Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies

Title of Award: Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

CAO Code: GY111

CAO Points: 400 (2025)

Average Intake: 45

Delivery: On Campus

NFQ: Level 8

QQI/FET/FETAC Places: 1

Award Type: Major

Next Intake: September 2026

Duration: 4 years

How to Apply

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Why Choose This Course?

Small Class Size

Our typical class size is c.15 students, facilitating an interactive workshop atmosphere and close cooperation with teachers and peers.

Teaching Professionals

Instruction and mentoring are provided by working writers as well as university academics, and weekly visiting speakers provide practical opportunities for industry contacts.

Employability

Trained and qualified writers have a wide range of careers and creative fields open to them, including authorship, editing, publishing, advertising, copywriting, games writing, teaching.

Key Specialism Year

Third year provides an exclusive and precision focus on your self-chosen writing project(s) through mentorship from working writers in ‘creativity pods’ (c.8 students).

Course Information

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What will I study?

Overview, purpose and ethos

The BA in English and Creative Writing builds and expands on almost two decades of experience in directing and fostering undergraduate talent specifically in Creative Writing at University of Galway. Our guiding principle for the study of our craft is that ‘writers learn to write by writing’, and so the emphasis throughout is on practice-based learning and experience.

You will study and practice all the major genres of Creative Writing: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Playwriting, Screenwriting. Within these broader genres, you will be helped discover, experiment with and strengthen your own individual strands of interest.

During the course, your developing concentration on your own creative practice is paralleled by a focus on the practical imperatives and industry requirements in the many established and emerging writing-related fields. From the very start during your first year, a speaker from the writing professions visits the class each week for discussions, Q & A and informal conversation. This will help you begin to actively engage with the everyday routines and rhythms of writing-related professionals of all kinds.

With your expanding knowledge of what it takes to write at a high level, by the end of second year you will be ready to embark on a third year that provides for a 100% focus on your personal Creative Writing project(s). By the end of this specialism year, students on the course have developed advanced drafts of, for instance, novels of various kinds, collections of stories and/or flash fiction, poetry collections, plays, screenplays, essay collections, podcast scripts. You decide on your creative direction and project focus for the year, and then we will engage with your ideas and provide the teaching, mentorship and all-in guidance to help you fulfil your vision for your work.

Then, as you complete your studies in English and one other subject during your fourth and final year, you will build further on your third-year project(s) through modules that concentrate on professionalisation, publication planning, social and public platforms and the various ways now of getting yourself and your writing out into the world.

Year by year

Year 1
You will study Creative Writing, English, and one other Arts subject (please note that some subject restrictions apply). The focus in Creative Writing will be on the practice of Fiction and Nonfiction, and there will also be a weekly visiting-speaker series.

Year 2
You will study Creative Writing, English, and your other chosen Arts subject. For Creative Writing, second year concentrates on the writing of Poetry, Plays and Screenplays.

Year 3
Your Creative Writing work will be the exclusive focus, through mentored independent project(s) and/or study abroad and/or work placement. While mentorship with professional writers is the prime work experience for our Creative Writing students, other forms of work placement are possible. Your third year provides a major opportunity for guided self-directed learning, and you can discuss your plans and prospects in advance with your course director and/or mentor. If you are studying a language with English and Creative Writing, you may avail of an exchange at an EU university, and the Creative Writing study path you take while abroad will be planned in advance. Non-language students may also avail of an exchange with an English-speaking university abroad, most typically in the USA or Canada (note that availability of exchange places may vary and/or will be determined on a competitive basis).

Year 4
Completion of your studies in Creative Writing, English and your other subject. For Creative Writing, your classes will centre on project and portfolio consolidation, professionalisation and publication planning.

Curriculum

Unique Features

Careers

Study Abroad

Work Placement

Who Teaches this Course?

Learning and Assessment

The BA in English and Creative Writing will help you think about, prepare for, and engage with a range of learning platforms and experiences and a number of different modes of assessment.

What will my classes in Creative Writing be like?
On entry to First Year all students are randomly allocated to one of three groups of c.15 students each for the Creative Writing strand. All three groups have the same classes across first year, and all three groups also regularly come together for one collective session, usually for a guest talk from a visiting writer.

For Second Year you will continue within the same group, with everyone again having the same set of classes.

For Third Year you pause your studies in English itself and in your other subject and your focus will be on Creative Writing exclusively. You will be placed in one of several ‘creativity pods’ of c.8 students – you will be assigned your pod according to the kind of writing project(s) you wish to develop – everyone in your pod will be working on the same kind of genre or area as you.

For Fourth Year the full year cohort comes together again for weekly classes that will alternate between classroom panel discussion sessions with your teachers and a wide variety of visiting writers, and collective writing sessions that will especially cultivate self-led and peer-led learning. This final phase will begin to prime the class for successful completion of the four years and for engagement with the possibilities for what comes next for everyone.

English and your other subject
On this course English is a compulsory subject. In First Year, Creative Writing and English operate as separate subjects, but thereafter they operate as one overall subject for the purposes of your degree. On entry to First Year you also choose one other subject. There is a range of subjects available, but it is important to note that, as is the case generally with courses, some subject restrictions apply. Related information is included in the University of Galway undergraduate prospectus – but be sure to contact the course director at the details below if you need to check on anything.

How will my Creative Writing work and performance be assessed?
Your Creative Writing strand does not involve set examinations. All your work will be assessed through one or more of these modes: Continuous assessment, including in-class participation; in-class exercises; ongoing small-projects or end-of-semester final project(s); portfolio development.

Accreditations & Awards

My Creative Writing BA at University of Galway gave me a formidable start in my journey as a writer. Now, with the publication of my first book, I think back to the course’s combined focus on writing skills, imaginative daring and vision, and its strong workshop ethos: these are the vital foundations for building a future in the writing professions.

John Patrick McHugh

Author

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Entry Requirements and Fees

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Entry Requirements

How to Apply

Fees, Costs and Funding

Fees for Academic Year 2026/27

Course Type	Year	EU Tuition	Student Contribution	Non-EU Tuition	Levy	Total Fee	Total EU Fee	Total Non-EU Fee
	All	€3,098	€2,500	€20,750	€140	€2,640	€5,738	€20,890

Most EU students applying through the CAO will be eligible for the ‘Free Fees Initiative’. You can find out more here.
If you are eligible for a means tested SUSI grant this may cover 100% of this Student Contribution Charge. If you are 100% eligible SUSI will pay the Student Contribution Charge of €3,000 on your behalf.
The Student Levy It is payable by all students and it is not covered by SUSI
Where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 1.8% per annum for continuing year fees. This applies to non-EU fees.
You can find additional detail on the Fees Office webpage including FAQs and how fee status is assessed.

Scholarships

International (Non EU) Application Information

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Meet Our Alumni

Find your voice, polish your style, and write, write, write …

If you are someone with artistic interests and a passion for written expression, join us on our BA in English and Creative Writing and we will provide you with a unique opportunity to expand your creative curiosity, cultivate your own artistic practice, and develop a professional focus. Through practice-led learning and project-based experience, you will be guided through four highly productive years of imaginative experimentation and discovery. As you progress, we will help you foster the constructive mindset and critical skills to immerse yourself deeply in a knowledge of literature and engage with the exciting new kinds of writing and work for writers now opening up before us.

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Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

Why Choose This Course?

Small Class Size

Teaching Professionals

Employability

Key Specialism Year

Course Information

Year by year

Curriculum Information

Glossary of Terms

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Accreditations & Awards

Meet our Employers

Entry Requirements and Fees

Fees for Academic Year 2026/27

Related Courses

Why University of Galway?

World University Ranking

Ranked first in Ireland for Sustainable Development

5th in the EU for our Commitment to Sustainability

University of Galway is ranked in the Top 2% of Universities Globally

Downloads

Undergraduate Prospectus 2026

Quick Guide to Courses 2026

A Level Quick Guide to Courses 2026

Postgraduate Prospectus 2026

Undergraduate Scholarships 2026

Meet Our Alumni

Find your voice, polish your style, and write, write, write …

Downloads

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Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

Bachelor of Arts (English and Creative Writing)

Why Choose This Course?

Small Class Size

Teaching Professionals

Employability

Key Specialism Year

Course Information

Year by year

Curriculum Information

Glossary of Terms

Year 1 (60 Credits)

Year 2 (60 Credits)

Year 3 (60 Credits)

Year 4 (60 Credits)

Accreditations & Awards

Meet our Employers

Entry Requirements and Fees

Fees for Academic Year 2026/27

Related Courses

Why University of Galway?

World University Ranking

Ranked first in Ireland for Sustainable Development

5th in the EU for our Commitment to Sustainability

University of Galway is ranked in the Top 2% of Universities Globally

College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies

Downloads

Undergraduate Prospectus 2026

Quick Guide to Courses 2026

A Level Quick Guide to Courses 2026

Postgraduate Prospectus 2026

Undergraduate Scholarships 2026

Meet Our Alumni

Find your voice, polish your style, and write, write, write …

Downloads