Opinions on Bath Spa (and UEA!) creative writing course pls!

I've been deliberating for ages about a creative writing degree and would just love to hear any feedback from anyone currently on either of these courses... I love the fact that Bath Spa is entirely creative writing as a degree, (reading is great, but I'd prefer to give more time to creative writing than essays honestly) but I'm aware that UEA is higher in the ratings so it'd be super helpful if any current (or recently graduated) students could say what they have found positive/negative about their course!

Just... is the teaching good? Have you felt like it is worth it? Are you enjoying the course? How much freedom is there with what you write? Any positives or negatives you can think of!

Cheers everyone 👍

Hey Clodia! I've visited both unis but for different courses (I was checking out Songwriting at Bath Spa back in 2016 and the Creative Writing MA at UEA in January of this year), so I can't give you too much advice on the courses themselves, but having read your post? It absolutely sounds like you've got your heart set more on Bath Spa if the only thing UEA has going for it is the rankings. Rankings aren't everything -- you have to consider that they change every single year and can sometimes dip or rise by tens of places. What matters first and foremost is that the course interests you and catches your attention, and that the campus feels like the right place for you. <3

UEA is awesome, I don't know about Bath Spa though. But, I can definitely recommend UEA to you but, go with whatever you think feels right

It does look really good! Did you study english lit/creative writing there at all? I really love everything about UEA apart from the fact it is only 1/3 creative writing... I'd prefer it to be at least 50/50 ideally. Thank you so much for your reply!

I don;t study it but, I do know a few friends who do and they're enjoying it

Thank you so much for this response! I do definitely have my heart set on doing a larger amount of creative writing... which bath seems to offer more. I haven't ever visited bath though, whereas I did really love the UEA campus/Norwich when I visited there a while back. Did you like bath as a place/the bath spa campus when you visited? And did Bath seem to have good lecturers/ creative writing staff? (I just think enthusiastic staff for this sort of course can make a huge difference... the best I've seen so far have been lancaster, but I don't think I'll end up going there just because that course involves exams which I would definitely prefer to avoid!) (My memory is awful!) I think you're absolutely right about it mattering most if it is the right place for an individual though... thank you!

From what I can remember, it was a really modern and fresh feeling campus! It'sbeen a long while, so I'm sorry for being vague -- but the music facilities were very very swanky, and the buildings seemed up to date. The music and songwriting staff were very confident and enthusiastic about their subjects, too. The bus links seemed good between the campus and the city centre, too, which was great. I'd definitely recommend visiting at some point -- even if open days aren't happening for a long time, most unis will let you walk around their campuses at any time on any day, and when classes reopen you might be able to meet the staff in 1-on-1 consultations or even sit in on a seminar if you're lucky!

What did you go for in the end??

Yeah the 50/50 split is great and I think also in some ways, rightly or wrongly a more "respectable " degree. I looked at Bath because I knew it was a nice place to go from friends who had been there and I live nearby so wouldn’t need to move. I also thought about a 50/50 and haven’t totally put idea to bed. If Bath did a part time for that I’d keep it on my list but I can’t manage a full time. I’ve applied to Lancaster (distance), Bristol, OU and Birkbeck but haven’t had all results beck yet. I hate the wait!

I just googled Lancaster's long distance course out of nosiness and... is it an MA you're doing next then? (I can't see a BA) And yeah- all the staff I've met there have been great! I'm glad Bath is lovely! I've never visited there before- though I know Bristol is a beautiful city. (And, just going back to what you said earlier... I am aware that UEA is probably seen as a more Respectable degree... though it somewhat annoys me that it has to be like that! (Though that is still one of my reasons for being tempted towards UEA.) But, given that I know I want to do a masters afterwards, even if I went to Bath for my degree, I could always shift somewhere else for the next stage 😊) And thanks for all your feedback!

I just realised I knew replied to this, so just want to say before I disappear from here... good luck w your masters decisions! (I feel like it's a strange time to be deciding anything like this, but a long-distance course makes sense more than ever!) Hope you find a course you love! (And yes... I would love to go to both somehow, sometime! We'll see what happens!) x