Undergraduate

Creative Writing and Film Studies

A student stood reading a book while browsing the bookshelves in the Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull.
A TV or film set made to look like a bar or cafe with table and two chairs. Two students sit talking to each other.
Hull Film Studies student, Lucy Meer, smiling and holding a notepad and pen while students write on laptops behind her.
A full crowd in Middleton Hall watches a lecture being delivered

Look around

The 7-storey Brynmor Jones Library is home to 1 million+ books. Our Rare Books room includes a variety of titles published between 1473 and 2002.
Holme House is our on-campus filming and editing suite. As well as multiple studio cameras, it’s home to portable cameras and location equipment.
Explore scriptwriting, non-fiction, short stories, the novel, and poetry. As well as genres from fantasy and science fiction to myth and fairytale.
Middleton Hall is our world-class cultural venue. This 400-seater concert hall is regularly used as a theatre and surround-sound cinema.
Retreat to the sanctuary of the Reading Room where you can catch up on the newest poetry, prose and criticism in our library of literary journals.
A student stood reading a book while browsing the bookshelves in the Brynmor Jones Library, University of Hull.
A TV or film set made to look like a bar or cafe with table and two chairs. Two students sit talking to each other.
Hull Film Studies student, Lucy Meer, smiling and holding a notepad and pen while students write on laptops behind her.
A full crowd in Middleton Hall watches a lecture being delivered
Brynmor Jones Library Reading Room

Code

Duration

Mode

  • Standard course
  • September 2024

Typical offer

What does this mean?

Learn how to craft a jaw-dropping plot twist – and how to bring it to life on screen. This course gives you the skills and knowledge to turn your passion for writing and film into a career.

You’ll explore a range of forms including scriptwriting, non-fiction, short stories, the novel, and poetry. And you’ll experiment with all kinds of genres – from fantasy and science fiction, to myth and fairytale.

Creativity lives and breathes at Hull. Always has done, always will. So you’ll be joining a University with a strong heritage in writing and film, and a buzzing literary and creative scene.

  • State-of-the-art

    filming and editing suite on campus

  • 1 million+ books

    and journals available at the Brynmor Jones Library

  • Published writers

    and scholars teach on this course

  • Industry links

    with Screen Yorkshire

  • 3rd in the UK

    for Student Satisfaction with Creative Writing 1

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Course overview
Module options

About this course

Our course will develop your confidence in your writing through core skills and techniques. You’ll experiment with scriptwriting, non-fiction, short stories, the novel, and poetry. As well as genres from fantasy and science fiction to myth and fairytale. And you’ll learn how to approach film and television as art, history, culture, entertainment and commerce.

You'll have plenty of opportunities to get involved with our thriving writing and film scene, too. In creative writing, you can take part in our active, student-led English Society and Write HU. HUWrites provides a platform for performance with showcases and student-led podcasts. You’ll also get the chance to design, edit and publish with our in-house magazines, Document 1 and Hull Scribbler.

And in film, you’ll get the chance to earn CV-boosting experience on a placement. This could be through our involvement with Screen Yorkshire's Connected Campus. It’s a scheme that can help prepare you for life in the film and TV industry through masterclasses, workshops and visiting speakers.

Scheduled study hours and how you’re assessed

Throughout your degree, you’re expected to study for 1,200 hours per year. That’s based on 200 hours per 20 credit module. And it includes scheduled hours, time spent on placement and independent study. How this time is divided across the year varies and depends on the module you are studying.

How you'll be assessed depends on the course you study, and the modules you choose. You may be assessed through a mix of examinations, coursework, presentations and group projects.

Choose your modules

Each year, you’ll study modules worth a certain number of credits, and you need 120 credits per year. Most modules are 20 credits – so you’ll study six modules each year. Some longer modules, such as a dissertation, are worth more. In these cases, you’ll study fewer modules - but the number of credits will always add up to 120. Some modules are compulsory, some are optional, so you can build a course that’s right for you.

The Writer’s Toolkit

‘The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms’ – Muriel Rukeyser. This module will help you to nourish the writer within you, and introduce you to the key concepts that will allow your imagination to flourish through writing exercises, workshops and advice from published writers.

Compulsory•20 credits

Introduction to Filmmaking

Get hands-on with filmmaking equipment in our studio and editing facilities, and on location, completing a series of group tasks that equip you with basic practical skills you can build on throughout the rest of your degree.

Compulsory•20 credits

Film Form

Learn the fundamental elements of film style and structure. Through analysing a range of recent popular films, you will understand how mise-en-scène, cinematography, editing and sound function within film style. You will also learn to analyse the narrative structures of successful popular films. The ways of seeing you acquire on this module will make you a better film viewer, and a better filmmaker.

Compulsory•20 credits

Facts into Art

Discover how to convert real life into good storytelling. Extend your creative writing skills by generating ideas from daily life, and crafting them into well-conceived, skilled pieces.

Compulsory•20 credits

Poetry, Performance, Play

Do you love the sound of words, the rhythm of poetry and the power of the human voice? Then this module is for you. Join us to learn how to craft your words into shape as you play with form and perform your own monologues, sonnets, haiku and more, letting your words travel out through the dark.

Compulsory•20 credits

Film Analysis and Criticism

This module will make you a better film viewer, and a better film critic. You will experience how detailed attention and focused critical discussion reveal the achievements and possibilities of film art. Each week, you will be introduced to a case study film, watch it in full, read critical writing, and discuss the film in detail in small group seminars. You will write a series of short pieces of critical writing, which will prepare you for the module’s assessments: a close analysis of a short film sequence, and an essay evaluating one of the module’s films.

Compulsory•20 credits
6 Modules

Crime and Transgression

Societies, cultures and communities often construct themselves around what they define as ‘criminal’ or ‘transgressive’. Question how societies and cultures enforce discipline upon ‘transgressive’ individuals and groups: what is a ‘crime’ and who effectively gets punished? Explore how societies respond to those who transgress against heteronormative relationships or those whose gender identities put them beyond their societies’ very narrow definitions.

Compulsory•20 credits

The Storyteller’s Art

Write your own tales of transformation and adventure, drawing on the world’s greatest stories studied in this module.

Compulsory•20 credits

Scriptwriting

Learn about story, plot, characterisation, dialogue, structure and adaptation. Develop your skills in giving and receiving feedback on creative work. Learn how to work effectively in a group, sharing work, encouraging other writers and being encouraged by others to be the best scriptwriter you can be.

Optional•20 credits

Moving Image Techniques

Explore the creative possibilities of moving image media. Leave storytelling behind, and develop a concept for a short moving image piece, which will then become your own independent production.

Optional•20 credits

American Alternative Cinema

Explore and apply theoretical approaches to aesthetic forms and themes, modes of production, and audience and media reception of categories such as ‘underground cinema’ and ‘indiewood’. Develop your critical and theoretical faculties so that you can actively engage and participate in debates that encompass both mainstream and alternative American filmmaking practices.

Optional•20 credits

Screening Genders

Critically examine the representation of gender on screen through the lens of feminist film theory.

Optional•20 credits

The Short Story

Do you love reading, writing or listening to short stories? Immerse yourself in classic and contemporary stories, learn about how writers deliver their magic, using limited word counts to make every word sing. Go on to craft your own stories, drawing on the limitations of the form to turn it into a strength.

Optional•20 credits

Writing Poetry Now

Do you want to take your poetry further? If you are ready to become a more skilled practitioner, able to present your work to an audience, and willing to go deeper into your study of contemporary poetry, then join us. Learn how exciting contemporary poetry is, and feel more confident in your own contributions to the poetry world.

Optional•20 credits

Representing Reality, Disclosing Truth, and Capturing the Everyday

One of the key roles of our media is to represent the world, its happenings, and its diversity to us as accessibly and truthfully as possible. How do different forms of media – documentaries, reality television, soap opera, news reporting, drama-documentaries, radio, fiction films – go about this task? Why do media texts and media companies so often fail in their duty to represent reality? Through conceptual reflection and case study exploration, this module seeks to explore these questions.

Optional•20 credits

American Animation History

In this module, you'll develop a deeper understanding of the history of American animation by taking an in-depth look at the genre.

Optional•20 credits

Television and Factual Production

In this module, you will learn the skills of factual screen production. Working in small groups, you will create short items of broadcast quality to form part of a magazine-style programme.

Optional•20 credits
11 Modules

Creative Writing Portfolio: Preparation

Everyone has a story to tell – through Creative Writing Portfolio: Preparation, you will research, plan and begin development of a creative project that is uniquely yours. Continue your development with masterclass seminars and writing workshops that will provide you with the skills needed to take your creative project from conception to completion.

Compulsory•20 credits

Creative Writing Portfolio

You will intrigue us with your fascinating characters, move us as they tackle dilemmas, arcing across landscapes set in believable worlds. You will entice us with your lyricism and imagery, and draw us in with your control of language. As your stories and poems of the unexpected buzz across the page, you will make us want to read on.

Compulsory•20 credits

Writing the Novel

Learn to read like a writer and write like a reader as we encourage you to develop the story that is smouldering inside you. This module reveals many of the secrets of how to plan, write, edit and rewrite long-form prose. Upon completion, you will have the skills, technique, drive and determination to begin writing a novel – your novel.

Optional•20 credits

East Asian Cinema

Examine the dynamic and diverse film output of countries including China, South Korea and Japan, and reflect on film as a 'transnational' phenomenon.

Optional•20 credits

Screen Production Project 1

Plan your own creative filmmaking project. Go through a process of scoping, development, pitching and refinement that emulates commercial independent film development.

Optional•20 credits

Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror: Writing the Wondrous and the Weird

A module for those for whom magic is real, technology is limitless and there are monsters hiding around every corner – Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror: Writing the Wondrous and the Weird will take you on a journey through your imagined world and encourage you to explore, to play and to craft high-quality genre fiction.

Optional•20 credits

Writing the City

Do you want to write dystopian fiction? Or imagine how to make our cities happier, more democratic places to live? Then Writing The City is the module for you, with its opportunities for debate, writing, workshopping and editing your view of the city.

Optional•20 credits

Global Nightmares: Contemporary Horror Cinema From Around the World

Approach the horror film from the larger context of world cinema in order to assess if America’s ‘collective nightmare’ is indeed part of a larger trend that feeds into the concept of ‘global nightmares’. In particular, the module will focus on how world horror cinema represents issues of the family, gender, and the ‘Other’ alongside more contemporary concerns such as pandemic disease, environmental collapse, immigration, and terrorism.

Optional•20 credits

Screen Production Project 2

Plan an independent short film. You will be helped to develop your idea into a workable project, conduct risk assessments, schedule, and pitch your concept.

Optional•20 credits

Disney Studies

An in-depth exploration of the history and impact of Disney's global entertainment empire.

Optional•20 credits

Dissertation

You will make an original contribution to research by designing, carrying out and writing up your own project on a topic you choose, supported by your dissertation supervisor.

Optional•40 credits
11 Modules

Playlist

Dr Ed Hurst

Course Overview 2 mins

Maya Tyrrell

Student story 1 min

Film and Media facilities

Course highlight 2 mins

Life on campus

University Life 2 mins

Entry requirements

What do I need?

When it comes to applying to university, you'll need a certain number of UCAS points. Different qualifications and grades are worth a different amount of points. For this course, you'll need…

Use UCAS's calculator to work out your estimated points

We consider experience and qualifications from the UK and worldwide which may not exactly match the combinations above.

But it's not just about the grades - we'll look at your whole application. We want to know what makes you tick, and about your previous experience, so make sure that you complete your personal statement.

Have questions? Our admissions team will be happy to help.

What do I need?

If you require a student visa to study or if your first language is not English you will be required to provide acceptable evidence of your English language proficiency level.

See other English language proficiency qualifications accepted by the University of Hull.

If your English currently does not reach the University’s required standard for this programme, you may be interested in one of our English language courses.

Visit your country page to find out more about our entry requirements.

Fees & funding

How much is it?

Additional costs you may have to pay

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme. There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make:

  • Books (you can borrow books on your reading lists from the library, but you may buy your own)
  • Optional field trips
  • Study abroad (incl. travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
  • Placement costs (incl. travel costs and accommodation)
  • Student visas (international students)
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PC’s on campus, but you may want your own)
  • Printing and photocopying
  • Professional-body membership
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel, food and more.

How do I pay for it?

How much is it?

Additional costs you may have to pay

Your tuition fees will cover most costs associated with your programme. There are some extra costs that you might have to pay, or choose to pay, depending on your programme of study and the decisions you make:

  • Books (you can borrow books on your reading lists from the library, but you may buy your own)
  • Optional field trips
  • Study abroad (incl. travel costs, accommodation, visas, immunisation)
  • Placement costs (incl. travel costs and accommodation)
  • Student visas (international students)
  • Laptop (you’ll have access to laptops and PC’s on campus, but you may want your own)
  • Printing and photocopying
  • Professional-body membership
  • Graduation (gown hire and photography)

Remember, you’ll still need to take into account your living costs. This could include accommodation, travel, food and more.

How do I pay for it?

Our academics

They’re not just experts, they're fans too. And their passion is infectious. You’ll learn alongside published poets, fiction writers, scriptwriters and scholars.

We’re part of the Larkin Centre research group. In REF 2021, 93% of our research was ranked world-leading or internationally excellent.2

See more academics for this subject
Christopher Westoby
Featured academic

Dr Chris Westoby

Chris’s debut novel, The Fear Talking: The True Story of a Young Man and Anxiety, explores his personal experiences of growing up with anxiety. He lectures in creative writing, gives guest lectures on mental health, and teaches reflective writing.

Kathleen McKay
Featured academic

Kathleen McKay

Kath is a fiction writer and poet. She has published two novels, two full poetry collections and one poetry booklet, while her short stories have been anthologised and broadcast. Kath has won awards for poetry, short stories and a crime novel.

Take a look at our facilities

Brynmor Jones Library

Our 7-storey library is home to 1 million+ books, plus extensive digital resources drawn from libraries and archives across the world. As well as panoramic views of the city from the 7th floor.

Holme House

Welcome to our on-campus filming and editing suite. As well as multiple studio cameras, you'll have access to portable cameras and location equipment to use on and off campus.

Reading Room

You’ll find the Reading Room on the first floor of our library. It offers a comfortable space and a quiet environment to study – away from the hustle and bustle of the campus.

Middleton Hall

The centrepiece at our world-class cultural venue is a 400-seater concert hall. A versatile space which is regularly used as a theatre and surround-sound cinema.

See more in our virtual tour

Look around

Look around

Look around

Look around

Brynmor Jones Library Observation Deck
TV studio
Brynmor Jones Library Reading Room
Middleton Hall Auditorium
Leyan Elgas, Film Studies student

Future prospects

You'll build a varied portfolio of work throughout your degree. And you’ll gain the skills and adaptability to flourish in various arenas. You can go on to work in film, TV and the theatre as a playwright, director, scriptwriter or presenter. Or pursue a career in publishing, advertising or marketing.

The ability to showcase a creative mind through writing is a rare skill. Being able to tailor your messaging for different audiences will also give you a powerful advantage. Especially if you combine your professional portfolio with job-ready skills gained from work experience.

University of Hull Open Day

Your next steps

Like what you’ve seen? Then it’s time to apply.

The standard way to apply for this course is through UCAS. This will give you the chance to showcase your skill, qualities and passion for the subject, as well as providing your academic qualifications.

How to apply

Not ready to apply?

Visit our next Open Day, and see all that Hull has to offer for yourself. Talk to our lecturers about your subject, find out what university is really like from our current students, and take a tour of our beautiful campus and amazing facilities.

Book your place now

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BA (Hons) Media Production
  1. (Creative Writing) The Complete University Guide 2024.
  2. Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.

 

All modules presented on this course page are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.

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