© University of Kent - Contact | Feedback | Legal
The University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, CT2 7NZ, T +44 (0)1227 764000
Research programmes in Creative Writing
Research programmes in Creative Writing
These programmes are offered either on a part-time or a full-time basis.
Entry requirements: A first or upper-second class degree in a relevant subject, and substantial writing experience. OR an MA in a relevant subject. Each applicant is required to submit a sample of his/her creative writing work, and this will be the most significant factor in admissions decisions. It is helpful to include with your application some idea of who you would like to work with, so please familiarise yourself with staff profiles before applying.
English Language Proficiency for non-native speakers of English [6]
About the Programmes: There are several research programmes on which you can write creatively. These are:
MA (Research) The Contemporary Novel: This is a one-year (full-time) or two-year (part-time) programme on which you write approximately 30,000 words of a novel, and produce a 10,000-15,000 word academic dissertation on a related subject. This programme suits students who have completed most of a novel on a taught MA or on their own, and want some supervision to help finish it off. (If you are interested in this programme, get in touch with Scarlett Thomas: s.thomas@kent.ac.uk)
MPhil Text and Practice: Students can register for this programme with a view to upgrading to one of three creative PhD programmes, all of which run for three years (full-time) and five years (part-time). On the Mphil in Text and Practice, you begin working with your supervisor to prepare materials to enable you to upgrade to PhD status on one of the following programmes:
PhD in The Contemporary Novel: This programme enables you to begin and complete a serious, literary full-length novel of 80,000-110,000 words, and a piece of scholarly research of between 20,000-30,000 words. The critical piece will not be expected to explain or describe the creative process but will examine the intellectual concerns raised by the work, pursuing its research questions or using them as a springboard for further investigation. For example, a student who has investigated notions of the post-human in poetry will examine some aspect of the post-human in the essay. You will have a supervisor to read your work and help you with plotting, editing, characterisation, pace, dialogue and so on. (If you are interested in this programme, get in touch with Scarlett Thomas: s.thomas@kent.ac.uk)
PhD in Poetry: There are a number of published poets in the School (Patricia Debney, David Herd, Jan Montefiore, Simon Smith), and there are other writers and researchers whose work is deeply informed by an experience of poetry as practice (Todd McEwen, Caroline Rooney, Sarah Wood). The programme will enable promising poets to develop the potential of poetry as a tool of inquiry within the Humanities. You will produce a volume of poetry as well as a piece of scholarly research of 20,000-30,000 words similar to the one produced on the Contemporary Novel course. Given its emphasis on poetic practice as research into the possibilities and potential for contemporary poetry, the programme will integrate with the aims and objectives of the Centre for Modern Poetry, allowing for joint supervision between the two Centres. Cross-faculty work with colleagues in SECL working on Modern Poetry would also be encouraged. The new programme acknowledges the fact that poetry has historically understood itself as an art consciously informed by research. If you are interested in this programme, please get in touch with David Herd: d.herd@kent.ac.uk
PhD in Text and Practice: This is a new programme that addresses one of our main aims at Kent, which is to enable research students to take risks and use cross-disciplinary techniques to explore research questions. This is the PhD that covers narrative non-fiction, as well as other forms of creative writing that are not poems or a novel. Our first student on this programme is exploring identity through hip-hop, and will be handing in an album alongside a piece of scholarly research. If you are interested in this programme, please get in touch with Sarah Wood s.wood@kent.ac.uk
All the research programmes will enable you to feel part of the vibrant university community, with access to a range of exciting events, research seminars and MA modules (which you can take for no credit with the agreement of the convenor). Most PhD students will be given the opportunity to teach from their second year.