Find out how our flexible course structures provide you with an opportunity to personalise your studies, feed your curiosity, and help you achieve your career aspirations.
BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing with Foundation
| UCAS tariff |
32- 48
Contextual offers
A contextual offer is an offer to study at university that takes personal circumstances that may affect grades into account.
|
| UCAS course code | QW38 |
| Institution code | P60 |
| Duration | 4 years (+ optional placement) |
| Assessment breakdown | 100% coursework |
| Course type | Full-time |
| Study location | Plymouth |
Want to find your voice? Immerse yourself in the literature and culture that shaped who we are now, while honing your own craft as a writer. Learn how to write poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenplays and more. Become an effective researcher and experience the professional writing process. Read, write, think and grow – set your imagination soaring. Studying English and Creative Writing broadens your horizons while giving you the skills needed to excel in the contemporary world.
Personalise your degree
At Plymouth, your degree really is what you make it. Choose to study optional modules from across the school.
In your second year...
Choose to swap in up to two modules from across the school.
In your final year...
Dive deeper into your subject by sticking with our selection of options or swap in another module from across the school.
Achieve your final degree certificate
If you've studied three optional modules from the same second subject area, you can choose to add this to your degree certificate.
Careers with this subject
- Develop a range of valuable skills, including critical and creative thinking and excellent communication, presentation and project management skills.
- Benefit from a tailored programme of Careers events and opportunities.
- Boost your
career prospects by working with a publishing house, literary agent, arts organisation or magazine on our work-based learning module or extra-curricular internships.
Key features
- This four-year course is designed to give you the grounding necessary to progress through your undergraduate studies and through the many opportunities we give you find the best possible direction to grow your love of learning.
- Personalise your degree by choosing from a wide variety of optional modules in literary studies and creative writing, or widen your horizons by taking specialist modules in other subjects in the school.
- Learn from internationally recognised research-active staff and published and award-winning writers and journalists.
- Benefit from assessment through coursework, with no written exams.
- Make the most of a rich cultural life with our
The Arts & Culture programme and the University’s links with local cultural organisations, like The Box and Theatre Royal.
This course is an integrated part of the
BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing
degree at the University of Plymouth. Successful completion of your foundation year (Year 0) will not lead to a separate award or qualification in its own right but provides progression onto Year 1 of BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing, or one of the following degree courses:
- BA (Hons) Anthropology
- BA (Hons) Art History
- BA (Hons) Creative Writing
- BSc (Hons) Criminology
- BSc (Hons) Criminology and Psychology
- BSc (Hons) Criminology and Sociology
- BA (Hons) English
- BA (Hons) History
- BSc (Hons) International Relations
- LLB (Hons) Law
- LLB (Hons) Law and Criminology
- BSc (Hons) Politics
- BSc (Hons) Politics and International Relations
- BSc (Hons) Sociology
- BSc (Hons) Professional Policing
Course details
-
Foundation year
-
In your foundation year, you'll cover creative writing, English and history with a focus on the research and writing skills essential for success on your degree. Successful completion of the foundation year allows progression onto year 1.
Core modules
SSC301
Discovering Your Inner Academic 30 creditsIn this module, students will learn the core academic and organisational skills required to succeed at university. They will benefit from a range of skill development sessions and subject-specific seminars, allowing them to practice applying the delivered academic skills in the context of their field of study.
100% Coursework
SSC302
Individual Project 30 creditsStudents will undertake, with supervision, an individual project related to their degree programme. Staff will guide students through the process of defining, planning, and setting up their project. As part of the module, students will gain research and time management skills that will support their successful progression through their degree programme.
100% Coursework
SSC306
Literature, History and Visual Cultures 30 creditsThis module explores the key texts and voices that have changed the ways in which we think and write the Humanities. It will investigate how thinkers, poets and writers have shaped our contemporary world, and the ways in which we study it. Based on this, this module will also explore the ways in which literature, art, film, media, memory and heritage impact on history and writing today. Students will examine a range of classic and contemporary literary texts as well as visual and media sources and consider the role of technologies in the Humanities. The module will be constructed around the exploration of key themes, for example gender and sexuality, faith, war, and race and ethnicity, using interdisciplinary approaches to identify how they have shaped the Humanities of the 21st century.
100% Coursework
SSC309
Imagining the Past 30 creditsThis module will introduce concepts central to historical and literary study in the Humanities including: Time; Space; and Experience. Students will work with a range of sources to understand how the Humanities engage with the past. Students will develop the tools needed for progression to Higher Education, with a particular focus on analysing textual materials and essay-writing.
100% Coursework
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Year 1
-
In your first year, you'll study historical, theoretical, aesthetic and creative approaches to literary analysis. You’ll read literature which investigates the making of the modern world; engage with exciting theories of reading such as eco-criticism, psychoanalysis and Marxism; and write creatively in a wide range of genres including prose, poetry, drama and professional writing. You will also learn key research and essay-writing skills.
Core modules
ENG4001
Gods, Monsters, and Heroes: Myths and Legends in Literature 20 creditsThis immersive module provides an important grounding for new students studying English and Creative Writing. Based around some of the earliest written texts that underpin Western literature, the module engages with a number of issues to enable students to gain an understanding of the historical development of literature and the ways in which texts relate to each other over the centuries.
100% Coursework
ENG4003
The Craft of Writing I: Prose Fiction and Non-Fiction 20 creditsThis module introduces students to the key concepts and issues in creative writing through the practise of workshops. We will read classic contemporary works of fiction and nonfiction including autobiography, travel writing, poetry sequences, essays and reportage. We will produce our own works, and critically evaluate and contextualise them.
100% Coursework
ENG4007
Rewritings: Contemporary Literature and its Histories 20 creditsThis module will examine how and why modern and contemporary authors have rewritten or reworkedinfluential literary texts of the past. Students will engage with a range of different literary forms,including fiction, poetry, drama and, where appropriate, film. By investigating the impulses behind suchintertextual acts, students will explore the ways in which literature engages with the cultural politics ofits times, focusing particularly on issues of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, class and aesthetics. This module will include 2, 2 hour talks that introduce our School and programme level employability related opportunities and support, including details of the optional placement year.
100% Coursework
ENG4009
Make it New: Digital Writing 20 creditsThis module introduces students to writing digitally for, most notably, the Web, and its various platforms (from blogs to websites to Twitter etc). Students are invited to explore and expand ideas around authorship and audience and the writing (or images) that connects them as ‘content’, in its myriad of possible forms and formats. It will also introduce speculative and theoretical ideas about the relation between the self, writing, and digital forms. The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.
100% Coursework
ENG4010
Adventures in Criticism: Introduction to Critical Theory 20 creditsThis module will introduce some key critical theories relevant to the study of English literature. It will familiarise students with a range of theoretical perspectives and enable them to develop an understanding of different ways of reading literature, and its wider contexts.
100% Coursework
Optional modules
ENG4008
The Craft of Writing II: Poetry and Drama 20 creditsThis module continues the trajectory of the study of ‘the craft of writing’, emphasising poetry and dramatic writing. We’ll explore how creative writing constitutes a ‘practice-as-research’ discipline, whilst studying relevant writing theory, contextual literature, and literary criticism. Lectures will introduce topics, and subsequent workshops will promote the development of student work through feedback. Students will submit creative work alongside ‘research statements’ twice during the term, in the form of portfolios.
100% Coursework
ENG4005
Writing and the Modern World, 1700-1800 20 creditsThis module considers the further development of modern ways of writing, thinking, trading, and seeing in the eighteenth century. This period is crucial to understanding literary history and ourselves. The module explores four key themes:- the beginnings of human rights and democracy in the eighteenth century - modern ideas of gender which originate in the eighteenth century - imperialism & the transatlantic world - eighteenth-century reading practices and the development of new genres.
80% Coursework
20% Practicals
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Year 2
-
In your second year, you’ll write creatively in many forms including theatre and script-writing, autobiography and biography, travel writing, and literary adaptation. You will hone your skills as a writer in weekly workshops with tutors and peers. You’ll also study the writers who've shaped our literary canon, taking core modules in Romantic and Victorian literature, and selecting from a range of specialist creative, literary and work-based learning options. You’ll also have the opportunity to take specialist modules in other subjects in the School.
Core modules
SSC500
Stage 2 Professional Development, Placement Preparation and Identifying Opportunities 0 creditsThis module is for students in the School of Society and Culture who are interested in undertaking an optional placement in the third year of their programme. It supports students in their search, application, and preparation for the placement, including developing interview techniques and effective application materials (e.g. CVs , portfolios, and cover letters).
Optional modules
ENG5001
Romanticism 20 creditsIn this module literary Romanticism, in its rich and problematic diversity, is introduced and explored through a consideration of imaginative conceptions of the individual in writing between 1790 and 1830. The study ranges through a selection of texts in verse – lyric and narrative – and prose - essayistic, theoretical and fictional.
100% Coursework
ENG5004
The Impact of Publishing 20 creditsThe module will provide an introduction to some of the key concepts in publishing history. It will look at the ways that knowledge has been captured, stored, retrieved, disseminated, policed and suppressed. It will consider how the development of different writing and printing technologies changed the understanding of the self and the self in relation to the world. It will discuss the creation, production, publication, distribution and reception of texts within their cultural, economic and technological contexts.
100% Coursework
ENG5005
Professional Writing for Different Media 20 creditsIn the context of this module, Professional Writing refers to commercial content for a variety of media outlets including advertising and marketing, as well as other ‘businesses’ which students have imagined and created themselves. Students will experiment with creative formats such as posters, reviews, reports, ‘copy’, interviews, the op-ed (opinion-editorial). The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.
100% Coursework
ENG5009
Victorian Literature and Culture 20 creditsThis module aims to introduce students to the Victorian period through an examination of literature read in conjunction with a range of other contemporary cultural documents including scientific, sociological, psychological, political economic and aesthetic texts.
100% Coursework
ENG5011
Dramatic Writing for Stage, Screen and Beyond 20 creditsThis course explores a wide range of dramatic writing and dramatic writing theory, integrating critical reading with creative writing projects. Class time will be spent discussing published authors/texts/productions, writing/reading theories, compositional processes, practical exercises, and student work.
100% Coursework
ENG5012
Burning Issues: Interdisciplinary Writing Project 20 creditsThis module asks students to engage with the 'burning issues' of our times, by thinking outside of their own discipline and engaging with research taking place in other departments, schools and faculties around the university, or even the country and the world. Students select a topic from outside their discipline and then, through research and communication with experts in the chosen field, devise a writing project to communicate and explore their chosen issue. The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.
100% Coursework
ENG5019
Brave New Worlds: Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Politics 20 creditsScience Fiction seems to be a field or mode that is particularly difficult to define, in part because it crosses over with many other forms. But it is also one of the most popular types of literature easily ranging from the highbrow to the low. This module will explore SF writing since 1960, with a particular focus on the hybridity of the field and the ways in which it intersects with fantasy writing, to explore a range of political issues in the contemporary world. SF is ‘a wide-ranging, multivalent and endlessly cross-fertilizing cultural idiom.’ (Roberts, 2006, 2) But is it really concerned with the future, or in fact, driven by nostalgia to engage with the ways in which the past has constructed the present? The module will be thematically structured and will concentrate on Anglophone writing.
100% Coursework
PER5008MX
Play and Games for Performance 20 creditsThis module will introduce students to practical methods for designing games and play structures for participatory performances that invite audiences to become actively involved in the work. In addition to learning new tools for designing and facilitating play, students will be prompted to consider playfulness from a theoretical perspective, recognising the connection between the play of mimesis and theatrical performance.
100% Coursework
ENG5003
American Novel 20 creditsThis module will explore the development of the novel in America from its beginnings in the eighteenth century through to the twentieth century. As part of this module, students will consider changes in the novel form with particular reference to America’s literary history.
100% Coursework
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Optional placement year
-
Undertake an optional placement year where you can build a number of key employability skills. Put theory onto practice, get a taste for your chosen career and expand upon your professional network.
Core modules
SSC600
School of Society and Culture Placement YearStudents have the opportunity to gain work experience that will set them apart in the job market when they graduate by undertaking an optional flexible placement year. The placement must be a minimum of 24-weeks (which can be split between a maximum of two different placement providers) and up to a maximum of 48-weeks over the course of the academic year. The placement is flexible and can be undertaken virtually, part or full time and either paid or voluntary. This year allows them to apply and hone the knowledge and skills acquired from the previous years of their programme in the real world.
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Final year
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In your final year, you’ll hone your reading and writing. You’ll study modern experimental writing and choose from literary and creative modules focusing on specific forms, from science fiction to modern poetry and screenwriting. Or, you’ll have a further opportunity to choose a module from another subject in the school if you wish to branch out. You’ll also design and develop your own year-long dissertation project, which you'll work on with focused support from your personal supervisor.
Core modules
ENG6001
Dissertation 40 creditsThe student will complete, under tutorial supervision, a significant project in critical or creative writing. Maximum length 9000-10,00 words or equivalent in creative form.
100% Coursework
Optional modules
ENG6002
Modern and Contemporary Literature 20 creditsThis module will explore a number of themes through an examination of writing published in the approximate period 1910-1930. The themes will include structural and linguistic experimentation, historical and artistic influences, the First World War and literary networks.
100% Coursework
ENG6006
Laughing Matters: Cruelty and Comedy of Literary Satire 20 creditsIntroduces historical and contemporary satirical theories; analyses satirical forms; enables critical engagement with the foundational associated modes: comedy, parody, irony and hyperbole.
100% Coursework
ENG6007
Advanced Poetry Workshop 20 creditsIn this final year module we will examine a range of contemporary poetry and poetic theory as a way for students to advance their own composition of poems. Class time will be divided between seminar discussions of published poetry/theory, writing exercises, and workshops of student poetry.
100% Coursework
ENG6009
Script to Screen: Making Films, Podcasts, and More 20 creditsThis final year module asks students to realise an original script of their own making with an on-screen production. In addition to writing their own scripts, students will be introduced to the production side of things, including storyboarding, working with actors, cameras, and using film-making software. We’ll also study some classic examples of page to screen adaptations (albeit most on bigger budgets than you’ll have!). The module is taught through lecture, seminars, and workshops where students are asked to submit and feedback to peers and tutors on a regular basis.
100% Coursework
ENG6010
Brave New Worlds: Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Politics 20 creditsScience Fiction seems to be a field or mode that is particularly difficult to define, in part because it crosses over with many other forms. But it is also one of the most popular types of literature easily ranging from the highbrow to the low. This module will explore SF writing since 1960, with a particular focus on the hybridity of the field and the ways in which it intersects with fantasy writing, to explore a range of political issues in the contemporary world. SF is ‘a wide-ranging, multivalent and endlessly cross-fertilizing cultural idiom.’ (Roberts, 2006, 2) But is it really concerned with the future, or in fact, driven by nostalgia to engage with the ways in which the past has constructed the present? The module will be thematically structured and will concentrate on Anglophone writing.
100% Coursework
ENG6003
Advanced Short Story WorkshopIn this module we will examine a range of contemporary short story writing and relevant theory as a way for students to learn how to compose their own short fiction. Class time will be divided between discussion of short fiction and theory, writing exercises and peer workshops of student work. The workshops will be substantially informed by staff research practice.
The modules shown for this course are those currently being studied by our students, or are proposed new modules. Please note that programme structures and individual modules are subject to amendment from time to time as part of the University’s curriculum enrichment programme and in line with changes in the University’s policies and requirements.
Personalise your degree
All our degrees have a wide range of optional modules and there is even the opportunity to study modules from any of the
School of Society and Culture
's subject areas.
You could graduate with one of the following personalised course title combinations:
English and Creative Writing with Anthropology
Modules
ANT5006MX
Decolonising the Social Sciences
20 credits
This module responds to contemporary calls to decolonise the social sciences. It reads the history of social science through the lens of post-colonial and indigenous studies. How have non-western voices been marginalised and silenced by academia? What does academia look from the perspective of the subaltern? Can the social sciences shed their colonial robes, or are they doomed to remain racialised and exclusionary disciplines? We explore these questions in regard to emerging disciplines aimed at constructing better and more inclusive futures, including 'indigenous criminology', 'participatory ethnography', and the 'anthropology of the otherwise'.
100% Coursework
ANT5008MX
Brave New Worlds: Ethnography of/on Online and Digital Worlds
20 credits
This module teaches students how to use ethnographic methods to make sense of the internet, which we now increasingly inhabit. Students learn how to navigate and analyse platforms such as Facebook or TikTok. They study how these technologies transform our relationships, identities, and ideas of truth. The module also examines the socio-cultural and ethical aspects of digital worlds (e.g. Second life).
100% Coursework
ANT6008MX
Coastal Cultures: Marine Anthropology in the age of climate change and mass extinction.
20 credits
Using ethnography, we analyse how coastal communities use the sea – not only as a source of livelihood, but as a key ingredient in the construction of their identity and place in world. Drawing on a range of cases from across the world – from Polynesian sorcerers, to Japanese whale mourners, to Cornish surfers – we study how coastal communities are responding to climate change, sea level rise, pollution, and extinction.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Art History
Modules
ARH5008MX
Painting Sex and Power
20 credits
The module examines the link between the perception of sexuality and power in a variety of media, and from diverse historical and geographic contexts. Critical approaches from gender studies will be combined with visual analysis in order to contextualize the biased and stereotypical nature of the imagery.
100% Coursework
ARH5002MX
Imagery in Online and Offline Worlds: Film, Television and Video Games
20 credits
This module provides students with a comprehensive understanding of current approaches towards mass media and visual culture. Particular emphasis will be put on medium-specificity, content analysis and audience studies.
100% Coursework
ARH6002MX
Questions in Contemporary Art
20 credits
The module introduces and examines selected questions raised in the last three decades in contemporary art. Case studies drawn from art history, critical and cultural theory, and where appropriate related disciplines, will be examined.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with History
Modules
HIS5004MX
Global Cold War: Politics, Culture and Society
20 credits
This module is an introduction to major themes in the political, social and cultural history of the modern world with special focus on the 20th century and the Cold War.
100% Coursework
HIS5007MX
Eighteenth-Century Empires
20 credits
This module is designed to explore the ‘long eighteenth century’ with a broad geographical focus, encompassing, but not limited to the Atlantic Isles, Atlantic world, formal and informal empire, and trading connections. It takes in the slave trade and impact of slavery globally, studies voyages of exploration, examines the scientific and political enlightenment, and wider cultural and social impacts of imperialism.
100% Coursework
HIS5009MX
Middle Kingdoms: Themes in Early Modern Asia
20 credits
This module introduces the history of early modern Japan (c.16th-19th centuries). At one level, it explores key questions shaping the histories of the late Sengoku (‘Warring States’) and Tokugawa Japan. Building on these questions, it then situates the Japanese experience in a trans-regional perspective with reference to early modern China, Korea, Ryukyu, as well as Europe.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS5014MX
Dunkirk to D Day: The Second World War in Europe
20 credits
The module examines the Second World War in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean from 1940 to late 1944.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6002MX
Piracy and Privateering, c.1560-1816
20 credits
This module explores piracy and privateering activity in the seas around the British Isles and further afield from the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the end of the second Barbary War in 1816. This course focuses on the social history of piracy and privateering, the organisation of pirate society, and the economic impact of piracy and privateering.
Explore this module100% Coursework
HIS6006MX
America, the United Nations and International Relations 1945 to the present
20 credits
This module provides a detailed examination of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Nations in the management of international relations from 1945 to the present.
Explore this module100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Criminology
Modules
CRM6010MX
Green Criminology
20 credits
This module will address theoretical perspectives, methodological issues, and empirical research related to the field of green criminology, including applied concerns, such as policy and social/political praxis, through a range of concepts, topics, and themes that are central to green criminology.
100% Coursework
CRM5007MX
Contemporary Issues in Criminology
20 credits
This module focuses upon a contemporary criminological or criminal justice-related issue that has received attention in the media and in official reports but may not be well covered yet in an established academic literature. The purpose of the module is for students to collect data on the issue and to subject it to a criminological analysis appropriate to the topic.
100% Coursework
CRM5003MX
Harm in the 21st Century
20 credits
This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.
100% Coursework
CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture
20 credits
The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.
100% Coursework
CRM5008MX
Security and Policing Today: Debates and Issues
20 credits
This module provides students with a contemporary overview of debates and issues in policing and security environments that inform practice and development in the field. The module examines how modern policing and security function, the impact of professionalization on all aspects of policing tasks and the tensions and benefits attained from multi-agency working. The module considers policing legitimacy, the ethics of crime control and associated engagement with the diversity of contemporary society, competing community interests and professional practice.
70% Coursework
30% Tests
CRM6011MX
Security Management
20 credits
This module provides students with a critical insight into the professional domain of security management. It provides an overview of the theories, policies, procedures and practices that underpin the work of the security manager, and focuses upon a career-relevant knowledge and understanding of this significant area of expertise.
70% Coursework
30% Tests
English and Creative Writing with International Relations
Modules
PIR6007MX
Global Environmental Politics
20 credits
This module examines the problem of environmental degradation and its implications for our global political economy. It discusses the major debates in political thought around the primary causes of environmental degradation. The module outlines the major attempts to build international regimes for global environmental governance, and the difficulties and obstacles that such attempts have encountered. A range of ideas, critiques, policy proposals, innovations in governance, and templates for political activism within the environmental movement are critically evaluated.
100% Coursework
PIR5009MX
Refugee Studies
20 credits
This module focuses on the political, economic and social context of forced migration and considers the complex and varied nature of global refugee populations. It analyses responses at international, national and regional level and engages with a range of challenging questions around international co-operation, the framework of international protection, humanitarianism and the causes of displacement.
100% Coursework
PIR5011MX
Global Development
20 credits
This module embraces both theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding development issues and policies, at international and multilateral scale. The approach incorporates historical, economic, political and social perspectives. The module considers issues faced by international development agencies, as well as the impact on populations in the developing world to illustrate and provide context for the discussion of various developmental concerns.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Politics
Modules
PIR5013MX
Politics Beyond Parliaments
20 credits
This module analyses the role of civil society and the public sphere in democratic governance and in democratization from a variety of theoretical perspectives.
100% Coursework
PIR5014MX
Voter Behaviour and Effective Election Campaigning
20 credits
This module undertakes an advanced examination of contemporary trends and developments in theories of electoral behaviour globally; then more specifically the relationship between electoral rules, electoral systems and election outcomes; the evolution of campaign techniques, and the role, mechanics, and accuracy of opinion polls in modern electoral politics. These global understandings are applied directly to the case of British politics.
100% Coursework
PIR6008MX
Voter Behaviour and Effective Election Campaigning
20 credits
This module undertakes an advanced examination of contemporary trends and developments in theories of electoral behaviour globally; then more specifically the relationship between electoral rules, electoral systems and election outcomes; the evolution of campaign techniques, and the role, mechanics, and accuracy of opinion polls in modern electoral politics. These global understandings are applied directly to the case of British politics.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Law
Modules
LAW5019MX
Law in Context: Commerce and Intellectual Property
20 credits
This module focuses on the work of commercial lawyers in practice in helping businesses to trade. It analyses a range of contractual agreements dealing with the manufacture, sale, supply and distribution of goods, assets and services in general and intellectual property in particular.
100% Coursework
LAW6012MX
Public International Law
20 credits
A module that focuses on the primary legal principles of the public international legal order, before exploring a range of substantive areas, such as, for example, the use of force, the law regulating the conduct of war, International Human Rights, International Criminal Law and International Environmental Law.
100% Coursework
LAW5012MX
Law, Literature and the Screen
20 credits
To introduce students to fictional and factional representations of the legal order in prose, film and TV, and to examine the inter-connections between law, literature and the screen.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Sociology
Modules
SOC5005MX
Globalisation and Social Justice
20 credits
This module investigates the key debates of globalisation and critically evaluates, in terms of its economic, political, socio-cultural and legal dimensions, the causes and consequences of a globalising world. It furthermore explores a range of international social justice issues to examine the relationships (causative and ameliorative) between policies and (in)justice
60% Coursework
40% Practicals
SOC5006MX
Gender, Sex and Sexuality
20 credits
This module introduces students to the sociology of gender, sex and sexuality. It interrogates these concepts with particular reference to identity, activism, social justice and social change. It develops an understanding of the similarities, differences and intersections between gender, sex, sexuality and other social signifiers of difference/diversity including ‘race’, ethnicity, dis/ability, class and age.
100% Coursework
SOC6004MX
Health, Medical Power and Social Justice
20 credits
This module considers a range of issues concerning health, illness and medical power in contemporary society. The module seeks to develop an understanding of the impact of ‘medicalisation’ on everyday life, as well as the importance of social divisions, such as age, gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status. There will be a focus on a range of sociological perspectives on health with an opportunity to focus upon areas of particular interest.
100% Coursework
English and Creative Writing with Policing and Security Management
Modules
CRM6011MX
Security Management
20 credits
This module provides students with a critical insight into the professional domain of security management. It provides an overview of the theories, policies, procedures and practices that underpin the work of the security manager, and focuses upon a career-relevant knowledge and understanding of this significant area of expertise.
70% Coursework
30% Tests
CRM5008MX
Security and Policing Today: Debates and Issues
20 credits
This module provides students with a contemporary overview of debates and issues in policing and security environments that inform practice and development in the field. The module examines how modern policing and security function, the impact of professionalization on all aspects of policing tasks and the tensions and benefits attained from multi-agency working. The module considers policing legitimacy, the ethics of crime control and associated engagement with the diversity of contemporary society, competing community interests and professional practice.
70% Coursework
30% Tests
CRM5003MX
Harm in the 21st Century
20 credits
This module explores the global challenges of harmful behaviours and activities in contemporary society by considering specific areas of concern for criminologists. By drawing on real-world examples in everyday life, the module examines how social problems and issues have arisen due to processes of globalisation that have changed the social, political and economic landscape of the 21st century.
100% Coursework
CRM5009MX
Crime, Harm and Culture
20 credits
The module aims to provide students with a critical appreciation of harm and crime by exploring relevant issues from film, television, music, fiction literature and art. By applying a criminological lens to different forms of popular culture, students will be able to examine a variety of media forms in terms of its content and its contemporary political, social and economic context using different theories and concepts.
100% Coursework
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff
32- 48
Contextual offers: Typically, the contextual offer for this course is 8 points below the advertised tariff. A contextual offer is an offer to study at university that takes into account individual circumstances that are beyond your control, and that can potentially impact your learning and your exam results, or your confidence in applying to university.
Don’t have 32–48 UCAS tariff points? We will consider ‘non-standard’ applications on a case-by-case basis.
A levels
Typical offer is 32 points from a minimum of two A levels.
Typical offer is 32 points from a minimum of two A levels.
18 Unit BTEC National Diploma/QCF Extended Diploma
PPP. Refer to tutor; however, a BTEC is usually only considered with another qualification, i.e., A level.
PPP. Refer to tutor; however, a BTEC is usually only considered with another qualification, i.e., A level.
International Baccalaureate
24 overall.
24 overall.
All Access courses
Pass a named Access to HE Diploma (preferably English, humanities or combined), including GCSE English and Mathematics grade C/4 or above or equivalent.
Pass a named Access to HE Diploma (preferably English, humanities or combined), including GCSE English and Mathematics grade C/4 or above or equivalent.
T levels
Pass in any subject.
Pass in any subject.
GCSE English
Grade C/4 or above. If your grade is lower than this, please refer to our Admissions team for further advice.
Grade C/4 or above. If your grade is lower than this, please refer to our Admissions team for further advice.
We are looking for applicants with good potential, including those with non-standard qualifications and backgrounds, so will consider every application on a case-by-case basis.
Get in touch with our friendly Admissions team on +44 (0)1752 585858 or email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
We welcome applicants with international qualifications. To view other accepted qualifications, please refer to our
tariff glossary.
Fees, costs and funding
| New student | 2024-2025 | 2025-2026 * |
|---|---|---|
| Home | £9,250 | £5,760 |
| International | £17,100 | £17,600 |
| Part time (Home) | £770 | £480 |
* UK Government announcement on tuition fees
On Monday 4 November 2024, the UK Government announced a proposal to increase tuition fees for home undergraduate students from £9,250 to £9,535 per annum from September 2025 onwards. The University of Plymouth intends to apply this new fee from September 2025. However, implementation of this increase will be subject to parliamentary procedure. This change applies to new students starting their studies in September 2025. For current and returning students, the University is reviewing fees and will update you as soon as possible.
Classroom-based Foundation years
On 4 November 2024, the UK Government announced a proposal to cap the home student fee for the Foundation year of this programme at £5,760, this will be applied from 1 August 2025. Subsequent years of this degree programme will be charged at the new standard rate for home undergraduate tuition fees of £9,535 per annum. Implementation of this increase will be subject to parliamentary procedure.
Additional costs
This course is delivered by the
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business
and more details of any additional costs associated with the faculty's courses are listed on the following page:
Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business additional costs
.
Undergraduate scholarships for international students
To reward outstanding achievement the University of Plymouth offers scholarship schemes to help towards funding your studies.
Tuition fees for optional placement years
The fee for all undergraduate students completing any part of their placement year in the UK in 2024/2025 is £1,850.
The fee for all undergraduate students completing their whole placement year outside the UK in 2024/2025 is £1,385.
How to apply
There are two ways to apply for the foundation course.
Route 1: applications can be made through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
UCAS will ask for the information contained in the box at the top of this course page including the UCAS course code and the institution code.
To apply for this course and for more information about submitting an application including application deadline dates through this route, please visit the UCAS website.
Route 2: non-standard applications. If you come with other qualifications and/or do not have 48 UCAS tariff points, please get in touch with our friendly admissions team on +44 (0)1752 585858 or email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
We will consider all applications on a case-by-case basis.
International students: Support is also available to overseas students applying to the University from our
International Office
.
Not quite got these qualifications, or you bring with you other relevant experience? We will consider ‘non-standard applications’.
Get in touch with our friendly admissions team on +44 (0)1752 585858 or email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
Route 1: applications can be made through UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service).
UCAS will ask for the information contained in the box at the top of this course page including the UCAS course code and the institution code.
To apply for this course and for more information about submitting an application including application deadline dates through this route, please visit the UCAS website.
Route 2: non-standard applications. If you come with other qualifications and/or do not have 48 UCAS tariff points, please get in touch with our friendly admissions team on +44 (0)1752 585858 or email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
We will consider all applications on a case-by-case basis.
International students: Support is also available to overseas students applying to the University from our
Not quite got these qualifications, or you bring with you other relevant experience? We will consider ‘non-standard applications’.
Get in touch with our friendly admissions team on +44 (0)1752 585858 or email us at admissions@plymouth.ac.uk.
Help & enquiries
- Admission enquiries
- admissions@plymouth.ac.uk
- +44 1752 585858
- PlymUniApply
Learning from experts, you'll have a wealth of resources at your fingertips
Expert-led
All modules are taught by specialists actively writing and researching in their fields – this award-winning research is embedded in their everyday teaching.
Fully supported
Access resources such as the Charles Seale-Hayne Library, specialist writing support from the Learning Gateway and Writing Cafe, and the archives at Plymouth's museum and art gallery, The Box.
Real-world skills
Focused course content allows you to narrow your specialisms while field trips and work-based learning ensure your skills are transferable to employment.
Plymouth's creative writing experience
New to creative writing or looking to expand your talents?
No matter the level of study you want to pursue – undergraduate, masters, PhD – the creative writing experience at Plymouth allows you to explore every possible aspect of writing.
Ready your writing for submission to the world. Discover your voice and refine your craft with our thrilling series of study opportunities.
Write your future
Take advantage of the many opportunities on offer to develop the knowledge and practical experience to succeed.
Options without limit
The broad variety of skills you will hone are highly valued in almost every field, giving you access to numerous career pathways.
Expand your horizons overseas
Experience other cultures and grow your network by studying or working abroad in either Europe or the US.
Become a published author
Gain invaluable experience with INK, our in-house magazine, building skills in everything from desktop publishing to editing and magazine journalism.
Preparing you for your future
Real-world workplace experience ensures our students are career ready upon graduation
We believe that real-world experience is central to success in today's job market. We focus on embedding experiential learning into our courses through our exciting partnerships with external organisations, offering students the opportunity to undertake internships, placements and volunteering.
Student internship experiences
Anniina, BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing student, completed two podcasting internships.
"An internship is eye-opening. I don’t have to just focus on books. I can use writing and research skills and go in a completely different direction with it."
Alisar, BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing student, facilitated reading and poetry workshops at a local residential home.
"I consider that books, poetry, writing and reading are undervalued disciplines and that their therapeutic value is yet to be understood."
Featured modules
Meet our experts
-
![Dr Mandy Bloomfield Associate Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature]( "Dr Mandy Bloomfield")
Dr Mandy Bloomfield
Associate Professor in Modern and Contemporary Literature
-
![Professor Anthony Caleshu Professor]( "Professor Anthony Caleshu")
Professor Anthony Caleshu
Professor
-
![Dr Rachel Christofides Associate Lecturer]( "Dr Rachel Christofides")
Dr Rachel Christofides
Associate Lecturer
-
![Dr Rosemarie Corlett Associate Lecturer]( "Dr Rosemarie Corlett")
Dr Rosemarie Corlett
Associate Lecturer
-
![Dr Russell Evans Associate Lecturer]( "Dr Russell Evans")
Dr Russell Evans
Associate Lecturer
-
![Dr Miriam Darlington Lecturer in English and Creative Writing]( "Dr Miriam Darlington")
Dr Miriam Darlington
Lecturer in English and Creative Writing
-
![Dr Karen Morton Associate Lecturer]( "Dr Karen Morton")
Dr Karen Morton
Associate Lecturer
-
![Dr Rosie Langridge Policy Engagement Officer]( "Dr Rosie Langridge")
Dr Rosie Langridge
Policy Engagement Officer
-
![Professor Dafydd Moore Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor]( "Professor Dafydd Moore")
Professor Dafydd Moore
Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor
-
![Dr Kathryn Napier Gray Associate Professor (Reader) in Early American Literature]( "Dr Kathryn Napier Gray")
Dr Kathryn Napier Gray
Associate Professor (Reader) in Early American Literature
-
![Dr Robin Peel Visiting Research Fellow]( "Dr Robin Peel")
Dr Robin Peel
Visiting Research Fellow
-
![Professor David Sergeant Professor of English Literature]( "Professor David Sergeant")
Professor David Sergeant
Professor of English Literature
-
![Dr Min Wild Honorary Research Fellow]( "Dr Min Wild")
Dr Min Wild
Honorary Research Fellow
In the media
Listen to Dr Miriam Darlington on BBC Radio 4 Natural Histories programme
Miriam describes the first time she ever saw an otter and shows Brett Westwood the paw prints on the banks of the River Dart
“The creative arts are a brilliant way for people to express feelings they might not be ready to talk about.
“Creative writing and painting are positive mediums to express my emotions. Poetry in particular helps process my experiences with masculinity and mental health.”
Discover how creative writing – in tandem with a rising reputation for painting – helps current BA (Hons) English and Creative Writing student Ieuan Holt express different pieces of himself.
