Overview

Explore creative and critical practices and be inspired by the award-winning writers and the bustling literary scene on campus and in Birmingham.

Develop your creative and critical practice, whether you're looking for the right environment to work on an extended writing project or want to conduct practice-based research to prepare for an academic career with this Creative Writing doctorate degree from University of Birmingham .

Career opportunities

By the end of this PhD, you'll complete a creative piece of publishable quality and possess knowledge of where your writing sits in a wider literary context, which will be useful when pitching your work to agents and publishers.

What's more, you'll be supported by academics who are published authors pushing the boundaries of form. Their personal knowledge of the publishing industry, such as relevant publishing presses for short stories and poetry, will help you navigate the industry during and after the PhD.

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Programme Structure

Curriculum:

For prose: you’ll produce a creative document of either long-form prose/a novel, or a collection of short-form prose/stories supported by a critical paper. The total word count will be between 80,000 and 100,000 words. A novel is usually between 60,000 to 80,000 words with a critical paper of 20,000 to 40,000 words.

For poetry: you’ll produce a creative document of collected poems or a single work of poetry supported by a critical thesis (usually 20,000-50,000 words).

For scriptwriting (film or live performance): you’ll produce a single project or a collection of multiple shorts, which should be a similar length to the prose word counts, again with an accompanying critical element between 20,000 to 40,000 words.

Other creative formats (for example a script for a graphic novel) will follow the above model/weightings.

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Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 36 months
Part-time
- 72 months
- Flexible

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-09-28 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-06-01 00:00:00
Starting 2027-01-11 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-12-18 00:00:00 , National
- Apply before 2026-10-30 00:00:00 , International

More details

If you are submitting your own research proposal, applications are accepted all year round, but if you wish to start in September, you should apply by 1 June.

Language

English

TOEFL^® IBT

88

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PTE Academic

67

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IELTS

6.5

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Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

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AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Delivered

On Campus, Online

Campus Location

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Disciplines

Creative Writing View 60 other PhDs in Creative Writing in United Kingdom

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Academic requirements

We are not aware of any specific GRE, GMAT or GPA grading score requirements for this programme.

English requirements

TOEFL^® IBT

88

Schedule TOEFL®

PTE Academic

67

Schedule a PTE test!

IELTS

6.5

Prepare for Your English Test

Cathoven AI IELTS Preparation

Learn your IELTS Score

AI-powered IELTS feedback. Clear, actionable, and tailored to boost your writing & speaking score. No credit card or upfront payment required.

Trusted by 300k learners
98 accuracy using real exam data
4.9/5 student rating

Other requirements

General requirements

We can only consider applicants who have successfully completed an MA in Creative Writing, or applicants who can demonstrate extensive professional experience (which includes publishing).

You'll need to clearly detail your academic / professional experience in your application and outline how the research project relates to your current creative practice.

Make sure you meet all requirements

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Tuition Fees

Tuition fees are shown in and the most likely applicable fee is shown based on your nationality.

International Applies to you

Applies to you

Non-residents

23390 GBP / year

≈ 23390 GBP / year
Domestic Applies to you

Applies to you

Citizens or residents

5181 GBP / year

≈ 5181 GBP / year

Additional Details

UK: £2,591 part-time

International: £11,695 part-time

Living costs

Birmingham

United Kingdom

765 - 1134 GBP / month

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

Check for any work restrictions

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Creative Writing.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

About

Overview

Career opportunities

Get more details

Programme Structure

Check out the full curriculum

Key information

Duration

Start dates & application deadlines

Language

Prepare for Your English Test

Delivered

Campus Location

Disciplines

Explore more key information

What students do after studying

Academic requirements

English requirements

Prepare for Your English Test

Other requirements

General requirements

Make sure you meet all requirements

Tuition Fees

International Applies to you

Domestic Applies to you

Additional Details

Living costs

Birmingham

Funding

Check for any work restrictions

Scholarships Information

Available Scholarships

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