A BA (Hons) Creative Writing and Journalism degree teaches two crafts that share a foundation and diverge in purpose. Journalism is about finding out what is true and reporting it accurately under time pressure, within a legal and ethical framework. Creative writing is about making something that did not exist before and making a reader care about it. Both are learned by writing constantly and by having that writing taken apart in workshops.
The combination is more useful than it might sound. Journalism gives you discipline, deadlines and a professional standard of accuracy. Creative writing gives you range and voice. Employers in content, communications and publishing want both.
What you study
Three years. Expect a heavy and continuous writing workload rather than a small number of large exams.
- Journalism side: news writing and reporting, interviewing, media law and ethics, feature writing, digital and multimedia journalism, data journalism, and often a newsroom simulation.
- Creative writing side: prose fiction, poetry, scriptwriting for screen and stage, editing and redrafting, and workshop critique.
- Shared: media and communication theory, publishing and the industry, portfolio development, and a final year extended project, which is usually a substantial piece of original work.
Media law is the module students underestimate and employers check. Defamation, contempt and privacy are not optional knowledge for anyone who writes publicly.
Entry requirements from Nepal
The figures below are what most of our partner universities ask for. They are not fixed, and individual universities set their own thresholds each intake, so treat this as a guide and let us confirm the exact position for the courses you shortlist.
- Academic: +2, A-Levels or IB at roughly 60 per cent and above, with a foundation year route for students slightly below the threshold. Strong English is more important here than any particular +2 subject. Some universities ask to see a short portfolio or a piece of writing, and we will help you prepare one.
- English: IELTS 6.0 overall is common but a number of universities ask for 6.5 on writing-intensive courses, and a higher writing sub-score specifically. Many of our partner universities also accept PTE Academic, Duolingo, or a Medium of Instruction letter from Tribhuvan, Pokhara or Kathmandu University. See our IELTS score comparison and the routes that do not require IELTS.
- Study gap: most universities accept a gap, commonly up to five years and sometimes up to ten, as long as you can account for the time.
- Finance: the student visa requires evidence of your first year tuition plus living costs, currently 1,529 pounds a month for London and 1,171 pounds a month elsewhere, held for nine months. Our page on UK university fees for international students sets out the detail.
Where the degree leads
- Journalism across print, broadcast and digital
- Content writing, copywriting and content strategy, which is where the largest volume of graduate jobs now sits
- Public relations and corporate communications
- Publishing and editorial work
- Social media and digital marketing
- Screenwriting and scripted media, for the persistent
- Teaching and academic routes
An honest assessment for students from Nepal
Writing in a second language to a professional English standard is a real barrier and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. Students who arrive with genuinely strong written English do well and often stand out, because they bring a perspective the rest of the cohort does not have. Students whose English is adequate but not strong tend to struggle, because assessment here is almost entirely written.
Be realistic about your writing, not just your IELTS score. If English is a strength you enjoy using, this is a rewarding degree. If it is something you have worked hard to pass, a different subject will serve you better.
Where Real Dreams comes in
We have been placing students from Nepal in UK universities since 2003. Bring us your academic documents and we will be candid about your prospects for creative writing and journalism rather than encouraging you towards whichever university pays the most commission. That includes telling you when a different course would serve you better.
Counselling is free and there is no obligation. Our offices are in Kathmandu, Chitwan, Pokhara, Butwal and Bhairahawa, with a further office in London. Get in touch when you are ready, start an application, or look through the full course list.
