CREATIVE WRITING PHD
Creative writing at the University of Manchester has been offered at undergraduate and postgraduate levels for over a decade, and the number of students and staff working in this area has continually expanded. The 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.
THE FORM OF THE CREATIVE WRITING PHD
The Ph.D will normally consist of an extended and original piece of creative work and a shorter critical evaluation in which this creative work, and its contexts, are discussed and analysed. The creative element could be a novel, a manuscript of poems, or collection of short stories. The word length of this section will normally be between 50000 to 65000 words (or equivalent, depending on genre).
The critical component will involve a self-reflective and evaluative analysis about some aspect of the creative or research process and will normally be 15000-30000 words in length. This may involve any of the currently debated topics in English and American Studies as they relate to the candidate's creative work: thematic or generic preoccupations, wider literary, theoretical, or poetic contexts, and so on.
The total length of the PhD will stand at 80,000 words (depending on genre).
THE TRAINING ELEMENT OF THE CREATIVE WRITING PHD
Research Skills
The PhD will require the student to develop his/her research skills and, to this end, s/he will be able to undertake a research skills audit and to attend seminars and workshops on research methods in the first year: in this way, students undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing will 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, which will be particularly useful to students of creative writing.
Research Panels, Supervision and the Creative Writing PhD
Students will be assigned separate supervisors for the creative and critical components of the PhD. They will meet with their supervisors on average once every two weeks in order to receive advice and feedback. Once a semester, the student will meet with a research panel consisting of the main supervisor and two other members of staff with relevant interests. The main purpose of the research panel is to allow the student to receive a wider variety of advice on how to improve and develop their work. There will usually be separate research panels for creative and critical elements of the PhD.
APPLICATIONS
Candidates should normally have a record of achievement in their chosen field and have an M.A. in Creative Writing or a relevant subject. The time allowed for completion of the PhD is normally three years full-time, six years part-time.
For any further details of the academic content contact Ian McGuire on ian.r.mcguire@manchester.ac.uk.
For application forms and further information, please contact:
Postgraduate Education
School of Arts, Histories and Cultures
The University of Manchester
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PL
0161 306 1259
Fax: 0161 275 5987
e-mail: SAHCPG@manchester.ac.uk