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Literature and Creative Writing at UEA
Find out more about studying Literature and Creative Writing at UEA, and browse our other courses.
Find out moreMA Modern and Contemporary Writing
Key details
- Attendance
- Full Time
- Award
- Degree of Master of Arts
- Course Length
- 1 year
- Course Start Date
- September 2027
Course options
Other Start Dates
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Other Start Dates
101-150 QS Rank
Worldwide for English Language and Literature
QS World University Rankings by Subject 2024Course Overview
Why MA Modern and Contemporary Writing at UEA?
At UEA, you’ll study in a place that has helped shape contemporary literature. Based in Norwich, England’s first UNESCO City of Literature(opens in a new window), you’ll explore modern literature from its 19th-century origins to the present day.
Why choose UEA
- Home of literature: Join an exciting creative community that has nurtured writers like Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McEwan, and Anne Enright
- Expert teaching: Learn from specialists in 20th- and 21st-century writing, including innovative approaches like creative criticism
- Literary community: Explore the British Archive for Contemporary Writing and attend literary events such as UEA Live
What is MA Modern and Contemporary Writing?
Study literary modernism in all its inventive forms, alongside writing that powerfully speaks to our present moment. You may choose to explore topics such as writing and play, hybrid forms, translation, or global fiction. You’ll explore the boundaries between invention and analysis, between creation and translation, and broaden your literary and imaginative horizons.
Seminars will immerse you in deep discussions about literary texts and critical concepts. They might also surprise you with creative-critical experiments or excursions to uncover archival materials. As part of a vibrant postgraduate community, you’ll rub shoulders with writers and literary translators at the forefront of contemporary writing.
Whether you wish to develop your literary interests or pursue a career in publishing or the arts, this MA supports your goals. It’ll help you grow as a reader, writer, and thinker, and also prepare you for doctoral study.
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Careers
Career Pathways
With a MA Modern and Contemporary Writing degree, you could launch a career as a:
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Publishing Professional: Many of our graduates build successful careers across publishing, including in editing, marketing, and publicity
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Academic: The MA will enable you to progress to PhD study in literature at UEA or elsewhere, helping you establish yourself as an independent researcher
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Communications, Advertising or PR Professional: With the communication and analytic skills this MA provides, and the ability to assess cultural trends, you’ll be able to launch a successful career in communications(opens in a new window), advertising,(opens in a new window) or PR
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Journalist: The skills you’ll develop in reading, writing, and research can lead into a career in journalism across a range of print, broadcast, and digital platforms
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Professional in the Arts or GLAM-sector (galleries, libraries, archives and museums): You’ll be well placed to become a powerful advocate for the arts, promoting public access and engagement
Career Support
Throughout the course, you’ll develop advanced skills in reading, analysis, writing, research, verbal communication, creativity, and collaboration, establishing a professional foundation for a host of fulfilling career paths. Opportunities to volunteer or undertake internships with the UEA Publishing Project,(opens in a new window) the British Archive for Contemporary Writing,(opens in a new window) or partner organisations like the National Centre for Writing(opens in a new window) will give you the chance to apply your skills and knowledge and gain hands-on industry experience. You’ll also benefit from our annual careers event Working with Words(opens in a new window) and the support of UEA’s award-winning Career Central(opens in a new window).
After the Course
On completion of the course, you'll have grown immeasurably as a reader and advocate of literature. You’ll be well positioned to pursue your literary, intellectual, and professional ambitions. Graduates from the MA have established themselves as writers, academics, publishing professionals, teachers, creative industry leaders, and advertising and communications professionals, among other roles.
Study and Modules
Structure
The MA Modern and Contemporary Writing course takes one year of full-time study.
In the first semester, you’ll study the extraordinary modernist experiments of the early decades of the 20th century and their living legacy. You’ll read works by the likes of James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Nella Larsen, and Hope Mirrlees, exploring their texts in the context of key social developments and cultural discourses that shaped the age of modernity, including psychoanalysis, the rise of cinema, and ethnography. Alongside this, you’ll explore the exciting breadth of contemporary writing: from experimental novels to queer poetry, and from dystopian screenplays to creative non-fiction about the Anthropocene.
You'll build on this work jn the spring semester, choosing two out of a range of modules, which are critical, creative-critical, or more purely creative. Some modules will give you a chance to study the latest global fiction as it moves across languages. On others, you’ll explore the origins of postmodernist writers such as Pynchon, Muldoon, and Borges in modernist and pre-modernist writers, such as Dostoevsky, Joyce, and Kafka. You might also study hybrid writing, which boldly queers literary forms and conventional modes of expression. Additional options include place writing, queer theory, adaptation, translation, or essayism.
Throughout the year, methodology seminars will help you build core research skills in preparation for the dissertation project.
The programme concludes with a dissertation on a topic of your choice. Supported by an expert supervisor, you’ll develop your project over the summer, submitting it in September.
Compulsory Modules
Optional A Modules
(Min Credits: 20, Max Credits: 40)Optional B Modules
(Min Credits: 0, Max Credits: 20)Important Information
Whilst the University will make every effort to offer the modules listed, changes may sometimes be made arising from the annual monitoring, review and update of modules. Where this activity leads to significant (but not minor) changes to programmes and their constituent modules, the University will endeavour to consult with students and others. It is also possible that the University may not be able to offer a module for reasons outside of its control, such as the illness of a member of staff. In some cases optional modules can have limited places available and so you may be asked to make additional module choices in the event you do not gain a place on your first choice. Where this is the case, the University will inform students.
Teaching and Learning, and Assessment
Teaching and Learning
Teaching on most modules takes the shape of a weekly three-hour seminar focused on discussions guided by an expert tutor. On occasion, seminars might also take you on excursions to the British Archive for Contemporary Writing, or to work with the world-famous collection of the Sainsbury Centre(opens in a new window).
You’ll also meet your tutors for one-to-one tutorials, where you’ll discuss and receive feedback on your work-in-progress. In addition, you’ll be invited to attend research seminars, talks, and symposia organised by the Literature department, giving you a chance to immerse yourself in cutting-edge research.
Outside of the classroom, you’ll independently complete regular preparatory reading and research, and work on your written assignments.
Assessment
Each of your modules will be assessed by written work, which, depending on the module, will be critical, creative, or creative-critical. For most modules, you’ll test your knowledge and practical skills in practice (formative) assignments before your summative assessments, which count towards your final grades. You’ll discuss your formative feedback with your tutors to support your development.
Most modules will culminate in the submission of summative work. The final dissertation will cover a topic entirely of your choice. Your dissertation may be critical or creative-critical, but not wholly creative. Its development will be supported by one-to-one meetings with your supervisor.
Entry Requirements
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical UK Entry Requirements
Degree classification
Bachelors degree - 2.1
Degree Subject
Literary or Humanities
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
- This course is open to
UK and International fee-paying students. Choose UK or International above to see relevant information. The entry point is in September each year.
- Typical International Entry Requirements
Degree classification
UK Bachelors degree - 2.1 or equivalent
Degree Subject
Literary or Humanities
- English Foreign Language
Applications from students whose first language is not English are welcome. We require evidence of proficiency in English (including writing, speaking, listening and reading):
IELTS: 7 overall (minimum 7 in Writing, 6 in Speaking, Reading and Listening)
We also accept a number of other English language tests. Review our English Language Equivalencies for a list of example qualifications that we may accept to meet this requirement.
Test dates should be within two years of the course start date.
If you do not meet the English language requirements for this course, our UEA International Study Centre offers a variety of English language programmes which are designed to help you develop the required English skills.
- Admissions Policy
Our Admissions Policy applies to the admissions of all postgraduate applicants.
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Fees and Funding
Tuition fees for the Academic Year 2027/28 are:
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UK Students: £11,200
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International Students: £23,580
If you choose to study part-time, the fee per annum will be half the annual fee for that year, or a pro-rata fee for the module credit you are taking (only available for Home students).
We estimate living expenses at £1,171 per month.
Further Information on tuition fees can be found here(opens in a new window).
Scholarships and Bursaries
The University of East Anglia offers a range of Scholarships(opens in a new window); please click the link for eligibility, details of how to apply and closing dates.
Course Related Costs
Please see additional course fees(opens in a new window) for details of course-related costs.
How to Apply
How to apply
Applications for Postgraduate Taught programmes at the University of East Anglia should be made directly to the University.
To apply please use our online application form(opens in a new window).
Further information
If you would like to discuss your individual circumstances prior to applying, please do contact us:
Postgraduate Admissions Office
Tel: +44 (0)1603 591515
Email: admissions@uea.ac.uk(opens in a new window)
International candidates are also encouraged to access the International Students(opens in a new window) section of our website.