Overview

English and Creative Writing are amongst the most established and well recognised of all university disciplines. In our department you will be invited to explore the richness and diversity of the subject, and challenged to develop your skills as a reader, critic and writer of literature. As you will discover when you compare Chichester to other universities, we are a distinctive department, in which academic critics, literary theorists and practising writers work directly alongside each other. We believe that this gives you a breadth of insight into language, literature and your own writing which would not be possible in most standard English programmes.

Students here enjoy the advantage of being taught by academic staff  who are active and published researchers. Your instructors are engaged with the current debates in literary history, theory, and linguistics, which will ensure you have a stimulating intellectual experience! We also have a thriving academic culture for students to become involved in, which includes the South Coast Group, Eighteenth-Century and Romantic Research Group, the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, and a regular programme of conferences and, forums, as well as creative writing events and book launches. We also run Thresholds, the international postgraduate short story forum.

Students who undertook our creative writing course have ranked Chichester as one of the best in the country when compared to all other universities. Read more>>

For all the latest English department News and Events, visit our Events page. For more information on work past and present you can also visit our Department News web page.

Poets from the English Department perform at the ‘University on the Green’ part of the Chichester Fringe Festivities, Friday 2nd July, 2010.

On either of our two degree pathways (you can study for either a degree in English or for one in English and Creative Writing you will have the opportunity to work with tutors recognised for their research (scholarly books, articles and collections), as well as for their novels, poetry and plays. We are also a friendly, student-centred department, proud of the very high success rates on our undergraduate and postgraduate courses. During your three years with us (more if you opt to study part time) you will study in a relaxed and supportive environment, building up good one-to-one relationships with your academic advisor and tutors.

We welcome applications from all prospective students. In addition to sixth-form students completing A-level studies or equivalent. We also welcome applications from mature students currently completing Access programmes, and are fully committed to considering other mature students with non-standard entry qualifications.

Student Comment

Penelope Richards, BA Hons English Reading English at university has been a life long ambition and I feel privileged to have had this opportunity. The standard of tuition and content of the course has far exceeded my expectations. I find the academic modules interesting and stimulating and, equally importantly, I felt they would be very useful to me in professional life after university. The skills of research, analysis, interpretation and writing clearly and effectively will be particularly valuable.

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