Postgraduate Creative Writing

moeniuk1973

Hi all. I am looking to undertake a MA Creative Writing with Teeside. I am just wondering about the intensity of the 14 months course as I work full-time, have a family, etc... Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Reply 1

Bean_cat

15

it is going to be quite difficult to take on any course and you will be busy 24/7 - though if this is something you are passionate about, then it may be worth studying the course part time instead? It would be worth speaking to your manager at work about it also to see how they can support you? maybe compressing your hours or changing your shifts/ remote working

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 2

moeniuk1973

OP

1

Original post by Bean_cat

it is going to be quite difficult to take on any course and you will be busy 24/7 - though if this is something you are passionate about, then it may be worth studying the course part time instead? It would be worth speaking to your manager at work about it also to see how they can support you? maybe compressing your hours or changing your shifts/ remote working

Hi Bean_cat.
Thank you for replyiing. I'm a postie, so there is zero chance of my employer being supportive. I did get to speak with Teeside & they said the 14 months version is part-time & is basically a 2 years course with all the holidays taken out. It is something I am passionate about. Hard to know what to do

Reply 3

Bean_cat

15

Original post by moeniuk1973

Hi Bean_cat.
Thank you for replyiing. I'm a postie, so there is zero chance of my employer being supportive. I did get to speak with Teeside & they said the 14 months version is part-time & is basically a 2 years course with all the holidays taken out. It is something I am passionate about. Hard to know what to do

A career change into something remote/ part time would be helpful as it would allow you to have a better focus on the course you're interested in pursuing and remote working would make things easier in terms of being around family etc. Another option is considering the open university and perhaps enquiring further with teeside uni about the means of assessment and maybe going to an open day to speak to staff in more detail about the course so that you can understand things better in regards to the expectations/ difficulty level of the course.

I'm in my final year of uni and am doing 21 hours remote part time work - in all honesty I do feel quite exhausted with the workload and it is quite intense; I guess it would be worth thinking about the reasons you do want to study a masters to help you with your decisions: for me, I'd like to study further for the career prospects, passion for learning and not feeling 'done' with education yet - I also want to take on new opportunities in a new environment - thinking about these may provide you with clarity as to what you may want to do later in life.

I have taken a quick glance at the course and it is online which is also a massive benefit in fitting around your schedule and would help with pacing things out for yourself - so this could be something you work on in the evenings too.

Good Luck with your choice though! :smile:

Reply 4

AspiringWriter85

2

Original post by moeniuk1973

Hi all. I am looking to undertake a MA Creative Writing with Teeside. I am just wondering about the intensity of the 14 months course as I work full-time, have a family, etc... Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi moeniuk1973,

I'm currently undertaking the MA Creative Writing with Teesside (started in September 2023), but I'm doing the 2 year route, the main difference that I can see is that the 2 year route has breaks between modules. For example, I started my first module in September 2023 which ran until December 2023 and then had a break and started my second module in February 2024. Whereas, those on the 14 month route did module 1 (September 2023 - December 2023), Module 2 (December 2023 - February 2024) and are have now started their third module.

Personally, I found working full time and having other commitments, that the 2 year route was better suited for me. The breaks between modules have also allowed me some time to practice and improve my writing skills further but appreciate everyone is different and some people may well prefer the 14 month route.

Hope this helps :smile:

Reply 5

moeniuk1973

OP

1

Original post by AspiringWriter85

Hi moeniuk1973,

I'm currently undertaking the MA Creative Writing with Teesside (started in September 2023), but I'm doing the 2 year route, the main difference that I can see is that the 2 year route has breaks between modules. For example, I started my first module in September 2023 which ran until December 2023 and then had a break and started my second module in February 2024. Whereas, those on the 14 month route did module 1 (September 2023 - December 2023), Module 2 (December 2023 - February 2024) and are have now started their third module.

Personally, I found working full time and having other commitments, that the 2 year route was better suited for me. The breaks between modules have also allowed me some time to practice and improve my writing skills further but appreciate everyone is different and some people may well prefer the 14 month route.

Hope this helps :smile:

Hi AspiringWriter85

Really appreciate you coming forward. My real concern is my quality of work in a shortened time frame, but I am pretty disciplined.

Great reply 👍

Original post by moeniuk1973

Hi all. I am looking to undertake a MA Creative Writing with Teeside. I am just wondering about the intensity of the 14 months course as I work full-time, have a family, etc... Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hey @moeniuk1973

Are you thinking of studying the course on campus or online?

We do have a postgraduate open evening on Wednesday 6 March, 4.00pm - 6.00pm and members of the academic team are available to chat to (if you haven't had chance already). They might be able to give you a better idea of the intensity and expectations of the course, whichever route you choose. I've included the booking link here if you wanted to come along.

Good luck :smile:

Kate

Reply 7

moeniuk1973

OP

1

Original post by Teesside University

Hey @moeniuk1973

Are you thinking of studying the course on campus or online?

We do have a postgraduate open evening on Wednesday 6 March, 4.00pm - 6.00pm and members of the academic team are available to chat to (if you haven't had chance already). They might be able to give you a better idea of the intensity and expectations of the course, whichever route you choose. I've included the booking link here if you wanted to come along.

Good luck :smile:

Kate

Hi Kate
Unfortunately I live in NI with a wife, mortgage, kids, etc... so online is my only option. Currently, I am halfway through my application with the aim of starting in May.

Original post by moeniuk1973

Hi Kate
Unfortunately I live in NI with a wife, mortgage, kids, etc... so online is my only option. Currently, I am halfway through my application with the aim of starting in May.