Master of Arts in Creative Writing

at Durham University United Kingdom

We offer post-A level courses in French, German, Italian, Russian and Hispanic Studies. These courses are open to students who have an A level (at least grade A) or equivalent qualification in that language. We also offer beginners’ courses in Arabic, German, Italian, Spanish and Russian. Beginners can take cultural modules alongside post-A level students, and completely merge with the advanced stream in the final year.

Here are some examples of how to combine languages

• You might choose to study one language (chosen from French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish [Hispanic Studies]). You will need an A level at the appropriate grade pass in your chosen subject. However, if you wish to study Arabic as a single language, you will need an A level at the appropriate grade pass in at least one other foreign language. You take four modules in the language area of your choice, along with a further two modules in a subsidiary subject of your choice outside the School in both your first and second years. You then take your year abroad and return to your final year to take either six modules in your chosen language or five modules in your chosen language and one module from a subject studied in your second year. Subsidiary subjects may be chosen from those available in departments outside of the School, subject to module availability, individual entry requirements and timetable compatibility.
• You might choose to study two languages (chosen from Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish [Hispanic Studies]). These languages can normally be divided 3 modules +3 modules between two languages, or 4+2 as you prefer (subject to some variation in module availability between the languages).
• You might initially choose to study three languages (chosen from Arabic, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish [Hispanic Studies]), which you study in equal proportions (2+2+2). After your first year, you will be required to drop one of these and study no more than two languages in Years 2 and 3.

This is a one year, advanced taught course. This course is intended for students who have already obtained a good first degree in either physics or mathematics, including in the latter case, courses in quantum mechanics and relativity.

The course consists of three modules: the first two are the Michaelmas and Epiphany (the first two terms of the academic year) graduate lecture courses, which are assessed by examinations in January and March. The third module is a dissertation on a topic of current research, prepared under the guidance of a supervisor with expertise in the area. We offer a wide variety of possible dissertation topics. The dissertation must be submitted by September 15th, the end of the twelve month course period.

This degree balances fundamental knowledge and practical application in order to provide you with both specialised and transferable skills that are greatly valued in the marketplace. The course emphasises from the start both programming and mathematical skills that allow in the later years engagement through your 'Individual Project' with cutting-edge research being done in the department.

This joint honours degree enables you to combine modules in Ancient History from the Department of Classics and Ancient History with those offered by the Department of Archaeology. The balance is broadly equal, but by Year 3 you can, if you wish, weight your choice of modules more to one side than the other; and the dissertation provides a further opportunity to concentrate your studies in an area that particularly interests you.

The MA in Research Methods (Education) provides broad learning in research design methodologies. The course is designed for students interested in theoretical and empirical understanding of research in social science and as well as those who plan to pursue doctoral level studies in the field of Education. The course is recognised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as providing suitable training for this purpose, and the course is one of the named routes on the MA in Research Methods. It is a Social Sciences faculty degree that involves other departments within the University.

This course delivers high-quality research methods for learning in education. The focus is on understanding research designs for conducting and evaluating rigorous research. The course includes training in the use of research tools for analysing and interpreting research data with detailed discussion on formulating research questions, innovative research designs, and developing theoretical understanding of concepts in social science research.

This lecture, seminar and laboratory-based MSc equips you with the theoretical and practical skills and knowledge to study and interpret data collected from human remains. The emphasis is on osteoprofiling, as well as health and disease using a multidisciplinary approach, linking biological evidence with cultural data (the biocultural approach). This is a very hands-on, practical course, and students will gain experience with human skeletal remains from a variety of time periods.

This course is unique in the world and it takes a holistic view of the body and society and will prepare you for undertaking significant research projects in this subject or working in contract/commercial archaeology, and many other fields. It is aimed at graduates mainly in archaeology and anthropology with or without past experience or knowledge in this field, and for those who aspire to continue on to PhD or work in contract archaeology. However, past students have come from a variety of subject backgrounds, and destination data illustrates a wide range of employers take these students.

The MA Intercultural Communication and Education course develops critical understanding of education and intercultural communication in the context of global movements of people and the internationalisation of education. The course provides students, educators, and policymakers with resources for reflecting on and responding to the growing need for intercultural education and communication in an increasingly intercultural/international world. This course is available for part-time and full-time students through the academic year.

This course provides you with systematic knowledge and the tools to critically review the complex relationships between government and society at a variety of levels and in different contexts. It also enables you to evaluate in a sophisticated and critical fashion, theories and paradigms within the broad field of politics and international relations, and to draw lessons from empirical studies involving both quantitative and qualitative investigations.

It also aims to develop your ability to deploy research strategies and methods in an appropriately advanced fashion to critically evaluate research at the current limits of theoretical understanding, and to equip you with the ability to master complex political concepts and evaluate the significance of major developments in political thought in general as well as international relations theory.

This course focuses on the political, social and cultural history of the Greek and Roman world, and their interactions with neighbouring societies. In your first year, you study core topics in Greek and Roman history, as well as a module focusing on ancient historical writing.

These courses prepare you for a wide range of more focused modules about politics, culture and society in the ancient world available in your second and third years. The course includes the option of beginning to learn Greek or Latin language (or continuing, if you have studied the languages already).

Combining still and moving images, advanced academic study and practical skills development, the BA in Visual Arts and Film at Durham is a degree like no other. It draws on staff research spanning historical periods from classical Rome to the present, and is almost global in its geographical reach, with an emphasis not only on Western art, film, and visual culture, but that of the Middle East, Russophone Eurasia, and East Asia. The very conceptions of the visual and the image you will explore in this course are fundamentally shaped by this transnational perspective. With this transnational scope in mind, the degree offers extensive language-learning opportunities, while within Durham it draws on the outstanding collections of the University’s Oriental Museum, its distinguished Western Art collections, and the curatorial expertise of its staff. No previous study of art is required: just a desire to explore the vast world of visual art and film.