Master of Arts in Creative Writing - (Writing the City)

at University of Westminster - Regent Campus United Kingdom

Our degree offers the exciting combination of the study of Chinese language and culture alongside the wider study of the forms, structures and varieties of language itself.

You'll develop a high level of competence in oral and written communication in Chinese, proficiency in language transfer skills, and a thorough knowledge of Chinese culture. On graduation, you'll be able to thrive linguistically in diverse cultural situations.

You'll study an integrated curriculum with a focus on applied language skills and cultural studies, supported by a rigorous development of your foreign languages skills in all areas. We teach in an integrated interdisciplinary way, exploring the connections between language and culture and the broader historical and cross-cultural contexts in which they are produced. 

Top reasons to study with us

• Enhance your language skills abroad – You'll have the option to spend a full academic year abroad in your third year, or shorter periods ranging from a few days to a full semester
• Mix language with culture – Develop your Chinese language skills alongside your cultural knowledge of the Chinese-speaking world with our integrated curriculum
• Expert teaching – You'll study with world experts in creoles, pidgins and sociolinguistics
• Be supported – You'll receive individually focused academic support through our tutorial modules

Our Arabic and International Relations course focuses on questions of governance, democracy and human rights, while training competent Arabic linguists ready to enter graduate employment.

This course will enable you to achieve a good level of linguistic competence in Arabic in all four skill areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking), and a critical understanding of culture and politics from the perspective of the changing dynamics of the global political order. You'll have the opportunity to study language, culture and international relations in an integrated way, exploring the connections between them and the broader geopolitical and cross-cultural contexts in which they are produced. You'll also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

We place particular emphasis on employability and the contemporary cultural context and offer high-quality teaching in all language skills.

Our Arabic courses are only available to beginner or 'false beginner' entrants – false beginners are students who may be able to read the Arabic script, and/or have the equivalent to one or two years' part-time study. Please note that we may need to test you to determine your entry point.

You'll study an integrated curriculum with a focus on applied language skills and cultural studies, supported by a rigorous development of your foreign languages skills in all areas.

You'll develop a high level of competence in oral and written communication in Arabic, proficiency in language transfer skills, a thorough knowledge of Arabic culture, and the ability to thrive linguistically in diverse cultural situations.

You'll have the opportunity to spend a full academic year abroad at a partner institution and/or, depending on your language level, an approved form of employment in a country where Arabic is the of?cial language. You can also study an elective module from across the University in each year.

The Professional Writing with Extended Work Placement MA is designed for those who want to turn their love of words and writing into a dynamic and fulfilling career. It will give you the skills, motivation, networks and connections to work across a wide variety of industries – in publishing, journalism, public relations, advertising, as literary agents, copywriters and copyeditors. It will also allow you to explore the history and future of writing and the writing industries from a variety of perspectives, and to develop your own interests and specialisms.

The course takes a broad, holistic view of writing, because writing is not just about writing. It is about editing, about working with the words of others and with other languages, it is about the reader, it is about the form into which the words are packaged. It is about essays and tweets, novels and headlines, criticism and advertising, prizes and publicity. As a result, the course brings together the combined expertise of English, Creative Writing, Media, Communication, and Film and Cultural Studies to offer a truly interdisciplinary MA.

Our Translation Studies BA Honours will give you the skills, knowledge and competencies to build a career as a professional translator.

You'll develop knowledge of language structure, register, textuality and discourse, by applying linguistic concepts to practical translation tasks. You'll also gain the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

Depending on your entry point, you can combine the main language, Spanish, with another language (Arabic, Chinese or French) or the Global Communication route. You'll study an integrated curriculum, with a focus on professional context and communication skills, bilingual translation skills and theory. Your studies may include developing your skills in a new foreign language or modules in cultural studies. Teaching and learning take place through a combination of formal lectures, seminars, practical workshops, guided self-study, and exposure to professionally relevant simulations and real-work environments.

Alongside core modules in translation, the course offers a wide range of option modules, covering topics including global communications, world cultures, current affairs, politics and gender issues. You'll also have the option to spend a year abroad in a Spanish-speaking country, studying or, depending on your language level, working or volunteering.

As well as careers in professional translation, our graduates have found employment as interpreters, teachers (both in foreign languages and English as a foreign language), and in various other sectors including law, marketing, journalism, and the Civil Service.

We accept intermediate (post-A Level) and proficient speakers in Spanish. This is a linguistically challenging course and we may need to assess you in order to determine your entry point and suitability.

Our Creative Writing and English Language BA combines the opportunity to improve your writing skills with the development of a thorough knowledge and understanding of the structure, history and usage of the English language.

In addition to studying how the language works in its spoken and written forms, and the different kinds of English that exist today, the course provides structured support and guidance in the development of writing skills in various genres (the novel, the short story, poetry, drama, and non-fictional writing). Your knowledge and understanding of English will be enhanced by focusing on its aesthetic possibilities.

This particular combination is suitable for those interested in pursuing a career in any field that involves the highly skilled use of language, such as publishing or journalism, professional writing, or teaching. You could also go on to a career that includes teaching related to language or creative writing.

You'll have the opportunity to study an optional module from a range of different topics across the University in each year of study. The course will also equip you with the transferable and cognitive skills necessary for lifelong personal and professional development.

Top reasons to study with us

• Fantastic location for the creative industries - London has unrivalled access to publishing houses, film production companies, theatre and poetry networks, and other literary opportunities
• Writer-led workshops - all of our creative writing tutors are either practising poets, dramatists or novelists
• Gain valuable industry contacts - you’ll have the opportunity to make writing contacts through our talented creative writing tutors, our expert guest speakers and our industry links
• Get experience before graduating – you’ll have the option to do a work placement as part of this course
• Personalised support - you’ll get individually focused academic support and career planning through our tutorials
• Opportunities to gain international experience - our students have been on regular field trips and have had amazing opportunities to travel, work and study abroad. Previous destinations have included Miami, Hong Kong, Cuba, Berlin, Morocco, Washington and Paris.

Our English Language and Global Communication BA develops your understanding of the English language and the complexities of global communication in order to help you thrive in a professional global context.

You'll achieve a thorough knowledge of culture through comparative, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approaches and via the analysis of the forms and practices of cultural transmission. You'll develop the linguistic resources, strategies and intercultural awareness and flexibility essential for effective communication in global professional environments.

Our combination of disciplinary and interdisciplinary learning will ensure that you graduate with an array of important transferable skills including cultural insight, the ability to evaluate and apply theory, undertake research and utilise creative and precise analytic capabilities. Engagement in small research projects and the associated ethical issues ensures that you'll have experience of considering and complying with ethical requirements.

Top reasons to study with us

• Enhance your communication skills abroad – You'll have the option to immerse yourself in another culture by spending a full academic year abroad. You can spend one or two semesters at a partner institution in Europe, the USA, Canada, or Australia
• Interdisciplinary learning – Our course enhances your written and spoken English skills while developing your knowledge of the English language and your understanding of communication within cross-cultural settings
• Become a global citizen – Studying our degree, you'll gain a high degree of linguistic and cultural autonomy, and develop the skills and international outlook to thrive in intercultural settings
• Learn transferable skills – Our degree will prepare you for a variety of careers by helping you to build your communication, research, critical and analytical skills

Global issues and challenges, such as armed conflicts, terrorism, global warming and environmental degradation, economic inequality and injustice, migration, religious and cultural discord, have gained increased prominence, as have the range of actors and stakeholders at global, national and local level engaged in diplomatic activity to address them. Negotiated solutions are increasingly in demand and so are professionals with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively in diplomatic activity in a diverse and contested world.

The Diplomacy and Global Politics MA is designed to equip you with the theoretical and practical knowledge of international relations and the art of negotiation required at a global stage. As a diplomatic stakeholder, you'll be at the centre of forging crucial ties, resolving crises, shaping events and witnessing history in the making.

This course is for recent graduates and early career professionals who wish to improve their knowledge and understanding of the theory and practice of contemporary diplomacy and global politics, enhance their professional skills and advance their careers. It also provides a strong foundation for those who wish to engage in further study of diplomacy, diplomatic innovation, and the study of global politics and governance, as well as bilateral, multilateral, and multi-stakeholder negotiations.

This course gives you the chance to study English literature in a modern university environment, while taking advantage of the wealth of resources offered by London's rich cultural life. You will examine literary texts in the wider context of cultural production and relate them to the social, historical and political circumstances from which they emerge.

The course team consists of academic specialists who make use of the many nearby museums, galleries and libraries in their teaching. The course will be of particular interest to those wishing to prepare for further study at MPhil or PhD level, and those teaching English who want to gain a further qualification and investigate recent and current developments in the field.

The English Literature: Modern and Contemporary Fictions MA at the University of Westminster is designed to offer a coherent programme of postgraduate study that allows for both chronological range and specific topical focus. It gives you the opportunity to revisit and reinvestigate the texts, critical practices, institutions and periods that make up the discipline in order to see it in new and exciting ways.

Our Chinese and Global Communication BA develops your knowledge of the Chinese language and culture, and develops your communication skills for the professional global environment.

The curriculum integrates applied language skills and cultural studies, while ensuring a rigorous development of your foreign language competence in all areas. We teach in an integrated interdisciplinary way, exploring the connections between language and culture and the broader historical and cross-cultural contexts in which they are produced. 

You'll improve your ability as an intercultural communicator by studying how our ideas are shaped and communicated in a global society, where our interactions are no longer confined by national, regional or cultural boundaries.

Top reasons to study with us

• Enhance your language skills abroad – You'll have the option to spend a full academic year abroad between Years 2 and 3, or shorter periods ranging from a few days to a full semester
• Get career-ready – Our course strengthens your communication skills and gives you practice in transferring these to the world of work
• Understand multiple forms of communication – You'll learn how to read between the lines and really understand how we're influenced by the messages around us – on TV, in advertising, and across other media
• Multicultural focus – We use our students' different cultural experiences to discover what it means to be an intercultural communicator

This course looks at the way that museums, galleries and other cultural institutions are changing to meet the needs of the 21st century. The MA has been designed for students who wish to work as curators, arts organisers, museum professional and other cultural managers and who want to know in particular how these institutions face contemporary issues. It looks at the changing role of cultural provision and how agencies, festivals and flexible organisations shape, house, fund, and disseminate culture today. The course also gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the contemporary debates about working practices in cultural institutions, and the changing context in which organisations operate.

The course concentrates on professional practice and you will work closely with institutions such as Tate Britain and the Museum of London, and conduct case studies into creative projects run by organisations as diverse as the Victoria and Albert Museum, smaller independent galleries and London-based festivals and arts organisations. Classes are taught off-site at other institutions, and involve professionals from the sector as much as possible to give you an understanding of vocational issues and a close involvement in the workplace.