Creative Writing MA - Bangor, Stirling, or Durham?

I'm an Indian looking to do an MA Creative Writing - and I wrote horror fiction mostly. I've gotten into these 3 unis so far, and still waiting to hear from a bunch of others: Warwick, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and MMU.

Which one is the best here from the 3 I've gotten into? Besides these, MMU is my priority just from the look of the course. What do you guys think?

Reply 1

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Have you applied to Bath Spa? They have one of the largest creative writing MAs in the UK.

And UEA is the oldest creative writing course in the country.

None of the universities that you have listed are particularly notable for their creative writing courses. What drew you to them?

Reply 2

saranyamurthi

OP

2

Original post by PQ

Have you applied to Bath Spa? They have one of the largest creative writing MAs in the UK.

And UEA is the oldest creative writing course in the country.

None of the universities that you have listed are particularly notable for their creative writing courses. What drew you to them?

Thanks for the heads up about Bath Spa, I'll apply there. I did apply to UEA - it was actually my first choice - but I didn't get in lol

All the other unis showed up in a lot of my research as having great writing programs - with Warwick, Glasgow, MMU apparently being some of the best in the country. The rankings were great on some of Guardian's ranking lists. Am I wrong?

Reply 3

PQ

Clearing and Applications Advisor

21

Original post by saranyamurthi

Thanks for the heads up about Bath Spa, I'll apply there. I did apply to UEA - it was actually my first choice - but I didn't get in lol

All the other unis showed up in a lot of my research as having great writing programs - with Warwick, Glasgow, MMU apparently being some of the best in the country. The rankings were great on some of Guardian's ranking lists. Am I wrong?

The Guardian (and Complete and Times and Daily Mail) rankings are based entirely on undergraduate study not MAs

Reply 4

emilyemg

1

Durham's writing MA is quite selective and I've heard their teaching quality is good. Bangor is ranked fairly high for writing. I don't know much about Stirling.

Reply 5

saranyamurthi

OP

2

Original post by emilyemg

Durham's writing MA is quite selective and I've heard their teaching quality is good. Bangor is ranked fairly high for writing. I don't know much about Stirling.

Thank you for letting me know! Now I've also gotten into Edinburgh, Cardiff and Warwick so it's going to be tough deciding. I'd love to know what your impression is of any of them

Reply 6

emilyemg

1

Original post by saranyamurthi

Thank you for letting me know! Now I've also gotten into Edinburgh, Cardiff and Warwick so it's going to be tough deciding. I'd love to know what your impression is of any of them

So I am also in the process of applying for a Creative Writing MA (I'm waiting on another recommendation letter, so I'm not done applying yet). But Edinburgh is one I will be applying to in the next few weeks! The program has a great reputation and many of my friends in the UK have great things to say about the quality of life there. It's also one of the top 30 unis in the world 🙂

Cardiff's writing program also has a good rep, and they even have optional modules for teaching if that's of interest to you. The city itself is pretty sizable although it is more of a "party town" vibe, depending on who you ask. Warwick I don't know as much about, but I've seen several people on here mention the program.

There's so many factors to consider. But I think as a writer, location plays a huge role. Maybe you're inspired by certain landscapes or architecture? So definitely think about what kind of environment you like to write in as well!

Original post by saranyamurthi

I'm an Indian looking to do an MA Creative Writing - and I wrote horror fiction mostly. I've gotten into these 3 unis so far, and still waiting to hear from a bunch of others: Warwick, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and MMU.

Which one is the best here from the 3 I've gotten into? Besides these, MMU is my priority just from the look of the course. What do you guys think?

Hi

So glad you're applying for MAs in Creative Writing! I'm currently doing my own, here at Uni of Suffolk.
Sad we're not on your list, but I encourage you to check out our programme as well. I'll put the link here: https://www.uos.ac.uk/study/ma-creative-critical-writing.
It is a great course, I personally think, because you get the option to explore not only creative writing but also critical, if that is something you find useful. The course structure is amazing and so is the team of lecturers. They actually have 100% student satisfaction.
It's interesting you mention you write horror fiction, because our course leader is a huge gothic horror lover!
Check us out and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

Milena 🙂
MA in Creative and Critical Writing at Uni of Suffolk

Reply 8

emilyemg

1

Hi, which one did you end up picking?

Reply 9

saranyamurthi

OP

2

Original post by emilyemg

Hi, which one did you end up picking?

Bath Spa, actually 🙂

Reply 10

Muttley79

20

Original post by emilyemg

So I am also in the process of applying for a Creative Writing MA (I'm waiting on another recommendation letter, so I'm not done applying yet). But Edinburgh is one I will be applying to in the next few weeks! The program has a great reputation and many of my friends in the UK have great things to say about the quality of life there. It's also one of the top 30 unis in the world 🙂
Cardiff's writing program also has a good rep, and they even have optional modules for teaching if that's of interest to you. The city itself is pretty sizable although it is more of a "party town" vibe, depending on who you ask. Warwick I don't know as much about, but I've seen several people on here mention the program.
There's so many factors to consider. But I think as a writer, location plays a huge role. Maybe you're inspired by certain landscapes or architecture? So definitely think about what kind of environment you like to write in as well!