Creative and Professional Writing BA Hons

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Course Summary

Creative and Professional Writing offers you the opportunity to develop an in-depth and sophisticated understanding of the role of effective storytelling in today’s world. It provides you with a wide range of experiences and skill sets relevant to a range of disciplines within the creative industries. This includes different forms of creative and journalistic writing, creating content for various platforms like publishing, editing, production, broadcast and social media.

Central to our approach is the emphasis we place on thinking critically about your practice and its relationship to key theoretical concepts throughout. The different ways of telling stories and engaging with audiences are constantly changing, which is reflected in our degree.

Consequently, you will develop a wide range of relevant skills throughout your time with us, with a particular focus placed on becoming adaptable and sustainable communicators. To this end, the skills we teach include research, story construction and production in both visual and audio formats, such as podcasting.

Furthermore, key transferable skills, such as written and oral communication form the foundational basis of the course. This means that, upon graduation, you will not only be a fully-rounded creative professional but one who can make an instant and lasting impact on whatever area of the industry you choose to pursue a career in.

This course will provide you with skills that will prepare you for the role of:

a journalist
content creator
producer
publisher
or freelance professional writer.

All members of our team have an extensive range of experience in professional storytelling and creative media, including journalism, copywriting and creative writing.

Why You'll Love It

Gain creative and technical skills

Opportunity to challenge yourself

New experiences

Female student holding her mobile phone taking a selfie with two other girls in the background

What You'll Study

The course contains several optional modules which include areas such as publishing, digital media skills, social media, design, sustainability, opportunities to explore the broader socio-political and cultural contexts that creative and professional writing operates within.

By the end of each year you will have completed 120 credits of learning.

At Level 4, you are introduced to industry-embedded practice, including basic storytelling techniques, digital production skills and critical reflection.

Modules

This module will introduce you to the skills, knowledge and experiences which are foundational to the theory and practice of journalism. You'll learn to find newsworthy stories and interview the people behind them.

Newswriting is a very specific form, bound by established rules and principles. You'll learn how to write news in exactly the same way professional reporters do.

You'll also be introduced to the core aspects of multimedia production; for example, the basics of video and audio, which you'll develop much further later in your degree,

As well as starting your news storytelling journey, you'll pursue content specific to your pathway and interests, whether that's writing about sport, music, culture, politics, fashion, entertainment - there are such a huge range of stories waiting to be told.

You'll be taught how to make your content legally safe and ethically secure, helping prepare you for a potential future in professional reporting, so that from the very outset of your practical reporting you are abiding by news industry standards.

This module is all about you and your fellow students breaking news and telling stories in real time. Getting the news out to set deadlines and real audiences across a variety of media platforms, including the Chester Student Media website and the Chester Student Radio station.

You'll be working on real-time live newsdays, during which you'll be required to source stories, undertake research, interview people in the city (and maybe beyond!).

You'll deploy all the methods of reporting you've acquired in the Introduction to Storytelling module (CS4200). These highly transferable skills include writing for different media platforms, interviewing, photography, as well as basic approaches to audio and video storytelling. You'll also need to put into practice the legal and ethical knowledge you've acquired, to make sure that your published or broadcast content won't land you in any trouble.

This will enable you to gain confidence and experience in multimedia reporting and content production which will prepare you for the wider variety of stories you'll produce, and the more complicated multimedia techniques you'll learn, during your second year, at level five.

You now have the opportunity to pick an optional module to learn a new language or build on your existing language skills as part of your degree. You can choose:

Subsidiary Language for Beginners (choice of German, Italian or Spanish)
French: Intermediate Language Development
Spanish: Intermediate Language Development
Chinese: Intermediate Language Development
German: Communication in Practice
French: Communication in Practice
Spanish: Communication in Practice

The information listed in this section is an overview of the academic content of the course that will take the form of either core or option modules and should be used as a guide. We review the content of our courses regularly, making changes where necessary to improve your experience and graduate prospects. If during a review process, course content is significantly changed, we will contact you to notify you of these changes if you receive an offer from us.

Level 5 builds on these further with more developed applications integrating advanced critical thinking around relevant issues.

Modules

Production skills:

You'll develop further skills in newswriting, reporting and video production.
You'll shoot and edit using broadcast industry-standard hardware and software.
You'll get your creative content out to an audience online and on social media.
You'll build on what you learned at level four and introduce more specialised skills, telling stories with video, photography and podcasts.
You'll learn how to tell your stories, and gain an audience, using television, online and social media platforms.

Feature writing:

You'll learn to write engaging features good enough to capture a wide audience of 'real world' readers.
You'll take inspiration from the great feature-writers; writing about society, politics, sport, music, culture, and more.
You'll put into practice deeper, more immersive storytelling skills.
You'll investigate specialist feature-writers, niche genres and audiences.
You'll build a portfolio demonstrating your skills in different forms of feature-writing, including profiles, news features, reviews and opinion pieces.
You'll learn how to produce exciting photofeatures, capturing the world around you in striking photographs and captions.

This module is designed to provide you with a detailed understanding of flash fiction - short-short stories of no more than 360 words. You will look at a wide range of flashes: 13-worders, 55-worders, 100-worders, 150-worders, and 360-worders. In seminars, you will present your own flashes for workshopping, with a view to you compiling your own original collection. You will also learn about publishing your flashes in online and print magazines.

This module offers a stimulating and practical introduction to the contemporary book-publishing industry. Its purpose is: (1) to equip aspiring writers with knowledge that will help them to get their own work published and potentially to earn income as a writer; (2) to provide insight that will advantage those considering a career or freelance work in publishing; and (3) to develop relevant professional writing skills that are also transferable to other occupations.

This module will examine the historical development of journalism and locate this within the wider social, economic and political context.

Central to the module is an analytical approach which seeks to contextualise the emergence of modern journalistic practice within wider developments in technology.

The emergence of media globalisation, social media and 'citizen journalism' will be examined and placed in historical context, with an emphasis on the international nature of such developments. Particular consideration will be taken of both the profession outside the 'anglosphere' and the developmental role of journalism: a comparative approach will therefore be taken.

The module provides students with an opportunity to undertake a 140-hour work placement*. This placement is complemented by a number of school-delivered sessions designed to develop their employability, professional practice, and students' understanding of their career options. Students learn to reflect on the nature of creativity within their studies, and gain awareness of how this is valued and relevant in modern workplaces.

*in some cases, evidence of considerable relevant graduate-level work experience may be accepted as an alternative to completion of the stipulated placement.

This module will provide you with the practical and theoretical underpinning of professional practice in your specific subject, enabling you to identify and develop key employability attributes and skills in preparation for your future career.

You will spend several weeks working collaboratively with other students across the School for the Creative Industries on one major project or several smaller projects in a professional ‘simulated real world’ working environment. Projects will be contemporary, topical, externally focussed and often involve partnership with outside agencies. The module will provide you with opportunities for immersive learning and the chance to apply your knowledge in real-world contexts.

This module considers popular music, and more specifically popular music journalism, by interrogating the way it intersects with society more broadly, and the cultural, and contemporary, concerns and contingencies of our society.

This module then draws on the processes of discourse analysis to consider how writers have stated their cases persuasively. In particular, it critically examines how discourses such as romanticism or authenticity - or cultural topics such as identity, sexuality, race or gender - shape classic and contemporary journalistic accounts that discuss performers, recordings or genres.

Building on Level 4's introductory approach to concerns of music journalism and music journalists, this module will now drill down to examine particular pieces of music journalism in much more forensic depth, looking for where these seams of cultural concern might lie within these texts.

This makes the module interdisciplinary. It is about popular music journalism, but that cannot be separate from the place of popular music culture in society.

It is also a more theoretical and academic stepping stone for your more in-depth studies at Level 6. For instance, you may find a particular writer, or discourse, that you want to research over the course of a dissertation. Similarly, you may find an intersection - such as that between popular music and gender - that you want to explore over an extended project such as a dissertation or podcast series.

The module, and its assessment, is therefore designed for you to work with music, music journalists, and contemporary cultural matters that interest you. It thereby builds on your studies at Level 4, and helps prepare you for your more in-depth work at Level 6.

This module enables the students to consider their own work and careers in the context of the historical shape of popular music journalism, from the 1950s and the birth of rock & roll, through to the key changes in popular music, and its perennial accomplice - the music media.

For instance, in a historical context, the module with move through cultural time periods such as rock & roll and the 1960s counterculture, considering subcultures such as punk and the rave scene. It will also further develop our knowledge of key music titles such as Rolling Stone in the USA, or inkies such as NME in the UK. It will also involve considerations of popular music on broadcast mediums such as radio and TV, and also how popular music is critiqued and covered in our current digital landscape.

Stepping up from the more introductory nature of Level 4, the module now examines how music journalism has developed over time, by highlighting the historical contingencies that have shaped the role and function of the music critic, by investigating key writers in more depth.

The module offers you the chance to explore popular music, and popular music media, through these decades, with a focus on the specific and varying demands of live performance, and recorded, music reviews.

Having stimulated reflection on historical perspectives, key writers and different media forms, the module then asks you to bring all of that knowledge into the production of your own music journalism pieces, with a view to publication on Chester Student Media.

Further working with media production software and techniques, this work will also improve your ability to produce music journalism and media artefacts, with a view to your more involved and advanced work at Level 6.

This module will give you the opportunity to consider sports literature in context. Sport has always lent itself to a literary approach and we will consider multiple case studies from biography through to reportage through to fictionalised takes on the world of sport.

These case studies will take a global approach, from Argentina to Japan, and sports as diverse as cycling, football, rugby and golf.

Literature can shape our perception and understanding of sport and its relationship to wider culture.

The links between sport and society, nation, race, gender and social class is critically important. Sport is a central part of our culture and this module allows you to explore this through the rich history of sports literature.

In this module you will reflect on the role of sports journalists in wider society. Sport, society and culture are increasingly intertwined and we will look at how sports journalism has developed through to the present, and how it is developing in relation to the wider media landscape.

You will also cover aspects of critical theory looking at how sport covers issues such as race, class and gender, as well as the relationship between sports and national identity in various different contexts.

Overall the module seeks to connect the acquisition of practical skills to a wider cognitive and critical approach, focusing on issues such as narrative frameworks, news values, and journalistic discourse.

The Level 5, 40-credit modules require a basic foundation of knowledge of your chosen language e.g. GCSE or equivalent, a Level 4 module in the same language or equivalent previous learning. This module includes an optional placement abroad, such as an intensive course at a partner university. You can choose:

Advanced Language Development and Global Sustainability (choice of German, French or Spanish)
Upper Intermediate Language Development and Global Employability (choice of Chinese, French or Spanish)
Post Beginner Language Development and Global Cultures (choice of German, Italian or Spanish)

At Level 6, you will integrate expertise in practice, theory and real-world experiences ensuring they achieve industry-standard competencies and are curious and prepared for employment.

Modules

This module will extend the student’s experience of journalistic practice developed thus far, and consolidate and deepen any experience gained during their career to date, culminating in the production of exciting and engaging artefacts which may include, magazines, podcasts, short-form documentaries and multimedia - all produced to the standards expected of high-quality, real-world media content.

This module is designed to give you a detailed understanding of the process of planning, writing and editing a novel. You will consider issues such as character, setting, story, plot and genre. In seminars, you will present your own writing for workshopping with a view to producing the opening chapter(s) of your novel. You will also learn about approaching literary agents and publishers.

This module is designed to give you a detailed understanding of the process of planning, writing, editing and submitting a script. You will explore a range of scripts and books on script writing to gain an understanding of developing character through action and conflict, and you will learn how to write convincing dialogue. In seminars, you will present scenes for reading through, to receive feedback that you can use to improve your script. You will also learn about the correct formatting for stage and screenplays, with a view to submitting your script to a producer.

The mediatized nature of modern conflict and its effects on public opinion is one of the most crucial topics shaping the world. The relationship between social media and objective journalism is key to any understanding of the world and this module will give you the opportunity to explore it further.

The links between the media, the public and political opinion affect all of us, and we will take an international and comparative approach to the topic.

The nature of objectivity, agenda setting and the audience in the post-web world will be examined in conjunction with reflections on the history of propaganda and the communication of ideas. Public crises and global news events, real-time news coverage and other topical developments will be covered, alongside a consideration of their wider political implications.

This self-directed module allows students to initiate and develop their own major project ideas appropriate to their discipline of study. Students at this point in their studies are often very focussed on their ultimate work aspirations, and this module helps them to gain 'graduate trajectory' to enable them to better move into their chosen profession as seamlessly as possible when they have finished their studies.

Study a Common First Year

This course shares a common first year with students on Journalism, Music Journalism and Sports Journalism courses.

This means that you’ll learn alongside students studying a similar discipline, helping to broaden your knowledge and exposure to other concepts, perspectives and professions in the first year of your degree.

As you learn and collaborate with students from other courses, you'll not only widen your social and professional network but also learn new skills that will set you up for success in your industry.

In your second and third years, you will progress to studying more specialist modules within creative and professional writing, developing your skills to become a World Ready graduate.

This course is delivered in three terms of 10 weeks each. You will gradually gain greater independence in your learning throughout the three years with a view to you achieving positive graduate outcomes. This course is delivered predominantly in person. You can expect to take part in lectures, workshops, seminars and a range of experiential activities both on and off campus – in the UK and abroad to locations such as Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid and Prague. Activities on these trips include visits to a range of media, cultural and political institutions. You should expect to undertake about 40 hours per week of study in total which comprises of scheduled sessions, independent study including engaging with learning material on the University’s VLE, tutorials with staff, researching and producing stories, using the University’s library and other resources, working with peers and preparing work for assessment.

Teaching will be delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers.

Your course will involve additional costs not covered by your tuition fees. This may include books, printing, photocopying, educational stationery and related materials, specialist clothing, travel to placements, optional field trips and software. Compulsory field trips are covered by your tuition fees.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

There will be a broad range of assessment methods so you are exposed to the different types of tasks you might encounter in the workplace. These will include coursework in the form of portfolios, essays, presentations, digital productions and online tasks. We continuously review the assessment methods used in order that they adequately prepare students for graduate-level employment. Teaching will be delivered by experienced academics and practitioners in the subject. This will be supplemented by occasional guest lecturers and speakers.

All teaching is delivered by experienced academics and practitioners, with the fundamental principles of the Chester Future Skills Curriculum at its core - building your subject competence, confidence, and key transferable skills to shape you into a world-ready Chester graduate.

Entry Requirements

104UCAS Points

UCAS	104 UCAS points
GCE A Level	104 UCAS points from GCE A Levels or equivalent. Typical offer - BCC/CCC
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: DMM
T Level	Pass (C or above on the core)
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers - H3, H3, H3, H4, H4 Scottish Highers - BBBB
International Baccalaureate	26 points
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma, to include 45 credits at level 3, 30 of which must be at Merit
OCR	OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Diploma - DMM
Extra Information / General Entry Requirements	GCSE English at grade 4/C or above is required. Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs.

Students from countries outside the UK are expected to have entry qualifications roughly equivalent to UK A Level for undergraduate study and British Bachelor's degree (or equivalent) for postgraduate study. To help you to interpret these equivalents, please click on your country of residence to see the corresponding entry qualifications, along with information about your local representatives, events, information and contacts.

We accept a wide range of qualifications and consider all applications individually on merit. We may also consider appropriate work experience.

English Language Requirements

IELTS Academic: Undergraduate: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
Postgraduate: 6.5 (minimum 5.5 in each band)

For more information on our entry requirements, please visit International Entry Requirements.

UCAS Tariff	72 points
GCE A level	72 points overall, including grade D in A level
BTEC	BTEC Extended Diploma: MMP
International Baccalaureate	24 points
Irish / Scottish Highers	Irish Highers: H4 H4 H4 H4 H4 Scottish Highers: CCDD
Access requirements	Access to HE Diploma – Pass overall
T Level	T Level: Pass (D or E on the core)
OCR Cambridge Technicals	OCR Extended Diploma: MMP
Extra Information	GCSE English at grade C/4 or above is required. Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced and A level General Studies will be recognised in our offer. We will also consider a combination of A Levels and BTECs/OCRs. If you are a mature student (21 or over) and have been out of education for a while or do not have experience or qualifications at Level 3 (equivalent to A Levels), then our Foundation Year courses will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in your chosen degree.

Study the final year of an undergraduate degree

If you have successfully completed a Level 5 qualification, e.g. a Higher National Diploma (HND) or Foundation Degree in a relevant subject, then we may be able to consider you for the final year (Level 6) of one of our degrees. Topping up your HND or Foundation Degree will typically take one further year of study and will lead to a full BA (Honours) degree.

To apply for the final year of a degree on a full-time basis you will need to submit an application through UCAS.

For international applicants, please refer to the entry requirements listed on the "Your Country/Region" pages. To be considered for advanced entry into relevant degree programmes, you must have completed a qualification equivalent to a Level 5 or Level 6 in the UK, in a related subject area

Fees and Funding

£9,535per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

Our full-time undergraduate tuition fees for Home students entering University in 2025/26 are £9,535 a year, or £1,590 per 20-credit module for part-time study.

You can find more information about undergraduate fees on our Fees and Finance pages.

Students from the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey and the Republic of Ireland are treated as Home students for tuition fee purposes.

Students from countries in the European Economic Area and the EU will pay International Tuition Fees.

Students who have been granted Settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans.

Students who have been granted Pre-settled Status may be eligible for Home Fee Status and if eligible will be able to apply for Tuition Fee Loans.

£14,450*per year for a full-time course (2025/26)

The tuition fees for international students studying Undergraduate programmes in 2025/26 are £14,450 per year for a full-time course. This fee is set for each year of study.

The University of Chester offers generous international and merit-based scholarships, providing a significant reduction to the published headline tuition fee. You will automatically be considered for these scholarships when your application is reviewed, and any award given will be stated on your offer letter.

For courses with a Foundation Year, the tuition fees for Year 1 are £10,750 and £14,200 for Years 2-4 in 2025/26.

For more information, go to our International Fees, Scholarship and Finance section.

Irish Nationals living in the UK or ROI are treated as Home students for Tuition Fee Purposes.

If you are living away from home during your time at university, you will need to cover costs such as accommodation, food, travel and bills.

The University of Chester supports fair access for students who may need additional support through a range of bursaries and scholarships.

Full details, as well as terms and conditions for all bursaries and scholarships can be found on the Fees and Finance section of our website.

Your Future Career

Job Prospects

Students have the potential to embark on careers in a range of areas within the creative industries, including online platforms, advertising agencies, production companies, international and national news agencies and many more. Some of you could go freelance, forging careers in niche areas such as gaming, lifestyle, culture and the arts. Others have gone into roles such as publishing, social media management, copy-writing and public relations.

Careers Service

The University has an award-winning Careers and Employability service which provides a variety of employability-enhancing experiences; through the curriculum, through employer contact, tailored group sessions, individual information, advice and guidance.

Careers and Employability aims to deliver a service which is inclusive, impartial, welcoming, informed and tailored to your personal goals and aspirations, to enable you to develop as an individual and contribute to the business and community in which you will live and work.

We are here to help you plan your future, make the most of your time at University and to enhance your employability. We provide access to part-time jobs, extra-curricular employability-enhancing workshops and offer practical one-to-one help with career planning, including help with CVs, applications and mock interviews. We also deliver group sessions on career planning within each course and we have a wide range of extensive information covering graduate jobs and postgraduate study.

Creative and Professional Writing BA (Hons)

Course Summary