Overview, purpose and ethos

The BA in English and Creative Writing builds and expands on almost two decades of experience in directing and fostering undergraduate talent specifically in Creative Writing at University of Galway. Our guiding principle for the study of our craft is that ‘writers learn to write by writing’, and so the emphasis throughout is on practice-based learning and experience.

You will study and practice all the major genres of Creative Writing: Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Playwriting, Screenwriting. Within these broader genres, you will be helped discover, experiment with and strengthen your own individual strands of interest.

During the course, your developing concentration on your own creative practice is paralleled by a focus on the practical imperatives and industry requirements in the many established and emerging writing-related fields. From the very start during your first year, a speaker from the writing professions visits the class each week for discussions, Q & A and informal conversation. This will help you begin to actively engage with the everyday routines and rhythms of writing-related professionals of all kinds.

With your expanding knowledge of what it takes to write at a high level, by the end of second year you will be ready to embark on a third year that provides for a 100% focus on your personal Creative Writing project(s). By the end of this specialism year, students on the course have developed advanced drafts of, for instance, novels of various kinds, collections of stories and/or flash fiction, poetry collections, plays, screenplays, essay collections, podcast scripts. You decide on your creative direction and project focus for the year, and then we will engage with your ideas and provide the teaching, mentorship and all-in guidance to help you fulfil your vision for your work.

Then, as you complete your studies in English and one other subject during your fourth and final year, you will build further on your third-year project(s) through modules that concentrate on professionalisation, publication planning, social and public platforms and the various ways now of getting yourself and your writing out into the world.

Year by year

Year 1
You will study Creative Writing, English, and one other Arts subject (please note that some subject restrictions apply). The focus in Creative Writing will be on the practice of Fiction and Nonfiction, and there will also be a weekly visiting-speaker series.

Year 2
You will study Creative Writing, English, and your other chosen Arts subject. For Creative Writing, second year concentrates on the writing of Poetry, Plays and Screenplays.

Year 3
Your Creative Writing work will be the exclusive focus, through mentored independent project(s) and/or study abroad and/or work placement. While mentorship with professional writers is the prime work experience for our Creative Writing students, other forms of work placement are possible. Your third year provides a major opportunity for guided self-directed learning, and you can discuss your plans and prospects in advance with your course director and/or mentor. If you are studying a language with English and Creative Writing, you may avail of an exchange at an EU university, and the Creative Writing study path you take while abroad will be planned in advance. Non-language students may also avail of an exchange with an English-speaking university abroad, most typically in the USA or Canada (note that availability of exchange places may vary and/or will be determined on a competitive basis).

Year 4
Completion of your studies in Creative Writing, English and your other subject. For Creative Writing, your classes will centre on project and portfolio consolidation, professionalisation and publication planning.

Curriculum Information

• This is by far the longest established specialist Creative Writing course of its kind in Ireland and beyond. We have almost two decades of experience in fostering undergraduate writers.
• The practice of Creative Writing combines on this course with the critical study of English Literature, helping our students build their imaginations on a solid knowledge foundation.
• We use an innovative and adaptable ‘workshop’ approach in our classes, focusing on writing as a disciplined craft and helping students develop and constantly sharpen their own toolkits for writing.
• Our course community has an enlightening international flavour – we have had up to 16 nationalities represented, with students coming from North and South America and Asia as well as from a wide range of EU countries.

With a comparatively high proportion of our students attaining first-class honours degrees (typically 30-35% of the class), this course will help open doors of employment for you in all those fields where written communication is important. You will have fostered the talent, imagination and professionalism necessary to pursue a career as a published author, and the transferable skills you will acquire are applicable to a wide range of careers and creative fields, for example in teaching, editing, publishing and other literary professions, advertising and copy-writing, games writing and narrative design, and the existing and ever-expanding areas in media, journalism and public engagement. Our students also have a comparatively very high success rate in applications to a broad range of postgraduate courses at home and abroad.

If you are studying a language with English and Creative Writing, you will be facilitated for an Erasmus exchange with a relevant European university. The Creative Writing study path you take abroad will be discussed in advance and planned with your year coordinator and/or course director. Non-language students may also avail of an exchange with an English-speaking university abroad, most typically in the USA or Canada (note that availability of exchange places may vary and/or will be determined on a competitive basis).

While structured hands-on mentorship with professional writers during Third Year is the prime work experience for our Creative Writing students, other forms of work placement are possible. Your third year provides a major opportunity for guided self-directed learning, and prospects for additional placements can be discussed in advance with your course director and/or mentor.

Dr John Kenny
Mike McCormack
Elaine Feeney
Lisa McInerney
Roisin Kiberd
Susan DuMars
Betsy Cornwell
Tim Kearney
Morag Prunty
John Patrick McHugh

The BA in English and Creative Writing will help you think about, prepare for, and engage with a range of learning platforms and experiences and a number of different modes of assessment.

What will my classes in Creative Writing be like?
On entry to First Year all students are randomly allocated to one of three groups of c.15 students each for the Creative Writing strand. All three groups have the same classes across first year, and all three groups also regularly come together for one collective session, usually for a guest talk from a visiting writer.

For Second Year you will continue within the same group, with everyone again having the same set of classes.

For Third Year you pause your studies in English itself and in your other subject and your focus will be on Creative Writing exclusively. You will be placed in one of several ‘creativity pods’ of c.8 students – you will be assigned your pod according to the kind of writing project(s) you wish to develop – everyone in your pod will be working on the same kind of genre or area as you.

For Fourth Year the full year cohort comes together again for weekly classes that will alternate between classroom panel discussion sessions with your teachers and a wide variety of visiting writers, and collective writing sessions that will especially cultivate self-led and peer-led learning. This final phase will begin to prime the class for successful completion of the four years and for engagement with the possibilities for what comes next for everyone.

English and your other subject
On this course English is a compulsory subject. In First Year, Creative Writing and English operate as separate subjects, but thereafter they operate as one overall subject for the purposes of your degree. On entry to First Year you also choose one other subject. There is a range of subjects available, but it is important to note that, as is the case generally with courses, some subject restrictions apply. Related information is included in the University of Galway undergraduate prospectus – but be sure to contact the course director at the details below if you need to check on anything.

How will my Creative Writing work and performance be assessed?
Your Creative Writing strand does not involve set examinations. All your work will be assessed through one or more of these modes: Continuous assessment, including in-class participation; in-class exercises; ongoing small-projects or end-of-semester final project(s); portfolio development.

On this course English is a compulsory subject. In First Year, Creative Writing and English operate as separate subjects, but thereafter they operate as one overall subject for the purposes of your degree. On entry to First Year you also choose one other subject. There is a range of subjects available, but it is important to note that, as is the case generally with courses, some subject restrictions apply. Related information is included in the University of Galway undergraduate prospectus – but be sure to contact the course director at the details below if you need to check on anything.

How will my Creative Writing work and performance be assessed?

Your Creative Writing strand does not involve set examinations. All your work will be assessed through one or more of these modes: Continuous assessment, including in-class participation; in-class exercises; ongoing small-projects or end-of-semester final project(s); portfolio development.

Course queries:
john.kenny@universityofgalway.ie

Programme Director:
Dr John Kenny,
School of English, Media and Creative Arts
College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies

E: john.kenny@universityofgalway.ie
T: 091 495612

Q: Can I choose Psychology or Law as my other subject?
A: No. Explainer: In First Year on this course students take 3 subjects: Creative Writing is a compulsory subject, English is a compulsory subject, and then students take one other optional subject. But into Second Year and beyond Creative Writing + English operate as one subject. Psychology and Law have restricted entry into their second year, and so if our Creative Writing students took either of these as a first year subject and then didn’t progress into the second year they would have no second subject to carry on with (alongside Creative Writing + English operating as one subject) for their degree. In which case they would be facing the prospect of repeating First Year (possibly repeatedly) – so the College officially prevents that possibility by excluding Psychology and Law as options in the first place.

Minimum Grade H5 in two subjects and passes in four other subjects at O6/H7 Level in the Leaving Certificate, including Irish, English, another language, and three other subjects recognised for entry purposes.

Additional Requirements 

Students must obtain a minimum of Grade H4 in the Higher Level Leaving Certificate paper in Mathematics or, alternatively places available (which may vary in number year to year) may be allocated to candidates who have achieved the points requirement for the programme that year, and who attain a Pass in the Engineering Maths Qualifying Examination. The places available will be allocated in strict order of merit based points attained in the Leaving Certificate. Due to capacity constraints, not all candidates who achieve a pass in the examination may receive an offer. 

Alternative Pathways

The Access Centre at University of Galway provides a number of alternative entry routes to undergraduate programmes. See below some useful links:

• QQI/FET/FETAC Places
• Mature Students
• Access and Foundation programmes
• HEAR Scheme
• DARE Scheme

Other Qualifications

If you are a school leaver presenting results other than Leaving Cert results, please review the entry requirements relevant to you:  

• A Level students
• International Baccalaureate students
• EU students

For applicants whose first language is not English, it is important to check our English Language Requirements.

Admissions Office

Our Admissions Office provides additional detail relevant to CAO applicants including key dates, FAQs and instructions for non-school leavers.

Irish and European (EU/EFTA/UK) Applicants
Apply via the CAO. See the CAO Handbook for useful information on applying through the CAO.

Mature Applicants
Apply via the CAO by 1 February. To apply for a place as a mature student, you must be 23 years of age on or before 1 January of the year of entry. Further information available here.

QQI/FET/FETAC Applicants
Apply via the CAO. See our QQI/FET/FETAC Applicants page for information on places available and entry requirements.

Fees for Academic Year 2025/2026

• Most EU students applying through the CAO will be eligible for the ‘Free Fees Initiative’. You can find out more here.
• If you are eligible for a means tested SUSI grant this may cover 100% of this Student Contribution Charge. If you are 100% eligible SUSI will pay the Student Contribution Charge of €3,000 on your behalf. 
• The Student Levy It is payable by all students and it is not covered by SUSI
• Where the course duration is greater than 1 year, there is an inflationary increase approved of 3.4% per annum for continuing year fees. This applies to non-EU fees.
• You can find additional detail on the Fees Office webpage including FAQs and how fee status is assessed.

High-achieving undergraduate students are encouraged to apply for a range of prestigious scholarships that recognise academic excellence and support students in reaching their full potential. Click here for further Information. 

Application Process
Students applying for full undergraduate degree programmes from outside of the European Union (EU), and who are liable for full non-EU tuition fees, should apply online via Apply to University of Galway. Our application portal opens on the 1^st October each year for each the following September.  

Further Information
Please visit the international application webpage for further information on closing dates, documentation requirements, application fees and the application process.

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