 2010 and published her debut pamphlet of poems as part of the Faber New Poets scheme in 2014. He debut poetry collection ‘Kingdomland’ was then published by Faber in 2019, and her second collection ‘God Complex’, also published by Faber, was shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize. She is Poetry Editor at Fitzcarraldo Editions and co-presenter of the Faber Poetry Podcast.
- Charlotte Shevchenko-Knight published her first collection ‘Food for the Dead’ with Johnathan Cape in 2024, winning the Somerset Maugham Award, Eric Gregory Award, Laurel Prize, and Felix Dennis Prize for best first collection, as well as being shortlisted for the Forward Prize. Charlotte was also a winner of the New Poets Prize in 2022. She works as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Hull.
- Sophie Collins published her debut collection of poems, ‘Who Is Mary Sue?’ with Faber in 2018. It was selected as a Poetry Book Society Choice, and Sophie was awarded a Fellowship by the Royal Society in 2018. She is now a lecturer in English Literature at the University of Glasgow, having published a wide range of writing, from poetry, prose fiction and life-writing, to critical work in the field of translation studies.
- Eve Esfandiari Denney’s debut collection of poems, Girling, will be published by Fitzcarraldo in 2026. Her work has been shortlisted for Forward Prize, and her debut pamphlet, and ‘My Bodies This Morning This Evening’ was published by Bad Betty in 2022.
- Ella Frears’ debut collection ‘Shine, Darling’ was published by Offord Road Books in 2020, was shortlisted for both the Forward and TS Eliot Prizes, as well as being selected as a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Ella’s second book, the genre defying, novelistic, fictional memoir, ‘Goodlord’ was published by Rought Trade in 2024, and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize, and was a Guardian Book of the Year 2024.
- Cecilia Knapp, was named Young Person’s Poet Laureate for London in 2020 and published her debut poetry collection ‘Peach Pig’ with Corsair in 2022. She curated the anthology ‘Everything is Going to be Alright: Poems for When you Really Need Them’, published by Trapeze in 2021, and her theatre pieces ‘Finding Home’ and ‘Losing the Night’ both opened to sell out London runs at The Roundhouse before touring the UK. Her debut novel ‘Little Boxes’ was published by The Borough Press (Harper Collins) in 2023, and her second novel ‘Lack’ is published in 2026. Her poetry has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize, and she has written for BBC Radio 4 and read her work at major international literature festivals.
- Aria Aber is the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection ‘Hard Damage’, published by University of Nebraska Press in 2019. After graduating from Goldsmiths, Aria left to study an MFA in Creative Writing at New York University, before winning a 2020 Whiting Award in Poetry and continuing her practice as a Wallace Stegner Fellow in Poetry at Stanford University. Aria’s debut novel, ‘Good Girl’ was published by Bloomsbury in 20225, to wide critical acclaim, earning a shortlisting for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and named as a book of the year by Time magazine.
Prose
Graduates of our programme are also making their mark in the world of fiction:
- Marlowe Granados’ best-selling debut, ‘Happy Hour’, began life as part of Marlowe’s third year creative writing dissertation. Published in the UK by Verso in 2020, it received widespread praise on both sides of the Atlantic. Her hotly anticipated second novel ‘Petty Intrigues’ was acquired in a five-way auction, by Scribner Books, Simon & Schuster in 2025.
- Abi Andrews debut novel, ‘The Word for Woman is Wilderness’, published by Serpent’s Tail in 2018, was also first aired in a workshop taken during her third year on the BA Hons English Creative Writing programme.
- Paddy Crewe’s debut novel, ‘Yip’, was published in 2022 by Penguin was also started during his time on the English with Creative Writing degree. It was longlisted for the 2023 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, the Authors Club Best First Novel Award and the 2023 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize.
- Kandace Siobhan Walker’s short story ‘Deep Heart’ was winner of the 2019 4th Estate and Guardian short story prize (Kandace was also winner of the 2020 White Review Poetry Prize). Her debut book of poems, ‘Cowboy’ was published by Cheerio Books in 2023, and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize.
- Goldsmiths Creative Writing BA and MA graduate Dizz Tate’s debut novel ‘Brutes’ was published by Faber in February 2023, and praised by the Guardian for its “whip-smart and warped” depiction of Floridian teenage girls.
Non-fiction and Beyond
Aside from literary forms, Goldsmiths undergraduate creative writing alumni also include a number of exciting non-fiction writers, journalists and creatives :
- Daisy Jones is the acting news and features editor at British Vogue. She previously worked as senior editor at VICE UK, associate editor at British GQ and music editor at DAZED. Her debut non-fiction book, ‘ALL THE THINGS SHE SAID: Everything I Know About Modern Lesbian and Bi Culture’, was published by Hachette in 2021.
- Joshua Baines is a journalist, writer and digital content specialist who has written and worked for VICE, Dazed, Noisey, and Mint Magazine. Josh has also published creative and critical essays with independent presses such as Bronze Age.
- Esme Blegvad has worked as a commercial illustrator since graduating for the English with Creative Writing programme in 2013. Her work has been featured in Rookie Magazine, The Poetry Review, Vice, Guardian and Polyester.
