At Worcester, you will join a community of enthusiastic creatives from day one. You will be given a dedicated studio space with students from all arts-related subjects in the Art House, and work closely with experienced writers to refine your practice.
Our Art & Design courses are top 15 in the UK for graduate prospects
for student satisfaction in Creative Writing
Overview
Studying Creative Writing and Illustration at Worcester offers a unique opportunity to develop your creative voice, whether through words, images, or a combination of both. You’ll explore literature and visual art, examining how creative work can reflect, challenge, and shape society.
Our joint degree in Creative Writing and Illustration allows you to immerse yourself in a vibrant creative community where you can refine your practice. You’ll have the freedom to experiment with different genres of writing and a wide range of artistic techniques, including drawing, printmaking, animation, and 3D modelling. The course encourages you to take a collaborative approach, helping you explore how writing can inform your artwork and how artwork can enhance your writing.
Teaching takes place in small seminars and studio sessions, where you’ll collaborate with fellow students, take part in writing workshops, studio critiques, and receive one-to-one support from experienced tutors. You’ll be part of a vibrant creative community, engaging with Worcester’s rich literary and artistic scene through festivals, exhibitions, open mic nights, and live projects. Opportunities include participating in national events such as UniSlam and the Verve Poetry Festival, paid roles supporting workshops at the Hay Festival, and showcasing your work at professional art fairs.
Throughout your degree, you’ll benefit from guest lectures by writers, publishers, illustrators, and agents, gaining valuable insight into the creative industries. In your final year, you’ll complete a major creative project, either a writing piece, a written and illustrated piece of literature or a portfolio of original artistic work, tailored to your interests. These projects may be considered for national prizes, including the Black Pear Press Prize for Fiction, the V. Press Prize for Poetry, and your work may be featured in the our final-year exhibition.
Placements
Throughout your degree, you’ll be supported in applying for jobs and placements, providing a fantastic opportunity to gain real-world experience and build valuable connections.
We offer an optional work experience placement module in Year Two, enabling you to complete a short voluntary placement with a local organisation. Past work experience locations have included schools, marketing agencies, local arts and heritage organisations, and The Hive Library.
Creative Writing at Worcester
Course content
Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. Our varied curriculum will allow you to explore many different literary themes and art styles before you choose your dissertation specialism in Year Three.
We regularly review our courses to reflect the latest research and developments in the subject area, as well as feedback from students, employers and the wider sector. As a result, modules may change to ensure the course remains current and relevant. Optional modules will run if enough students choose to study them. It is not guaranteed that all modules will be offered every year.
Optional modules
Careers
The creative industries are growing, driven by the rapid expansion of media, digital platforms, and content-driven businesses. As demand grows for skilled storytellers and communicators, graduates with strong writing and artistic abilities are increasingly sought after. Our course has been created with your employability in mind, equipping you with the skills and confidence to be successful in wide range of careers. You’ll graduate with skills in storytelling, visual communication, narrative development, idea generation, and collaborative working, which are highly valued across a wide range of industries.
A degree in Creative and Professional Writing and Illustration could be your first step toward a career as a:
- Children’s book illustrator
- Graphic novelist
- Editorial illustrator
- Publishing professional
- Content strategist
- Digital copywriter
- Freelance writer
- Teacher
Opportunities to progress
Opportunities to progress onto postgraduate study at Worcester include our Creative Media MA and English MA If you’re looking to pursue teaching as a career you may be interested in our PGCE Primary, PGCE Secondary (Art and Design) or PGCE Secondary (English) courses.
Arts Alumni - Jess Mason
Course highlights
Teaching and Assessment
Teaching is a mix of interactive seminars, lectures, one-to-one tutorials and workshops. Our modules give you the opportunity to combine your own development as a writer and as an illustrator.
Teaching and assessment contents
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, interactive workshops, individual tuition and research trips. Workshops and seminars encourage discussion, peer feedback, and practical exercises, often in small groups. All learning is supported by online platforms where you can access materials and resources.
You will also gain employability skills through work-based learning, particularly in the Year 2 Work Project module, which offers valuable professional experience.
You will be assigned a Personal Academic Tutor, with scheduled meetings at least four times in the first year and three times in subsequent years to support your academic development.
Meet the team
A small selection of the lecturers who teach on this course.
Desdemona McCannon
Desdemona writes about illustration, teaches illustration, organises conferences and exhibitions about illustration, and is a practising illustrator.
Dr Ruth Stacey
Dr Ruth Stacey is an expert in poetry, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, and memoir. Her research is focused on the use of symbolist poetics to write imagined memoir of historical subjects.
An award-winning poet, with a background in copywriting and illustration, her teaching covers a wide range of subjects including genre fiction, creative nonfiction, contemporary poetry, professional practice, and writing for children.
Dr Jack McGowan
Jack’s research focuses on contemporary poetry and poetics, and he specializes in the development of performance poetry in the UK since the mid-20th century, and the oral roots of poetry.
Jack is a performance poet with 10 years of experience on the UK spoken word scene and he writes for both performance and page publication.
Tobias Hickey
Tobias Hickey lectures in illustration, drawing and printmaking. Graduating with a degree in Graphic Design from Liverpool Polytechnic in 1992 and subsequently gaining his MA Illustration from Central St Martin's College of Arts and Design in 1995.
Tobias initially took on commissions to illustrate children's books. His freelance practice then broadened into design and advertising and he became an established editorial illustrator, with regular commissions for The Guardian, The Times The Observer and The Independent newspapers. His illustrations have been published throughout Europe and in Australia.
Desdemona McCannon
Desdemona writes about illustration, teaches illustration, organises conferences and exhibitions about illustration, and is a practising illustrator.
Dr Ruth Stacey
Dr Ruth Stacey is an expert in poetry, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, and memoir. Her research is focused on the use of symbolist poetics to write imagined memoir of historical subjects.
An award-winning poet, with a background in copywriting and illustration, her teaching covers a wide range of subjects including genre fiction, creative nonfiction, contemporary poetry, professional practice, and writing for children.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 104
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BCC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
In 2026/27 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £9,535 per year (subject to changes in the government tuition fee cap).
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
In 2026/27 the standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees is £17,200 per year.
Tuition fees are reviewed annually and may increase each year for both new and continuing students.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
Case studies
Read some of our student success stories.
Cheryl Howard
Cheryl Howard is the 2013/14 winner of the Worcestershire County Council Illustration scholarship. Her work was exhibited in the New Art West Midlands exhibitions (Birmingham Art Museum and the Barber Art Institute) as well as in the Creative Quarterly in New York. Cheryl says of her experience on the course:
“The support and advice on the Illustration course at Worcester have enabled me to discover strengths in my own visual language. Through embracing the modules to try different media, including print making and collage, it challenged me to understand different briefs and what would enable a strong visual concept.”
Heather Skyes
Heather Sykes a Creative Writing and Illustration student who graduates in September embraced life at university to the full, getting involved in extra-curricular activities and working as a student ambassador.
“After attending an Open Day, I loved the green spaces in the city and how friendly the people here are, but also, I felt the staff and students I spoke to on the day were very friendly and happy,” she said. “The University of Worcester was also the only place in the UK that offered the joint in Creative Writing and Illustration which was so unique and aligned perfectly with my interest in children's books.”
Heather is now working part-time as a Content Writing Assistant and is hoping to break into the world of publishing, with a key interest in children's publishing.
Cheryl Howard
Cheryl Howard is the 2013/14 winner of the Worcestershire County Council Illustration scholarship. Her work was exhibited in the New Art West Midlands exhibitions (Birmingham Art Museum and the Barber Art Institute) as well as in the Creative Quarterly in New York. Cheryl says of her experience on the course:
“The support and advice on the Illustration course at Worcester have enabled me to discover strengths in my own visual language. Through embracing the modules to try different media, including print making and collage, it challenged me to understand different briefs and what would enable a strong visual concept.”
Heather Skyes
Heather Sykes a Creative Writing and Illustration student who graduates in September embraced life at university to the full, getting involved in extra-curricular activities and working as a student ambassador.
“After attending an Open Day, I loved the green spaces in the city and how friendly the people here are, but also, I felt the staff and students I spoke to on the day were very friendly and happy,” she said. “The University of Worcester was also the only place in the UK that offered the joint in Creative Writing and Illustration which was so unique and aligned perfectly with my interest in children's books.”
Heather is now working part-time as a Content Writing Assistant and is hoping to break into the world of publishing, with a key interest in children's publishing.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Creative Writing and Illustration BA (Hons) - WW82
Contact
If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.
Admissions Office
admissions@worc.ac.uk01905 855111More to explore
Open Days
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