Creative Writing PhD
Creative writing has been offered at undergraduate and postgraduate levels at The University of Manchester for over a decade, and the number of students and staff working in this area has continually expanded.
Our PhD in Creative Writing is the next logical step for students who have been successful in this area at undergraduate and/or postgraduate level, although applications will also be considered from writers with a record of publication. It will normally consist of an extended, original piece of creative work and a shorter critical evaluation, in which the creative work and its contexts are discussed and analysed.
The Creative Writing PhD programme is housed within the Centre for New Writing, which hosts the distinguished Literature Live series of events and, from 2008, a full Summer School. Teaching staff include Martin Amis, Patricia Duncker, M.J. Hyland, Vona Groarke, Geoff Ryman, Ian McGuire and John McAuliffe (for more information on our tutors visit the About Us section of the website).
Visiting writers in 08/09 will include DBC Pierre, A.L. Kennedy, Helen Dunmore, Andrew O'Hagan, Colm Toibin, Ciaran Carson and Jorie Graham.
The total length of the PhD will be around 80,000 words (depending on genre). The creative element could be a novel, a manuscript of poems or a collection of short stories, and the word length will normally be between 50,000 and 65,000 words (or equivalent, depending on genre).
The critical component will consist of a piece of literary or cultural criticism of approximately 30,000 words on a topic relating to the student's creative work. Students may choose to write about an author, genre or theme that is important to them but are not encouraged to simply reflect or meditate on their own creative processes; we are looking for work which is comparable in kind (if not quantity) to the work produced by PhD students in English or American Studies.
The periodical Manuscript, run by and for postgraduates, is produced from within the subject area by a cooperative of graduate students. it provides not only a forum for publications by postgraduates, but also an opportunity to perfect transferable skills in publishing, reviewing, marketing and teamwork.
Our PhDs also form part of the editorial board of our own journal, The Manchester Review, contribiting regular reviews of the latest books, films, plays, music and visual arts releases.
RESEARCH SKILLS
The PhD requires the student to develop his/her research skills, and to this end s/he will be able to undertake a research skills audit and attend seminars and workshops on research methods during their first year. Our PhD students are invited to participate in School-wide training seminars which will develop useful research, teaching and IT skills, as well as seminars in relation to publication, authors' rights etc.
RESEARCH PANELS & SUPERVISION
Students will be assigned separate supervisors for the creative and critical components of the PhD, whom they will meet once every two weeks on average to receive advice and feedback.
Once a semester they will also meet a research panel, consisting of the main supervisor and two other members of staff with relevant interests. The main purpose of the panel is to provide a wider variety of advice on how each student can improve and develop their work, and there will usually be separate research panels for creative and critical elements of the PhD.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & HOW TO APPLY
Click here for more information on this course.
For further details of the academic content contact Ian McGuire on ian.r.mcguire@manchester.ac.uk.