BA

Creative Writing and Modern Languages

BA Creative Writing and Modern Languages Code WR90 Attend an Open Day Attend an Open Day

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Key Facts

WR90

  • UCAS Tariff

    120 - 104

  • Course duration

    4 years

Available for September start 2025

Further details on entry requirements

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If you are interested in enhancing, broadening, and developing your voice and want to explore, discover and immerse yourself in the words that have shaped our world, then a degree in Creative Writing and Modern Languages at Aberystwyth University might be for you. Our cross-disciplinary degree will introduce you to an ever-expanding industry, providing you with a promising and advantageous start after graduation.

You can learn the craft of writing poetry, fiction, non-fiction, screenplays and more, in addition to weekly language classes that where you will see your linguistic competencies flourish. You will also develop the critical and analytical skills necessary for a career in a broad array of creative industries. Under the expert guidance of a team of award-winning writers, you will discover hidden talents and find out what sort of writer you are. On completion of this degree you will have not only a portfolio of exceptional creative material, but also the skills and attributes to flourish in any workplace that demands dexterity with the written word.

Course Overview

Why study Creative Writing and Modern Languages at Aberystwyth University?

  • The combination of Creative Writing and Modern Languages offers a broad curriculum that crosses the traditional boundaries of genre, form, function, culture, linguistics, film and literature. As a student of the Department of Modern Languages and the Department of English and Creative Writing, you will study in a flourishing creative scene with a long and successful history as the spring for aspiring new talent. 
  • The Department of English and Creative Writing offers a broad range of modules that enables you to explore the connections between creative and critical thinking and develop a deep understanding of the relationship between professional practice and imaginative thought.
  • You can study your choice of languages from beginners' or advanced level - choose from French, German, Spanish and Italian. Beginners will follow an intensive course in the first year.
  • You will receive four hours of linguistic and grammar classes per week. The Department of Modern Languages is a relatively small and close-knit department, which means that you will benefit from our unique approach to language development. All of our language tutors are native speakers or experts in the relevant target language.
  • Your year abroad will be spent in a country related to your chosen language. You can choose to study at one of our partnered universities, undertake a paid or unpaid work placement, or a combination of the two.
Our Staff

All academic staff in the Department of English and Creative Writing are active scholars and experts in their fields. They are either qualified to PhD level or have commensurate experience. Our Lecturers either hold or are working towards a Higher Education teaching qualification and the majority of academic staff also hold the status of Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

All of the lecturers in the Department of Modern Languages are qualified to PhD level and are research active specialists in their chosen field. We also employ highly qualified and experienced language tutors, and native-speakers, who will ensure that your learning is of the highest possible quality and who will provide you with constant support through your years of study.

Modules September start - 2025

Please note: The modules listed below are those currently intended for delivery during the next academic year and may be subject to change. They are included here to give an indication of how the course is structured.

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Literary Theory: Debates and Dialogues EN20120 20

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
French Language (Intermediate) FR22140 40
German Language (Intermediate) GE22140 40
Italian Language (Intermediate) IT22140 40
Spanish Language (Intermediate) SP22140 40
A Century in Crisis: 1790s to 1890s WL20720 20
Adventures with Poetry WR22120 20
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 1 IC27720 20
Short stories: Grit and Candour WL20320 20
Telling True Stories: ways of Writing Creative Non-Fiction WR21120 20
Writing Selves WR20620 20
'The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne': Medieval Models of Literary Production WL23120 20
Contemporary Writing and Climate Crisis EN21120 20
Cuban Cinema of the Revolution: Crisis, National Identity and the Critique of Contemporary Society SP27020 20
Die Wende: Representations of Division and Unification in German Film GE26020 20
Gender in Modern and Contemporary French Culture FR21020 20
German-speaking Refugees from National Socialism in the UK GE27220 20
History, Film and Memory: Representing World Wars in French cinema FR27820 20
Literary Geographies EN21020 20
Literature and Climate in the Nineteenth Century EN21220 20
Literature since the '60s EN22920 20
Place and Self EN22120 20
Rethinking late 20th Century Italy IT21020 20
Self-Writing, 18th-21st Centuries FR27020 20
TESOL Approaches, Methods and Teaching Techniques IC23420 20
The Spanish Avant-Garde SP20620 20
Writing Women for the Public Stage, 1670-1780 EN28720 20

Core

Module Name Module Code Credit Value

Options

Module Name Module Code Credit Value
Crisis Writing WR31820 20
Effective Academic and Professional Communication 2 IC37820 20
French Language (Advanced) FR33440 40
German Language (Advanced) GE33440 40
Italian Language (Advanced) IT33440 40
Literatures of Surveillance WL35320 20
Post-Colonial African Literature in English EN38120 20
Remix: Chaucer In The Then and Now WL30620 20
Spanish Language (Advanced) SP33440 40
TESOL Materials Development and Application of Technologies IC33420 20
Writing Crime Fiction WR32420 20
Writing Horror WR31920 20
Writing Music WR32620 20
Writing and Place WR32120 20
Ali Smith and 21st Century fiction(s) EN33620 20
Cuban Cinema of the Revolution: Crisis, National Identity and the Critique of Contemporary Society SP37020 20
Die Wende: Representations of Division and Unification in German Film GE36120 20
Gender in Modern and Contemporary French Culture FR31020 20
German-speaking Refugees from National Socialism in the UK GE37220 20
Haunting Texts EN30820 20
History, Film and Memory: Representing World Wars in French cinema FR37820 20
Reading Late 19th Century Literature SP35120 20
Reading Theory / Reading Text EN30120 20
Rethinking late 20th Century Italy IT31020 20
Self-writing, 18th-21st Centuries FR37020 20
The Mark of the Beast: Animals in Literature from the 1780s to the 1920s EN31320 20
Victorian Childhoods EN30320 20
Writing in the Margins: Twentieth-Century Welsh Poetry in English EN30420 20

* Also available partially or entirely through the medium of Welsh

Careers

Many of our graduates are successful writers in the fields of:

  • Fiction
  • Non-fiction
  • Poetry
  • Screen-writing
  • Radio
  • Theatre.

Some of our graduates have discovered other successful careers in:

  • Publishing
  • Editing
  • Journalism
  • Marketing and Communications
  • Teaching.

Transferable skills

Our degree will enable you to develop:

  •  the ability to express ideas and communicate information effectively in a broad range of contexts
  • outstanding skills in creating, forming and manipulating the written word
  • evidence of your ability to be an effective problem-solver
  • excellent creative thinking, informed by critical rigour
  •  a proven ability to work both independently and as part of a team
  • excellent time-management and organisational skills, including the ability to meet deadlines
  • self-motivation and self-reliance and have the ability to develop appropriate and effective strategies
  • valuable research skills that are transdisciplinary and adaptable to any research context.

What work experience opportunities are available to me while I study?  

Find out about the various opportunities that our Careers Service offers. Enhance your employability prospects with our Year in Employment Scheme.

Teaching & Learning

What will I learn?

This degree is based on our strongly held belief that in order to become a really great writer you need to be a good reader, whilst offering you the flexibility to develop as a writer across a range of creative modes. Throughout the course you will use your knowledge of literature and textual production in your own creative work, exploring the relationship between creative and critical practice.

In all years you will have four hours of language work per week – choose from French, German, Spanish and Italian.

In the first year you will learn:

  • The basic structures of a range of short prose narratives and the techniques used in their construction, including modes of descriptive writing, the importance of plot and the use of dialogue
  • You will choose optional modules from a wide range of topics including literature, cultural identity and film.

In the second year you will explore:

  • The theoretical approaches to, and the practice of, literary criticism
  • Your choice of optional modules from a wide range available, including poetry, Cuban cinema and TESOL teaching techniques.

 In your third year you will: 

  • undertake your year abroad, working or studying in countries related to your chosen language.

In your final year you will tailor your course further by selecting optional modules of greatest interest to you. Topics include different genres of writing such as crime fiction and horror, historic and contemporary literature, and literary criticism.

How will I be taught?

You will be taught through a combination of lectures, language classes, seminars and tutorials.

Assessment

We assess our students through portfolio submissions, essays, reflective journals, traditional examinations and presentations.

Typical Entry Requirements

UCAS Tariff 120 - 104

A Levels BBB-BCC

GCSE requirements (minimum grade C/4):
English or Welsh

BTEC National Diploma:
DDM-DMM

International Baccalaureate:
30-28

European Baccalaureate:
75%-65%

English Language Requirements:
See our Undergraduate English Language Requirements for this course. Pre-sessional English Programmes are also available for students who do not meet our English Language Requirements.

Country Specific Entry Requirements:
International students whose qualification is not listed on this page, can check our Country Specific Entry Requirements for further information.

The University welcomes undergraduate applications from students studying the Access to Higher Education Diploma or T-level qualifications, provided that relevant subject content and learning outcomes are met. We are not able to accept Access to Higher Education Diplomas or T-levels as a general qualification for every undergraduate degree course.
Our inclusive admissions policy values breadth as well as depth of study. Applicants are selected on their own individual merits and offers can vary. If you would like to check the eligibility of your qualifications before submitting an application, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office for advice and guidance.

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