What kind of writing portfolio do I need to apply for BA Creative Writing?

Between 1,500 and 2,500 words across at least two forms — for example a short story plus a few poems, or a short script plus an essay. The portfolio shows us your current craft level so we can place you, not a finished standard you must already meet.

Can I specialise in screenwriting on BA Creative Writing?

Yes. Screenwriting is one of four core forms in years one and two and is a full final-year specialism option. Students who specialise in screenwriting graduate with a feature script or a television pilot plus episode bible.

Is BA Creative Writing more about literary or commercial writing?

Both. We teach craft that applies across literary fiction, commercial genre fiction, prestige drama and popular narrative. Tutors include writers working at both ends of the market. Your final-year project can be either; we judge it on the standards of its own market.

Can I study BA Creative Writing online?

Yes. The online route runs the same weekly workshop seminars over video in small synchronous groups. Distance learning students attend two intensive on-campus weeks per academic year for the masterclass programme and the graduating reading.

Will I have a manuscript on graduation from BA Creative Writing?

Yes — a substantial finished piece (a novel partial of 25,000–30,000 words, a complete poetry collection, or a feature screenplay) is the standard final-year output. Several recent graduates have signed with UK agents directly from their final-year manuscript.

BA Creative Writing in London | LSJHML | Harold International College of London

Course Overview

The BA Creative Writing at the London School of Journalism, Humanities & Modern Languages (LSJHML) is a three-year UK honours degree for writers who want to leave university with a finished manuscript, a workshop-tested process for producing more of them, and a credible understanding of the publishing and screen industries they hope to work in. You will write across fiction, poetry, scriptwriting and creative non-fiction in the first two years, specialise in your strongest form in year three, and graduate with a substantial portfolio and a final-year project under tutor supervision.

This degree teaches writing as a craft you practise rather than a talent you wait to feel. Every week you submit pages, every term you revise to a deadline, and every year your work moves from exercise to draft to publishable piece — checked against the standards of the editors and agents who eventually decide what gets published.

Key Features

Weekly workshop seminars — submit and critique pages every week, in small groups led by published writers.
Cross-form foundations in years one and two across fiction, poetry, scriptwriting and creative non-fiction.
Final-year specialism with a substantial manuscript or script under sustained supervision.
Industry masterclasses with novelists, poets, agents, commissioning editors, screenwriters and showrunners working in the UK.
Publishing and screen industry literacy — pitching, submissions, contracts, agent relationships, the realities of advances and rights.
Graduating reading — perform from your final-year work for an invited audience of agents, editors and tutors.

What You Will Learn

The BA Creative Writing is structured around drafting and revising — the two activities a writing life actually consists of. You graduate able to produce a substantial finished piece of work, edit it to publishable standard, and explain confidently what you wrote, why, and what it does to a reader.

Fiction craft — point of view, scene construction, dialogue, structure, narrative drive.
Poetry craft — line, image, voice, form, the relationship between sound and meaning.
Scriptwriting — screenplay format, scene-driven structure, dialogue for performance, beats and turns.
Creative non-fiction — memoir, essay, narrative journalism, the ethics of writing about real people.
Editing and revision — structural redrafting, line editing, copyediting basics, accepting feedback.
Workshop practice — giving critique constructively, receiving it usefully, the etiquette and value of both.
Publishing literacy — agents, submissions, contracts, advances, rights, marketing realities.
Screen industry literacy — script-reader process, options, development hell, the producer relationship.
Reading as a writer — close reading the contemporary canon and the new releases of your form.

Who This Course Is For

School leavers serious about a writing life who want a UK honours degree to support it.
International students looking for a UK creative writing degree taught in the heart of the London publishing and screen industries.
Career-changers from teaching, the law, journalism or other writing-adjacent professions ready to commit three years to fiction or script work.
Mature students with a drawer of unfinished manuscripts who want the structure, deadlines and critique that move work from draft to publishable piece.

Career Pathways

Writing is a portfolio career for most who pursue it. BA Creative Writing graduates typically combine writing with related work — teaching, editorial, agency, publishing, script-reading — while building a publication record. Typical first or next roles include:

Novelist or Short-Story Writer (published with literary agent representation)
Screenwriter (television drama, film, narrative podcast)
Poet (publishing with small and trade presses, performance)
Creative Writing Tutor (further education, adult education, online courses)
Literary Agent's Reader or Editorial Assistant (agency, indie press, trade publisher)
Narrative Designer (games studio, branded content, interactive media)

Graduates progress to an MA in Creative Writing for specialist novel, poetry or screenwriting development, or to an MA in Publishing for industry-side roles.

Entry Requirements

Three A-Levels at BBC or above (or international equivalent — IB 28 points, BTEC DMM, or accepted national qualification).
GCSE English Language at grade 5 or equivalent English proficiency test.
IELTS 6.0 overall (no band below 5.5) for non-native English speakers.
A short personal statement and a writing portfolio of 1,500–2,500 words across at least two forms.
Mature applicants (21+) without standard qualifications may apply with a portfolio and short interview.

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.