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University College Dublin

Dublin , Dublin ,Ireland

MA Creative Writing

UCD offers two graduate courses in creative writing, an MA and MFA. The MA programme includes workshops, seminars and supervision meetings, providing committed students with the support they need to produce a major piece of writing by the end of the course. 

The MA in Creative Writing  builds on the well established commitment of the UCD School of English, Drama and Film to fostering and supporting new writing. The university has long been associated with some of Ireland’s greatest writers, including James Joyce, Flann O’Brien, Mary Lavin, Anthony Cronin, John McGahern, Neil Jordan, Conor McPherson, Marina Carr, Colm Tóibín, Emma Donoghue, Maeve Binchy and many others. The Booker Prize winning novelist Anne Enright is Professor of Creative Writing, and among the teaching staff are novelist Sarah Moss, poet Ian Davidson, poet and novelist Paul Perry, novelist and playwright Declan Hughes, life writer and critic Catherine Morris and novelist Paula McGrath. 

The MA programme:

  • Provides opportunities to explore and develop your own creative writing skills supervised by experienced published staff of international reputation.
  • Actively fosters the development of students' capacity to edit their own work.
  • Ensures that the art of writing is informed by contemporary theory and practice.
  • Offers courses incorporating the manuscripts of works of leading writers held in Special Collections and courses which explore material in the National Folklore Collection in UCD, one of the richest archives of oral tradition in the world.

Intakes

  • Jan
  • May
  • Sep

Application Processing Time in Days: 20

Application Process

Conditional/Unconditional Offer Letter
20 Days
Visa Process
30 Days

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

UCD Careers Network joins the dots between your time at University and your future career

If you are a UCD student based on the Belfield campus, or a recent graduate (up to two years after graduation), you can book a 20 minute 1-2-1 consultation with one of our Belfield based Career & Skills Consultants to:

  • talk about your options
  • get advice on an application
  • prepare for interview
  • cover anything else career-related

If you are a Smurfit Graduate School of Business student or recent graduate, you can make a 30 minute consultation appointment with one of the Smurfit Careers Network team, based on the Blackrock campus.

Current and recently graduated, UCD Graduate Researchers (PhDs and Research Masters students), can book a 60 minute appointment with a dedicated Career & Skills Consultant to discuss:

  • Individual Career Planning
  • Academic and non-Academic Career Options 
  • Job Applications
  • Interviews and Presentations
All appointments can be booked via CareersConnect.

PSW Opportunity

2 years

Admission Requirement / Eligibility Criteria

Graduate Taught Programmes

The normal requirement is a recognised bachelor’s degree at second class honours, grade one (2:1), or equivalent. Applicants should check the programme specific requirements as some degrees may require a higher standard for entry. For applicants who do not have the required minimum academic entry standard, a year-long qualifying course, such as a Higher or Graduate Diploma, may be available in some cases.

English Language Requirement

Graduate Taught and Graduate Research programmes in UCD are taught in English. Applicants must meet the minimum University English language proficiency requirements. In the case of IELTS Academic Version, a minimum score of 6.5 is required with not less than 6.0 in any strand. Please note, some courses may require a higher standard for entry.  Please check the entry requirements of the course that you intend to apply for.