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UCC Postgraduate courses
- Creative Writing
Course Outline
Course practicalities, why choose this course, requirements, fees and costs, how to apply.
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- Taught Courses
| Code | MACWE |
|---|---|
| Duration | 1 Year Full-time; 2 Years Part-time |
| Teaching Mode | Full-time, Part-Time |
| Qualifications | MA |
| NFQ Level | Level 9 |
| Closing Date | Rolling Deadline. Open until all places are filled or no later than 1 May. Early application advised |
| Non-EU Closing Date | Open until all places have been filled or no later than 1 May 2024. Early application is advised. |
| Start Date | 9 September 2024 |
Only you can write the book that you would like to write, be it a collection of poetry, or essays, or a novel, or a memoir… nobody else can write that book. The purpose of the MA in Creative Writing at UCC is to give you the tools to write the book waiting to be written, and many more after it. As well as honing the techniques and craft of creative writing, our MA is also designed to introduce you to the publishing industry, and prepare you for a variety of career options, including publishing and the creative arts.
Engaging on a weekly basis with published authors and publishing professionals, we will provide access to the community of writers that exists, both in the wider world and in Cork, with its thriving literary scene. This programme affords you time to write; it will introduce you to other emerging writers, and like-minded individuals on the same pathway as yourself. Ultimately we aim to empower you to connect with your most creative and productive self.
This MA Creative Writing programme is offered by the Department of English which is part of the College of Arts, Celtic Studies & Social Sciences ( CACSSS ) at UCC.
Our Department of English treats writing as a living, evolving practice: students taking the course will read and write in a context in which literature is being performed, transformed and adapted, and in doing so offer you a safe space to learn, to practice, and to develop your craft towards inventive and authentic forms of expression. The course as a whole encourages and supports a full exploration of the creative self while also maintaining a strong vocational emphasis.
Directed by IMPAC longlistee Dr Eibhear Walshe , all of our courses are embedded in Cork’s thriving artistic scene, rooted in expert practice and taught by highly accomplished professionals.
A rich variety of modules are available covering fiction, poetry, life writing, creative non-fiction, and reading creatively.
Additionally, the Business of Writing module is dedicated to the professional life of the creative writer, including work placements, and a series of visiting speakers (writers, agents & publishers) such as Mike McCormack, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Nicole Flattery, Lisa McInerney, Tramp Press , The Stinging Fly , John Connolly, Will Keohane, Eimear Ryan, Róisín Kiberd, New Island Press and many more.
Writing and reading are intertwined as acts — opposite ends of an attempt to understand what it’s like to be in the world. Never has that been more important. Never has the world needed more writers, and more readers, and an over-arching guide to the UCC MA in Creative Writing’s approach is to foster such readers and writers in achieving their potential.
Part I (50 credits)
- EN6036 The Business of Writing (10 credits)
Plus choose 40 credits from the following:
- EN6031 Poetry I (10 credits)
- EN6032 Fiction Workshop: Serving the Idea (10 credits)
- EN6033 Writing the Self: Fiction & non-Fiction (10 credits)
- EN6042 Creative Writing Workshop (5 credits)
- EN6056 Reading the Novel Creatively (5 credits)
- EN6057 Writing for Other Media (5 credits)
- EN6060 Poetry II: Mythology & Contemporary Poetry (10 credits)
- EN6061 Poetry Workshop (5 credits)
In order to ensure coherence and a good workload balance over the course of the programme, you will select modules in consultation with the programme coordinator and other members of the Board of Studies as appropriate.
- EN6040 Dissertation in Creative Writing (40 credits)
Academic Programme Catalogue
See the Academic Programme Catalogue where you can search for the complete and up-to-date content for this course. Note that the modules for all courses are subject to change from year to year. For complete descriptions of individual modules, see the Book of Modules .
The MA in Creative Writing is taught on Mondays and Tuesdays during the Autumn and Spring Semesters (September to March). Seminar hours are approximately 6-8 per week and reading hours/writing assignments are likely to take a further 8 hours per week. The course involves a mixture of seminars, workshops, placement and writing practice, and students will work on self-reflexive essays and projects.
Our students are assessed continuously during the course, submitting specified creative work alongside commentaries on their own creative practice.
Part-time Option
This programme is taught during weekday working hours and evening hours over two years.
After UCC I never looked back. I was treated as a writer by faculty and classmates. And so, I became one...
Tadhg Coakley, Graduate & author of The Game
"UCC’s MA in Creative Writing marked the start of my writing life. My first book came straight out of my dissertation & was published a year after my graduation. Now, six years later, I have had five books published & I’m working on number six. After UCC I never looked back. I was treated as a writer by faculty and classmates. And so, I became one."
UCC’s MA in Creative Writing helped me to develop my voice...
Molly Twomey, Graduate & author of Raised By Vultures
"UCC’s MA in Creative Writing helped me to develop my voice & to strengthen my editorial skills. Most importantly, it gave me access to a group of encouraging, kind & intelligent writers, some of whom I still send first drafts to today."
UCC’s MA in Creative Writing programme not only provided the opportunity to build a portfolio of work...
Mahito Indi Henderson, Graduate, author, & publisher with Skein Press
"UCC’s MA in Creative Writing programme not only provided the opportunity to build a portfolio of work, experiment with genre & receive guidance from renowned authors; it also provided a space for thinking about how writing & literature could become a viable career."
From UCC, I learned how writing can be put in the service of others…
Frani O’Toole, Graduate, author, & urban planner
"From UCC, I learned how writing can be put in the service of others… & can support & enliven whatever you choose to do… This is a faculty that thinks really seriously about writing & the community, & really brings people together."
I chose the MA in Creative Writing at UCC because the course has a specific focus on the crafting and development of each writer’s individual voice...
John McLeod, International Student
"I chose the MA Creative Writing at UCC because the course has a specific focus on the crafting and development of each writer’s individual voice, which is an aspect I had struggled developing. It also directly addresses the practical concerns of dedicating your life to writing, which is a focus that can be difficult to find at other universities. I was also really excited to step inside the rich literary tradition of Irish writing. The most rewarding aspect of the course was the sheer exposure to exceptionally kind and talented writers, from the teaching staff to guest speakers and workshop holders (writers, publishers, editors, agents, etc.), all of whom wanted to impart their experience to students in a safe and encouraging environment. Throughout the course, my confidence in drafting and developing my own creative work has increased exponentially. If I combine my continuous development with the wonderful network built throughout the course, I’d say my career path in creative writing has never looked brighter."
This Creative Writing MA programme will empower you in the honing and development of your craft as a writer; we will provide you with the tools and critical prowess to commence a career in writing and publishing.
Some of Ireland’s greatest writers have studied or taught at UCC, including Frank O’Connor, Sean O’Faolain, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, and John Montague, while more recently the Creative Writing programme boasts published graduates including Madeleine D’Arcy, Tadhg Coakley, and Laura McKenna. Notable writers associated with UCC include Mary Noonan, Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, Thomas McCarthy, Sean Dunne, Paul Durcan, Theo Dorgan, and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.
The School of English hosts an annual Writer-In-Residence and holders of this prestigious post have included Mary Morrissy, Claire Keegan, Danielle McLaughlin, Thomas Morris, Eimear Ryan,Danny Denton, Cathy Sweeney and Matthew Sweeney. In addition to this, we host a reading series that has included guests such as Max Porter, Jackie Kay, Kevin Barry, Claire-Louise Bennett, Conor O’Callaghan, Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, Nuala O’Connor, Brian Turner, John Banville, and Zadie Smith.
Finally, outside of our for-credit modules, we also run series of optional craft-specific masterclasses from writers such as Dónal Ryan, Catherine Ryan Howard, Victoria Kennefick, Olivia Fitzsimons, Sean Williams and many others.
We encourage and support a full exploration of the creative self while also maintaining a strong vocational emphasis, sustaining and supporting a life-long relationship with writing.
Skills and Careers Information
This MA will provide an excellent foundation for a variety of writing and publishing careers, including authorship across a range of forms and styles, journalism, teaching, publishing, and arts administration.
The design of the MA fosters contacts with agents, publishers, and the professional world of the creative industries; it also produces well-crafted writing in one (or more) of the forms of creative writing.
Students experiment with, engage with, and reflect on a diversity of writing practices and establish an awareness of the role of technique and craft in their own work. They also learn how to interact with peers on an editorial level, and to understand the importance of editing and revision in the process of writing. Developing appropriate research methods and recording processes of self-reflection are also key components of the MA, encouraging students to reflect upon and discuss the conceptual challenges of the creative process, key contexts, and practical concerns. Finally, the MA fosters in its students an understanding of the practical constraints and professional opportunities of life as a writer, and a lifelong relationship with the written word.
Applications will be considered from graduates of all disciplines. Applicants will normally have a Second Class Honours Grade II in a primary honours degree (NFQ, Level 8) or above, in any discipline. For North American students a cumulative GPA of 3.2 is normally expected. Applicants with relevant writing or arts experience (eg. working in publishing, journalism or arts administration) are also invited to apply.
All applicants will be asked to submit a short piece of creative writing (of 1000 words (any genre). This piece of creative writing will be used by the teaching team to evaluate each applicant's suitability. Further examples of the applicant's work may be requested.
For Applicants with Qualifications Completed Outside of Ireland
Applicants must meet the required entry academic grade, equivalent to Irish requirements. For more information see our Qualification Comparison page.
International/Non-EU Applicants
For full details of the non-EU application procedure visit our how to apply pages for international students.
- In UCC, we use the term programme and course interchangeably to describe what a person has registered to study in UCC and its constituent colleges, schools, and departments.
- Note that not all courses are open to international/non-EU applicants, please check the fact file above. For more information contact the International Office .
English Language Requirements
Applicants who are non-native speakers of the English language must meet the university-approved English language requirements. Visit our PG English Language Requirements page for more information.
Postgraduate EU and International Fees 2024/2025
See our Postgraduate EU and Non-EU (International) Fee Schedule for the latest information.
Deposits
If your course requires a deposit, that figure will be deducted from your second-semester fee payment in January.
Fee payment
Fees are payable in two equal instalments. First payment is at registration and the balance usually by the end of January.
How can I pay?
See different options on our How Do I Pay My Fees? page.
Any questions? See the 'Contact Us' section on the Fees Office page .
1. Check dates
Check the opening and closing dates for the application process in the fact file boxes at the top of the page.
2. Gather documents
Scanned copies of supporting documents have to be uploaded to the UCC online application portal and include:
- Original qualification documents listed on your application including transcripts of results from institutions other than UCC.
- Any supplementary items requested for your course if required.
3. Apply online
Apply online via the UCC online application portal . Note the majority of our courses have a non-refundable €50 application fee.
Any questions? Use our web enquiry form to contact us.
Additional requirements (all applicants).
Please note you will be required to provide additional information as part of the online application process for this programme. This will include the following:
- You may enter the details of professional or voluntary positions held. We strongly encourage you to complete this section with all relevant work experiences that will support your application.
- Describe your motivation and readiness for this programme.
- Submit a short portfolio (no more than 1000 words) of your creative writing. This can be in the form of a poem/poems, a short story or an extract from a novel, or an excerpt of memoir.
- Detail your computing/technical/IT skills.
- Add the name and email addresses two referees.
Please note that successful EU applicants will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit of €500 on acceptance of their place.
The closing date for non-EU applications is Open until all places have been filled or no later than 1 May 2024. Early application is advised.
Contact Details For This Course
- Dr Eibhear Walshe
- [email protected]
- +353 (0)21 490 2584
- http://creativewritingucc.com/
- Mr Danny Denton
- [email protected]
- +353 (0)21 490 3292
Similar Courses
MA English – Modernities: Literature, Theory & Culture from the Romantics to the Present
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View the contact page for more contact and location information
Creative Writing (M.Phil.)
Course overview.
This course, the first Masters course in creative writing at an Irish university, was offered by the School of English for the first time in 1997–98. It is based in the Trinity Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, 21 Westland Row: the birthplace of Oscar Wilde. Its faculty includes some of Ireland’s leading contemporary writers, including Eoin McNamee, Deirdre Madden and Kevin Power, Harry Clifton and Carlo Gébler. Each year the Centre also hosts visiting Writer Fellows, who in recent years have included Claire Keegan and Colette Bryce. Distinguished alumni include Chris Binchy and Sean O’Reilly. Nicole Flattery and Lisa Harding have emerged as exciting new talents in the past few years.
The M.Phil. in Creative Writing programme is designed for students who are seriously committed to writing, are practising, or are prospective authors, and who wish to develop their writing within the framework of a university course and in the context of an Irish literary milieu. It involves the close and critical examination of the student’s work in group workshops and under guided personal tuition. At Trinity you will also join a diverse, supportive and dynamic community of students, scholars, and writers in a world-leading English department right at the heart of one of the world’s great literary cities.
Is This Course For Me?
This course is intended for students who are seriously committed to writing, are practising, or are prospective authors, and who wish to develop their writing within the framework of a university course and in the context of an Irish literary milieu.
Career Opportunities
Graduates have pursued careers in a range of areas including journalism, scriptwriting, copywriting, advertising, publishing, editing, the arts and culture sector, broadcasting, librarianship, education and research. Many alumni have also gone on to become successful writers.
Course Structure
The M.Phil. in Creative Writing is designed as a one-year, full-time course. Teaching is delivered through lectures, group workshops and personal tuition. Much of this takes place in the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, which offers a supportive and sociable working environment for the School of English’s creative writers. Students are expected to continue developing their own individual work throughout the year. The course is assessed by means of various essays and portfolios, culminating in working towards a final dissertation portfolio of 15-16,000 words.
Course Content
The centrepiece of the Creative Writing M.Phil. is the three-hour weekly workshop. This is where you bring work and get to listen to others. The idea of it is daunting, but reality is hardworking, inclusive and dynamic. For the first term, students are encouraged to range across form and genre, to break habits and open new vistas. This is where students start to see the core of their portfolio emerge, although most don't see the portfolio taking shape until the following Spring. The Structure in Fiction and Poetry module works through the shapes and uses, the interior dynamics of writing. Writing for a Living addresses the demands of reviewing and essay writing. Both modules are structured and intellectually rigorous but at heart involve writers talking about writing and bringing the class into the orbit of their own experience. In the second semester, the weekly Briena Staunton lectures brings a series of established writers in to talk about the practice of writing. A visiting Writer Fellow also leads a workshop, offering students a further chance to engage with a working writer in close-up.
The creation of a final portfolio is the formal endpoint of the M.Phil., but it is equally important for us to see writers emerge in rich, artistically textured, and diverse surroundings. That is the enduring satisfaction.
Click here for further information on modules/subjects.
Study Creative Writing (M.Phil.) at Trinity
Eoin McNamee of the School of English at Trinity College Dublin gives an overview of the Creative Writing (M.Phil.) programme.
Course Details
Number of places, next intake.
September 2024
Course Director
Professor Eoin McNamee
Closing Date
31st March 2024
Admission Requirements
Applicants are expected to hold a university degree or equivalent qualification (at least an upper second, or equivalent, GPA of at least 3.3). In addition, applicants must submit a portfolio of recent creative work. The portfolio of sample work should include no more than 3,000 words of prose (short stories, excerpt/s from a novel or drama) or six to eight poems.
Course Fees
Click here for a full list of postgraduate fees.
To apply, click on the relevant Apply Link below
- Creative Writing (M.Phil.) - Full-Time 31/Mar/2024
PLANNED ESSENTIAL SYSTEM MAINTENANCE
There will be no access to the my.tcd.ie direct online application portal from 17:00 on Friday 9 February until 12.00 on Monday 12 February, 2024 to facilitate an essential upgrade. Further information is available on the IT Services Alerts page using this link .
Get in Touch
Telephone number.
+353 (0)1 896 2885
Eoin McNamee (course director): [email protected]
www.tcd.ie/English/postgraduate/creative-writing
Register Your Interest
Register your interest in studying at Ireland’s leading university, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin.
Though I had published short stories before my year in The Oscar Wilde Centre, I lacked confidence in my work. After completing the M. Phil., I found that I wrote with far more authority and consistency – in the past three years I have had three plays produced, one optioned for a film, and another translated for performance in Italy. Through its expert and friendly guidance, and its stimulating blend of emerging talents, the Centre enabled me to refine my vision. I highly recommend it. Philip St John Graduate
The year I spent at the Oscar Wilde Centre gave me the time, the focus and, crucially, the support to complete my first novel. The collegiate atmosphere, the sharing of ideas, the opportunity to experiment with new forms, all underpinned by a sense that the work really mattered, were of immeasurable benefit to me. I honestly can’t envisage having brought the novel to completion without my Wilde time. Hilary Fannin Graduate
My year in the Oscar Wilde Centre represented a certain freedom while also providing a certain structure. I had some wonderful tutors and fascinating classmates. I didn't have had a manuscript by the time I graduated, but instead I had the requisite tool box to pursue a writing career. Sara Baume Graduate
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Ma creative writing.
- Study at Maynooth /
Qualification : MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE
Award Type and NFQ level : TAUGHT MASTERS (9)
CAO/PAC code : MHK84
CAO Points :
Closing Date : 30 August 2024
View FETAC details
- Entry Requirements
- Department People
- Course Structure
- Career Options
- How to Apply
The MA in Creative Writing combines workshops and seminars with one-on-one mentoring of writing projects. Students may take optional modules in literature or other creative modules from across the Faculty, such as Writing for Screen Media. Assessment is through shorter pieces of writing, such as craft essays and reflective journals, and a longer project. The MA, taught by award-winning, internationally-renowned writers, will focus on guiding each student to further develop their voice as a writer, as well as to enrich their existing interests as a writer with new perspectives and a grasp of stylistic approaches. Tactics for editing and revision will be taught in tandem with generative exercises and practices aimed at deepening each students relationship to their creative process. Students will have the opportunity to build and develop networks which will sustain their writing practice beyond the MA degree.
B.A. degree with a subject mark in English or a cognate discipline, of 2.1 or higher (NFQ Level 8 or equivalent honours degree) or international equivalent.
Applicants must have a recognised primary degree which is considered equivalent to Irish university primary degree level.
Minimum English language requirements: Applicants for whom English is not their first language are required to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study. For information about English language tests accepted and required scores, please see here . The requirements specified are applicable for both EU and International applicants.
Maynooth University's TOEFL code is 8850
Dr Conrad Brunstrom
Head of Department
Department of English
Read Full Biography
Prof Lauren Arrington
Dr Denis Condon
Department of Media Studies
Dr Íde Corley
Dr Michael G. Cronin
Department of Sexualities and Gender
Azelina Flint
Dr Oona Frawley
Dr Catherine Gander
Department of Diversifying Irish Poetry
Prof Colin Graham
Dr Sinead Kennedy
Dr Conor McCarthy
Belinda McKeon
Dr naoise murphy.
Prof Emer Nolan
Dr Karl O' Hanlon
Dr Stephen O'Neill
Prof Pat Palmer
Dr Rita Sakr
Prof Moynagh Sullivan
Department of Motherhood Project
Students take compulsory modules in Creative Prose (combined 20 credits), Literature, Creativity, and Society (10 credits) and Individual Project Development, which runs across two semesters (combined 20 credits). The creative dissertation (30 credits) is undertaken in the spring and summer (semester 2). Students take 10 credits in optional modules from a selection offered in the Department and across the Faculty, including literature modules and Writing for Screen Media.