- Course search
Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
Please go to students and applicants to login
- Course search overview
MSt in Creative Writing
- Courses by subject overview
- Archaeology, Landscape History and Classics
- Biological Sciences
- Business and Entrepreneurship
- Creative Writing and English Literature
- Education Studies and Teaching
- Engineering and Technology
- History overview
- Holocaust Studies
- International Relations and Global Studies
- Leadership and Coaching overview
- Coaching FAQs
- Medicine and Health Sciences
- Philosophy, Ethics and Religion
- History of Art and Visual Culture
- Undergraduate Certificates & Diplomas overview
- Postgraduate Certificates & Diplomas overview
- Applying for a Master of Studies (MSt) or Postgraduate programme
- Part-time Master's Degrees overview
- What is a Master's Degree (MSt)?
- Apprenticeships
- Online Courses
- Data Science Career Accelerator overview
- Career Accelerators
- Cambridge Better Futures Programme
- Weekend Courses overview
- Student stories
- Booking terms and conditions
- International Summer Programme overview
- Accommodation overview
- Newnham College
- Queens' College
- Selwyn College
- St Catharine's College
- St John's College
- Tuition and accommodation fees
- Subject Streams
- Evaluation and academic credit
- Language requirements
- Visa guidance
- Make a Donation
- Register your interest
- Creative Writing Retreats
- Gift vouchers for courses overview
- Terms and conditions
- Financial Support overview
- Concessions
- External Funding
- Information for Students overview
- Student login and resources
- Earn your digital badge with Accredible
- Student Support
- Events overview
- Open Days/Weeks overview
- Masters Open Week 2024
- Medical Open Week 2025
- Postgraduate Open Day 2024 (Past)
- Undergraduate Open Day 2024 (Past)
- Lectures and Talks
- Cultural events
- In Your Own Words: Open Mic
- In Conversation with...
- International Events
- About Us overview
- Our Mission
- Our anniversary
- Academic staff
- Administrative staff
- Student stories overview
- Advanced Diploma
- Archaeology and Landscape History
- Architecture
- Classical Studies
- Creative Writing
- English Literature
- Leadership and Coaching
- Online courses
- Politics and International Studies
- Visual Culture
- Tell us your student story!
- News overview
- Madingley Hall overview
- Make a donation
- Digital Credentials
- Centre for Creative Writing overview
- Creative Writing Mentoring
- BBC Short Story Awards
- Latest News
- How to find us
- The Director's Welcome
The Master of Studies (MSt) in Creative Writing is designed for those who wish to develop high-level skills in creative writing both in fiction and non-fiction literatures. The MSt is taught over two years in short, intensive study blocks. It has been designed to be accessible to those in full or part-time employment and to international students.
Progression for students who have completed this course is provided in a number of ways: some students may use this course as a progression route into a PhD in Creative Writing or in English Literature at other Universities, or they could go on to study the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching Creative Writing at ICE.
Learn more about the course during our upcoming MSt Open Week, register here for the Creative Writing course information session on Wednesday 13th November.
Watch MSt students talk about their experience of the course »
You will be guided in the production of creative work in a range of genres and styles, and also in critical reflection on your own work and that of other writers. The course tutors and guest speakers are all established literary professionals.
Who is the course designed for?
The MSt aims to facilitate students' creative practice, whether for their own personal creative development as writers or because their professional work impinges on these areas.
Aims of the programme
By the end of the course students should have:
- Developed their own writing and self-editing skills in a range of fiction and non-fiction genres
- Developed a solid and substantial understanding of the history (in terms of innovative developments) of fiction and non-fiction writing and of critical, analytical and narrative theory
Teaching and learning
The MSt in Creative Writing is structured around four modules taught during year 1 of the course and a presentation module during year 2, each of which students must attend. In the first year, each of the four modules is preceded by guided preparatory reading and other activities, and followed by two writing assignments: one critical and one creative.
A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) offers learning support to students while they are on the programme, including learning resources, and peer-to-peer and student-to-tutor discussion between modules to build a virtual community of practice.
The first year is characterised by variety. Students will engage and experiment with a wide variety of genres, building on existing strengths and exploring unfamiliar territories.
Module 1: Writing for Readers: The Art of Poetry and the Craft of Criticism ( 22 - 25 September 2025 )
This module will combine close critical reading of selected examples of poetry and autobiographical prose with the writing of both by students.
Module 2: Writing fiction: Imagined Worlds (8 - 11 December 2025)
This module focuses on prose fiction, examining the relationship between memory, imagination and research and exploring the essential concerns of the fiction-writer, including plot and narrative, voice and character and the importance of place.
Module 3: Writing for performance: Monologue and Polyphonic Scripts (9 - 12 February 2026)
This module explores various forms of writing for an audience, encompassing writing for radio, theatre, television, cinema and other forms of scripted public address and performance.
Module 4: Writing life: Creative Non-Fiction (11 - 14 May 2026)
This module explores the concept of creative non-fiction and examines examples drawn from a range of sub-genres. These are likely to include biography, memoir, travel-writing and writing about the environment. Sessions on study and research skills will prepare students for Year 2. Visiting speakers for this module will include those from the world of publishing.
The second year is characterised by focus on a specialist genre. Students will work independently to explore further and develop their own literary and critical skills, resulting in an extended piece or portfolio of writing. They will work under the supervision of an expert in their chosen field with whom they will have regular contact.
Students will have five supervisions in the second year. Supervision dates will be arranged between students and supervisors (these can be face-to-face or via remote software). The fifth and final supervision will usually take place at around the time of the only module in the second year, the Presentation and Discussion of Portfolios to be held over two days in April 2027 (dates to be confirmed).
It is essential that students attend all modules on the dates given above as their ability to complete the course will be severely compromised by missing any of these.
Find out more
If you have any questions about this course, would like an informal discussion on academic matters before making your application, or would like to know more about the admissions process, please complete this enquiry form with your questions .
Following the first module, students will produce 750 words of poetry and a critical commentary of 3,000 words. For each of the following three modules students will produce 4,000 words of creative prose and a critical commentary of 3,000 words.
Students will produce a portfolio consisting of 15,000 words of creative prose (or an equivalent quantity of poems) and a 3,000-word critical commentary.
Students are given formal written feedback on their assignments and informal feedback throughout the course, including during tutorials and supervisions. Tutors produce a report for each student at the end of Year 1 and supervisors produce termly reports for each student during Year 2.
Expected academic standard
Applicants for this course will normally have achieved a good UK 2.i honours degree or overseas equivalent.
There is provision to accept non-standard applicants who do not satisfy the standard academic criterion. Such applicants must produce evidence of relevant and equivalent experience and their suitability for the course.
Language requirement
- IELTS Academic: Overall band score of 7.5 (with a minimum of 7.0 in each individual component)
- CAE: Grade A or B (with at least 193 in each individual element) plus a language centre assessment
- CPE: Grade A, B, or C (with at least 200 in each individual element)
- TOEFL iBT: Overall score of at least 110 with no element below 25
The fees for 2025 will be £9817.50 per annum for Home students (total Home course fee across the 2 years being £19,635.00) and £19,635.00 per annum for EU/Overseas students (total EU/Overseas course fee across the 2 years being £39,270). The combined graduate fee includes college membership. The fee can be paid in eight equal instalments. Students on this course can apply to Downing , Lucy Cavendish , Selwyn , St Edmund's , or Wolfson . Please note there are only a limited number of college places available for this course at Downing and Selwyn Colleges so please indicate a second choice of college on your application form if you are selecting either as your first choice.
Students will be expected to cover the application fee (£50 online), accommodation whilst in Cambridge and any costs of travel to Cambridge. Please note that, although you will be a member of a college, you will not be entitled to college accommodation.
ICE fees and refunds policy
For information on a loan from Student Finance England for course fees and a contribution towards living costs, please see https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/info/student-loans
Applications will be accepted online until Wednesday 15th January 2025 . Interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held in late February/early March either in person or by remote software if candidates are unable to attend in person. Candidates will be contacted to arrange convenient times during the previous week.
You are required to provide supporting documents as part of your application.
Please ensure that you have your CV, writing sample, research proposal and personal statement ready before you start your application, as they will be submitted as part of the application form and cannot be submitted later.
Apply online when you are ready to start the application process. Please read the attached file "Supporting documents required for application" which gives more details about the supporting documents required as part of your application.
Visa requirements
Student visa sponsorship is not offered for this course. International students who do not already hold a UK visa or immigration status that permits study may enter the UK as a visitor in order to attend teaching sessions.
The visitor immigration route is used to support students on part-time courses longer than 6 months where the majority of time is spent outside the UK and attendance in Cambridge is only required for short teaching sessions. To meet the requirements of holding this immigration status for study purposes, students are expected not to remain in the UK for extended periods of time. It is not possible as a visitor on a course of more than 6 months to make the UK your main study location or residence or make frequent or successive visits to stay in the UK for extended periods.
Please read the information about Visas for International Students
How often do the MSt courses run? All of the MSt programmes in the Creative Writing portfolio currently have an annual intake.
Is the course taught online, or is it possible to complete the course by distance-learning? The MSt is not a distance-learning course. You will be required to attend teaching sessions in Cambridge.
Can I complete the course on a full-time basis in one year? No, the MSt is only available as a two-year, part-time course.
How many applications do you receive in relation to places available per year? This varies between programmes and depending on the year. For the 2024 cohort of the MSt in Creative Writing there were roughly 4 applications for each place being offered.
How many references are required? We require two references. References need to be submitted from professional e-mail addresses, so please ensure that you enter the relevant details into the online application form.
What kind of references should I provide? We prefer academic references from people who, if at all possible, are able to comment on your writing skills and experience, and your ability to study at Master’s level.
What happens if I am not able to provide academic references? We can accept professional references.
Can I nominate an ICE tutor as my referee? Yes, you may nominate an ICE tutor to act as your referee.
How long should the Personal Statement be? As a guide, we suggest that the Personal Statement is 500-1000 words long. We would ask you not to exceed 1000 words. An ability to write to a specific word count is an important part of studying at Master’s level as it is in the life of a professional writer!
Is there an advantage to submitting my application early? No, all applications will be considered together after the closing date of the course. While there is no advantage to submitting your application early, we would recommend you do not leave submission until the last minute to avoid any technical difficulties.
What is the time commitment outside of the teaching modules? The teaching teams can provide more specific guidance about what is expected but there is a difference in focus between year 1 and year 2 of each course. Year 1 is based around blocks of teaching and shorter assignments whilst year 2 is the dissertation year where students work on their dissertations with regular individual supervisions.
Can I attend modules on one of the other MSt in creative writing programmes? No, you will only be able to access the teaching sessions that form part of the MSt course onto which you are admitted.
What happens outside of the taught modules? You will be reading extensively and working on assignments, the details of which will be given to you at the end of each module. You will also be encouraged to engage with tutors and fellow students via the course’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) platform.
Can I apply for multiple courses? Yes, you are welcome to submit applications for more than one course, although you would not normally be permitted to undertake more than one MSt at the same time. You are recommended to apply for the course that is most suited to your interests and skills.
Can I use the same referees and writing samples for each separate application? Yes, providing they meet the criteria set out for each application within the Supporting documents file (available on the website).
Can I complete more than one MSt? Although you are welcome to apply for and complete a second MSt course in a subsequent year, it should be noted that you cannot be awarded more than one MSt from the University of Cambridge.
Do I need to have studied creative writing beforehand? You do not need to have previously studied creative writing; however, you would be expected to demonstrate an interest in creative writing and you will be required to provide recent samples of writing as part of your application.
Will I become a College member and do I need to pay College fees? Yes, all of our MSt programmes are matriculated courses meaning that College membership is a requirement. At the time of applying, you will be asked to specify your College preference from a list provided. College places are limited and we liaise with Colleges on your behalf. College fees are included in your course fees.
Will I meet publishers and agents? Yes, there will be opportunity to meet with publishers and agents. During each of the intensive 4-day modules you will have opportunity to hear from numerous guest speakers on a variety of topics and from a variety of genres.
Course dates
Course duration, academic director.
Academic Directors, Course Directors and Tutors are subject to change, when necessary.
Qualifications / Credits
Course code.
Institute of Continuing Education Madingley Hall Madingley Cambridge CB23 8AQ
Find us Contact us
Useful information
- Jobs and other opportunities
- Gift vouchers
- Student policies
- Privacy policy
- Data protection policy
- General terms and conditions
Connect with us
© 2024 University of Cambridge
- University A-Z
- Contact the University
- Accessibility
- Freedom of information
Study at Cambridge
- Undergraduate
- Postgraduate
- International students
- Continuing education
- Executive and professional education
- Courses in education
About the University
- How the University and Colleges work
- Visiting the University
- Giving to Cambridge
Research at Cambridge
- Spotlight on...
- About research at Cambridge
Study at Cambridge
About the university, research at cambridge.
- For Cambridge students
- For our researchers
- Business and enterprise
- Colleges and Departments
- Give to Cambridge
- Museums and collections
- Events and open days
- Fees and finance
- Postgraduate courses
- How to apply
- Fees and funding
- Postgraduate events
- International students
- Continuing education
- Executive and professional education
- Courses in education
- How the University and Colleges work
- Visiting the University
- Annual reports
- Equality and diversity
- A global university
- Public engagement
Cambridge launches first Creative Writing degree
The University of Cambridge’s first Master of Studies (MSt) in Creative Writing will explore the art of writing in all its many forms and guises, not just novel writing, according to Course Director Dr Sarah Burton.
There is always an element of writing that is almost inexplicable – that’s the magical element that can’t be taught – that’s what the student brings. Sarah Burton
The two-year, part-time course, run by the Institute of Continuing Education and developed in conjunction with the Faculty of English, begins in October 2013 with applications for entry closing at the end of this month (March).
But rather than focusing purely on fiction and creative non-fiction, the MSt in Creative Writing will also take in political speechwriting, radio essays, stand-up comedy and polyphonic scripts for stage, screen and radio.
Students will also learn the art of the short story, flash fiction, writing for children, as well as poetry, literary non-fiction, criticism, reviews, and travel writing in the first year of study.
Guest speakers are likely to include Wendy Cope, Michael Holroyd and comedian Stewart Lee.
Dr Burton said: “The MSt has been carefully designed to fit around people’s busy lives with intensive residential study pods strategically placed across the two years to enable the fullest participation. The first year will cover a wide range of genres and styles to encourage our writers to develop versatility through experimentation with new forms – while there is the chance to focus on a specialist strength, under expert supervision, in their second year.
“Writing for children is often neglected and this course is unique in offering a relationship with a local school where ideas can be developed and workshopped with a live audience.”
Successful applicants to the course will become members of one of three Cambridge colleges (Wolfson, St Edmund’s and Lucy Cavendish) and will join the wider graduate community with full access to the facilities of the University.
Dr David Frost, Tutor for Part-Time Students at Wolfson College, said: “I am very excited at the prospect of Creative Writing students becoming members of our college. We are already a vibrant postgraduate community which includes professionals such as journalists, lawyers, teachers, doctors and architects as well as researchers in the arts and the sciences. We would really love to add writers to this mix.”
Another unusual feature of the course is that in the first year critical writing is formally assessed, but creative writing is not.
Added Dr Burton: “Extensive feedback will be given on creative writing, but we are removing the pressures of formal marking, freeing students to allow themselves to develop and extend their skills by having permission to experiment, rather than fall back on what they already do well. This encourages ambitious and original, rather than conservative and ‘safe’, writing.”
The course tutors and guest speakers are all established literary professionals. Year one consists of four modules, which take place in October, December, February and June: Finding Voices, Writing for Readers, Writing for Performance and Non-fiction. A four-day residency of intensive workshops, seminars and lectures forms the core of each module.
The second year of study, in which students work more independently on their chosen genre, features two more short residential sessions at Madingley Hall and students will write a thesis in the form of a portfolio of creative and critical writing.
“The question of whether you can teach anyone to write is a valid one, and of course you can’t make anyone a writer,” Dr Burton added. “However, you can nurture raw talent, help nascent writers find their own voices and offer the sort of advice and counsel that writers have historically offered each other informally (Charles Lamb’s advice to Coleridge to ‘cultivate simplicity’ is a great example) in a structured and methodical way. There are more efficient routes to improving your writing than trying to work out, all on your own, how to create certain effects. But it’s by no means a science. There is always an element of writing that is almost inexplicable – that’s the magical element that can’t be taught – that’s what the student brings.”
Further details on course fees, entry and visa requirements are available at the ICE website .
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence . If you use this content on your site please link back to this page.
Read this next
John Milton's notes identified in an influential book he once owned
Murder by the Book: a celebration of 20th century British crime fiction
The poetry scholar, the Black Atlantic and the Trembling Hand
Memes-field Park? ‘Digital natives’ are flirting with Jane Austen’s vision of the ideal man all over again
Credit: words words words by Chris Blakeley
Search news
Sign up to receive our newsletter.
The University's news digest summarises news and features from across the University of Cambridge into one weekly email. Enter your email address, confirm you are happy to receive our emails and then select 'Subscribe'.
I wish to receive the University's news digest by email.
The University of Cambridge will use your email address to send you our University news digest email once each week. We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about what information we hold. Please read our email privacy notice for details.
- English literature
- creative writing
- non-fiction
- Sarah Burton
- David Frost
- Institute of Continuing Education
- Faculty of English
- Wolfson College
- Lucy Cavendish College
- St Edmund's College
- School of Arts and Humanities
Find out more
Connect with us.
© 2024 University of Cambridge
- Contact the University
- Accessibility statement
- Freedom of information
- Privacy policy and cookies
- Statement on Modern Slavery
- Terms and conditions
- University A-Z
- Undergraduate
- Postgraduate
- Cambridge University Press & Assessment
- Research news
- About research at Cambridge
- Spotlight on...