Do I have to specialise in one form on the Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing?

Yes, by the end of term one. The first term is multi-form so you can test which form holds your attention longest. The remaining nine to twelve months focus on building a portfolio in your chosen form with a tutor matched to it.

Is the Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing taught online?

Yes. The online route runs weekly live workshops with the same intake-fixed cohort as the on-campus course. Distance learning is available for students who prefer asynchronous study with structured deadlines and tutor critique on each draft.

Will the Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing help me get an agent?

It will help you submit professionally. The submission clinic covers query letters, synopses and sample chapters, and industry guest sessions give you a working understanding of how UK agents read submissions. Whether you place an agent depends on the work — but the credential and the polished portfolio give you a stronger start.

Can I count work on the Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing towards a Bachelor's degree?

Yes. The Advanced Diploma articulates into the final year of a UK BA in Creative Writing at LSJHML or a partner university through credit transfer. Admissions can map your credits at the application stage.

What writing sample do I need to apply for the Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing?

1,500–2,000 words of prose (short fiction, creative non-fiction or a chapter from a longer work), or 4–6 poems. The sample is read for promise rather than polish. Admissions can advise on format if you have an unusual combination.

Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing | LSJHML London | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a twelve-to-fifteen-month UK qualification for writers ready to move beyond solid workshop pieces and into a submission-ready portfolio. You will work across short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and screen, settle on a primary form, and finish the year with a portfolio your tutor would happily put in front of an agent or commissioning editor.

This Advanced Diploma is more demanding than a workshop and more sustained than a short course. Drafts are read closely. Cuts are argued. The Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing assumes you have the appetite to revise — and gives you the editorial attention to do it well.

Key Features

Multi-form first term across short fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and screenwriting — choose a primary form by the end of term one.
Editorial workshops built around the Society of Authors' professional standards and current UK submission practice.
Industry guest sessions with editors, literary agents, screen producers and poets working in UK publishing.
One-to-one mentoring with a tutor matched to your form — fiction, poetry, screen or creative non-fiction.
Submission clinic covering query letters, synopses, sample chapters, screenplay coverage and pamphlet pitches.
Three study modes — on-campus in central London, online with weekly live workshops, or distance learning with structured deadlines.

What You Will Learn

The Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing is structured around the working life of a writer who plans to submit, publish and place work. You finish with a critiqued portfolio in your chosen form, a working understanding of how UK publishing and screen industries commission, and the editorial discipline to revise your own drafts without losing your voice.

Voice and style — close reading, sentence-level craft, the discipline of cutting.
Short fiction — structure, point of view, narrative compression, the contemporary short-story market.
Poetry — form and free verse, sequencing for a pamphlet, the UK magazine landscape.
Creative non-fiction — memoir, lyric essay, narrative journalism, ethical questions of writing about real people.
Screenwriting — three-act structure, scene economy, dialogue, format conventions for UK screen.
Editorial workshop practice — giving and receiving critique without taking it personally.
Submission craft — query letters, synopses, pitches, the agent-and-editor system.
Rights, contracts and the writer's economic life — the realities of advances, royalties and grants.

Who This Course Is For

Diploma-level creative writing graduates ready to commit to a sustained body of work.
Working writers — journalists, copywriters, bloggers — who want disciplined editorial time and a credentialed portfolio.
Career-changers in their thirties or forties carrying a long-incubated book project and ready to finish it.
International students seeking a UK creative writing qualification taught alongside the UK publishing scene.

Career Pathways

Creative writing is a portfolio career for most practitioners. The Advanced Diploma in Creative Writing positions graduates to submit confidently, win competitions, secure agent representation, take on commissioned writing work, and apply for further study. Typical paths include:

Novelist or short-story writer (submission to UK agents and literary magazines)
Screenwriter (entry to UK production company spec submissions)
Poet (pamphlet and full-collection submission to UK presses)
Creative Writing Tutor (community education, online workshops)
Literary Agent's Reader (assistant or freelance reader work)
Editorial Freelancer (manuscript critique, developmental editing)

Graduates progress to the final year of a UK BA in Creative Writing or apply to an MA in Creative Writing at LSJHML or a partner university.

Entry Requirements

A UK Diploma (Level 4) or equivalent in a related subject, OR completion of secondary school plus one year of relevant writing experience.
IELTS 5.5 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
Personal statement, CV and a short writing sample (1,500–2,000 words of prose, or 4–6 poems).
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with three years of relevant work experience and a writing sample.

Why Study at LSJHML

The London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages is a specialist higher-education provider based in central London. Our programmes are designed in dialogue with working professionals — journalists, translators, civil servants, academics, broadcasters, editors, publishers and policy researchers — so what you learn in seminar on Monday is what your future employer is using on Tuesday. We deliberately keep cohorts small, give every student named tutor support, and treat employability as a structural part of every programme rather than an optional add-on.

London is the work — politics, courts, capital markets, theatre, broadcasting, publishing, public service, the global press. Your studies are taught in the same square mile where the stories you read about happen. Whether you join us on-campus, online or by distance learning, the city is your classroom and our industry network is your launchpad.