Creative Writing (MLitt)

Creative Writing at Glasgow

‎Among its alumni the University of Glasgow includes some notable writers, from Robert Henryson in the fifteenth century, to James Boswell, Tobias Smollett and Adam Smith in the eighteenth.  It was in the twentieth century that Glasgow’s place as a centre of creativity was established. It numbers among its many writer-graduates William Boyd, James Bridie, John Buchan, A.J. Cronin, Janice Galloway, Alasdair Gray, Janice Hally, James Herriot, James Kelman, Helen MacInnes, Alistair MacLean, William McIllvanney, Edwin Morgan and Alexander Trocchi.

The University of Glasgow’s commitment goes back a long way, but became defined when the Masters in Creative Writing was founded in 1995 by Professor Philip Hobsbaum and Professor Willy Maley. Today it provides a unique writing environment for undergraduate and postgraduate students.  After fifteen years, our Masters, MFA and PhD provisions are among the most challenging and popular in Britain.  The programme centres on the Edwin Morgan Writing Room with its book, periodical and audio-visual library.  There is an ambitious programme of visiting speakers, masterclasses and public events.  The University Library with its modern collections and archives is a crucial resource.  We also collaborate with the Mitchell Library, one of the great civic libraries of Europe, and our public events are open to the public.

The Masters in Creative Writing was founded in 1995.  It is offered on a full-time or a part-time basis (one year or two years) and entails workshops, tutorials and reading and publishing courses.  The Masters in Creative Writing by Distance Learning is offered  full-time.

The MFA, founded in 2008, is unique among British Creative Writing programmes, combining the MLitt and taught elements from the PhD, with a bespoke pedagogy strand, over a two year period of study and practice.

The Glasgow programme begins in a selective undergraduate Honours Creative Writing course. It culminates in the Glasgow Creative PhD programme, with routes in Novel and Poetry Writing.  This PhD incorporate taught elements (workshops, tutorials and seminars) within a supervised PhD context.  There is a long history of PhDs by research in Creative Writing as well.  Follow this link for more information on Creative Writing research.

Students have access to the best of the new and also develop a sense of the origins and histories of the genres they practice.  They enjoy the guidance of writers and critics including John Coyle, Jane Goldman, Laura Marney, Rob Maslen, Kei Miller, Elizabeth Reeder, Michael Schmidt and Zoe Strachan.

They engage with visiting writers from around the globe, including in recent years Simon Armitage, Margaret Atwood, Edward Baugh, Sujata Bhatt, Eavan Boland, Stephen Burt, Gillian Clarke, Peter Davidson, Niall Ferguson, Janice Galloway, Lorna Goodison, Jorie Graham, Alasdair Gray, Kirsty Gunn, Jen Hadfield, Jackie Kay, A.L. Kennedy, Marina Lewycka, Toby Litt, Liz Lochhead, Bernard MacLaverty, Harry Mathews, Maggie O'Farrell, Andrew O'Hagan, Sharon Olds, Alice Quinn, Ian Rankin, Frederic Raphael, Christopher Ricks, James Robertson, Lionel Shriver, Rachel Sieffert, Graham Swift, Louise Welsh, Michael Wood and Zoe Wicombe, and many leading editors, critics and agents.