Faculty of Arts
Creative writing

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Faculty of Arts

1. Prerequisites
2. Requirements for a major in creative writing
3. Creative writing subjects
    3.1. Quotas
    3.2. Further study
    3.3. Career opportunities
    3.4. For more information

The creative writing program at the University of Melbourne is located in the Department of English with Cultural Studies. It offers students an exciting and productive environment in which to acquire and develop essential skills in creative writing through a range of subjects. The program encourages work that combines creative and critical abilities. The focus of the program is on developing students' writing skills and publication opportunities.

The program offers a number of subjects and study areas, including prose fiction and poetry as well as drama, editing and scriptwriting, which provide opportunities for students to produce their own work under the guidance of professionally accredited practitioners who are technically expert in their specific areas. Many of them have close links with the publishing and film-production industries, and can keep you in touch with current developments. Graduates of this program have been extremely successful in seeing their work featured in a wide range of publications, and many have won awards in national competitions for their work.

Staff are dedicated to fostering a learning experience that students will value their whole lives, and they aim to help students to produce writing of a publishable standard. Undertaking a major in creative writing gives students an excellent and flexible preparation for careers in media, editing, publishing and education/teaching as well as other areas of professional writing such as journalism.

The department also has a vibrant postgraduate community with its own journals and seminar series to which creative writing students make important and regular contributions.

1. Prerequisites

Students enrolling in third year creative writing subjects will normally have passed two first year English subjects.

Students enrolling in second year creative writing subjects will normally have passed 106-086 Creative Writing 1: Autofictions plus at least one other first year English subject.

2. Requirements for a major in creative writing

A major in creative writing usually consists of nine 12.5 point subjects, totalling 112.5 points. It comprises:

at least two first year subjects in English (25 points), one of which must be 106-086 Creative Writing 1: Autofictions and;
seven second/third year subjects in English (87.5 points). At least four of these subjects must be taken from the following approved creative writing subjects and must include the core subject 106-025 Creative Writing 2: Across the Genres. The remainder can consist of any second/third year subjects offered in the English Department.

3. Creative writing subjects

First year

	106-086 Creative Writing 1: Autofictions	1

Second/third year

	106-025 Creative Writing 2: Across the Genres	1
	106-026 Writing Extended Fiction	2
	106-027 Writing Scripts	Not Offered
	106-028 Writing Poetry	1
	106-062 Writing Non-Fictional Forms	2
	106-077 Poetry in the Making	2
	106-090 Editing	2
	106-091 Writing for Performance	1
	106-212 Principles of Editing and Publishing	2

3.1. Quotas

All second and third year creative writing subjects are subject to quotas. Selection of students will normally be based on order of merit in 106-086 Creative Writing 1: Autofictions. All other students wishing to undertake second or third year creative writing subjects must consult the Department of English for application procedures.

3.2. Further study

There are a number of graduate diplomas and degrees at different levels in a wide range of creative writing programs including Graduate Diploma in Arts (Creative Writing), an MA by thesis and the PhD. While there is no honours degree in creative writing, students undertaking honours in literary studies or the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (English) can specialise in creative writing for their thesis. Details of these courses are available in the Faculty of Arts Postgraduate Handbook and from the Department of English.

3.3. Career opportunities

In addition to developing students' own writing skills and publication opportunities, a degree with a major in creative writing is an excellent basis for careers in publishing, editing and teaching, as well as other areas of professional writing such as journalism.

3.4. For more information

The Department of English
Second Floor, John Medley Building
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010
Tel: +61 3 8344 5506/7/8
Web: http://www.english.unimelb.edu.au