Study Creative Writing PhD at Bath Spa University in the UK, School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities

About this course

About this course
- Overview
- Department
Study options
Entry requirements
- International

What will I learn?

The PhD in Creative Writing combines a proposed manuscript (e.g. novel, short story collection, poems, playscript, narrative non-fiction, digital writing) with an element of supporting or contextualising research. The proposed creative manuscript will be volume length (the natural length of a book, depending on genre). The supporting research will be 20,000 words.The emphasis is not on creating two separate pieces of work, but on integration, on purposeful exploration through practice: an interdependent programme of contextual and practice-based creative work. Both sections of the PhD must contain work of publishable quality. In the case of the contextualising research, this might mean some of the material could be turned into an article for an academic journal, but this element of the PhD must contain original, rigorous research. Together - taken as a whole - the contextual and creative elements must make a new contribution to knowledge.

Which department am I in?

School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities

Study options

Full Time (2 Years)

Tuition fees

£16,625.00 (US$ 21,470) per year

This is a provisional fee yet to be approved

*Price shown is for indicative purposes, please check with institution

Start date

October 2026

Venue

Newton Park

Newton Park, Newton St Loe,

Bath,

Bath and North East Somerset,

BA2 9BN, Southern England, United Kingdom

Entry requirements

For international students

We would normally expect applicants for this programme to hold a first or upper second class honours degree (or equivalent), as well as an MA in Creative Writing with Distinction (or comparable achievement, such as an MFA in which the applicant averages A/A+). We certainly expect evidence of an exceptional level of creative writing achievements and experience, as well as the ability to engage in the supporting research. Our Creative Writing PhD students come from a variety of academic backgrounds, nationalities, and writing experiences, but what successful applicants have in common is enormous writing talent and potential, and the commitment and ability to engage critically with the contexts in which they write, and the processes and techniques they employ.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.