Contemporary Writing PhD
From modernist and post-war women's writing to Caribbean and migrant fiction, our research interests span a wide range of areas aimed at understanding how literature affects wider society. We have a strong focus on maximizing both socio-cultural and academic impact of our work.
Creative Writing at Brunel is a leader in the field, which has for many years now ranked in the top 10% of Creative Writing degrees in the UK. We have some of Britain’s most celebrated, talented, original, and experienced writers actively publishing in the industry today, including Benjamin Zephaniah, Will Self, Bernardine Evaristo, Christopher Fox, Geoff King, Fiona Templeton and many more, having published over 80 powerfully diverse books between them and written for all the national newspapers. Our particular areas of strength include modern and contemporary literature, Shakespeare, Renaissance studies, Victorian literature and culture, and world literature in English.
Find out about the exciting research we do in this area. Browse profiles of our experts, discover the research groups and their inspirational research activities you too could be part of. We’ve also made available extensive reading materials published by our academics and PhD students.
Learn more about research in this area.
The writers at Brunel are all actively publishing and specialists in many areas of writing including:
all aspects of modern literary fiction
all aspects of contemporary commercial fiction
poetry, including for performance
women's and multicultural writing
horror and thriller writing
all aspects of fantasy fiction
post-colonial fiction
children's/ YA fiction
non-fiction
screenwriting
screen adaptation
comedy writing
writing for radio
writing for opera
autobiographical writing
female genital mutilation in Africa and the UK
the Fusion of creative writing and dramatherapy
creative writing for therapeutic purposes
autobiographical writing
female genital mutilation in Africa and the UK
the fusion of creative writing and dramatherapy
creative writing for therapeutic purposes
Intakes
- Jan
- April
- Oct
Application Processing Time in Days: 30
Minimum English Language Requirements
| English Level Description | IELTS (1.0 -9.0) | TOEFL IBT (0-120) | TOEFL CBT (0-300) | PTE (10-90) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expert | 9 | 120 | 297-300 | 86-90 | |
| Very Good | 8.5 | 115-119 | 280-293 | 83-86 | |
| Very Good | 8 | 110-114 | 270-280 | 79-83 | |
| Good | 7.5 | 102-109 | 253-267 | 73-79 | |
| Good | 7 | 94-101 | 240-253 | 65-73 | |
| Competent | 6.5 | 79-93 | 213-233 | 58-65 | |
| Competent | 6 | 60-78 | 170-210 | 50-58 | |
| Modest | 5.5 | 46-59 | 133-210 | 43-50 | |
| Modest | 5 | 35-45 | 107-133 | 36-43 | |
| Limited | 4 | 32-34 | 97-103 | 30-36 | |
| Extremely Limited | < 4 | < 31 | < 93 | < 30 |
Job Opportunity Potential
You will receive tailored careers support during your PhD and for up to three years after you complete your research at Brunel. We encourage you to actively engage in career planning and managing your personal development right from the start of your research, even (or perhaps especially) if you don't yet have a career path in mind. Our careers provision includes online information and advice, one-to-one consultations and a range of events and workshops. The Professional Development Centre runs a varied programme of careers events throughout the academic year. These include industry insight sessions, recruitment fairs, employer pop-ups and skills workshops.
In addition, where available, you may be able to undertake some paid work as we recognise that teaching and learning support duties represent an important professional and career development opportunity.
PSW Opportunity
- 2 Years PSW is applicable after completing a minimum duration of 9 months course (like- Undergraduate, Postgraduate Level)
- 3 Years PSW is applicable after completing PhD level courses.
Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria
The general University entrance requirement for registration for a research degree is normally a First or Upper Second Class Honours degree (1st or 2:1).
An interview may be required as part of the admissions process, and if so it would be conducted by one of the academic staff members remotely via Skype, phone or other means.
A minimum score of 55%-75%. Offers within the grade range are determined by the higher education institution attended.
If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.
English language requirements
IELTS: 7 (min 6 in all areas)
Pearson: 64 (59 in all subscores)
BrunELT: 68% (58% in all areas)
TOEFL: 98 overall (min 20)
- Course Code: CONWRITDFTD
- Course Type: Full Time
- Course Level: Doctoral Degree/PhD
- Duration: 03 Year
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Total Tuition Fee:
63780 GBP
Average Cost of Living: 13632 GBP /year
Application Fee: N/A