Creative Writing at University of Dundee ranked in Top 5 in the UK

On Friday morning, as we prepared for the start of a brand-new academic year, staff on the English & Creative Writing here at Dundee received some great news: the Times and Sunday Times University Guide have ranked us number 4 in the UK! We’re really proud of this recognition and even prouder of all of the work by students, staff and external partners that make English & Creative Writing at Dundee so distinctive. We also think it’s a great occasion to share some of the opportunities and outcomes that make the programme shine.

We all know Dundee is an amazing place for creativity and culture, and over the past few years, students in English & Creative Writing have worked directly with key institutions in the city. For example, check out writing, images and sounds from Dundee students working as part of a major international exhibition at V&A Dundee called A Fragile Correspondence. Or spend some time with this anthology of student writing created in response to the Arbroath Abbey, a partnership with the arts organisation Hospitalfield and the Arbroath 2020 committee. We have more collaborations in the works, so watch this space!

The English & Creative Writing programme also brings in writers, publishers and creative practitioners from all over to work with students and share insights and experiences from their varied and fascinating careers. We have welcomed best-selling and prize-winning novelists and poets and writers of genre fiction from across the publishing spectrum: a few names include Lauren Beukes, Shola von Rheinhold, Victoria MacKenzie, Garry MacKenzie & Sophie Robinson, as well as local writers like science fiction/fantasy writing duo MK Hardy. Publishers ranging from high-profile internationals like Penguin Random House, exciting independents like Angry Robot, and experimental projects like Three Times Rebel have helped show students how the publishing world really works. We’re also lucky to have access to the world-leading Comics Studies Creative Research Hub, which builds on the groundbreaking history of comics in Dundee to support new thinking and making in this form.

Teaching on English & Creative Writing combines serious training in skills, techniques, literary history and critical thinking with exposure to real-world creative industries and socially engaged creative practice. In their first year, students get a grounding in literary form and history with the opportunity to explore the foundations of other subjects like Film, Philosophy, History and the Social Sciences. In second year, they start to build a toolkit of writing techniques and get expert guidance in developing their own creative voice. By third year, students can dive into specific forms, from poetry to fiction to screenwriting and start to learn about professional practice. The programme culminates in an optional Creative Practice Dissertation in the fourth year, which allows students to leave the programme with a substantial portfolio of creative work.

Needless to say, we think University of Dundee is a great place to study English & Creative Writing and we’re more than delighted to see that the league tables agree!