BA Honours Creative Writing and Journalism

Our Creative Writing and Journalism programme offers the unique experience of combining both subjects to enable you to fully explore and develop your skills across different styles of writing such as fiction, screenwriting, short story, long-form journalism and multimodal journalism.

You will learn how to critically examine different types of writing and be given plenty of opportunities to experiment with language, styles and formats. You also learn about the life of a journalist – whether you want to write for a newspaper, magazine, or online platforms.

The course will provide you with a solid foundation to enter a variety of industries of which require excellent writing, research and analytical skills.

Course Highlights

This course is ideal if you want to improve your skills as a writer and develop a theoretical foundation of best writing practices. You’ll study all forms of writing, both fiction and non-fiction, as well as drama and screenwriting. You’ll also take an in-depth look at the way journalism and various other writing industries are growing and changing.

Learning to communicate effectively, you’ll learn creative writing skills such as narrative, character, developing dialogue, creating conflict, along with essential journalism skills such as investigative writing and research.

Later in the course, you’ll undertake a work placement in order to put your new skills to practice in a work environment. Previously, we have placed our students with some of the most prestigious media outlets in the UAE and beyond.

Programme Content

The BA Creative Writing and Journalism programme will give you a solid grounding in language and communication across a range of creative and journalistic genres and through a variety of media. You will also explore the worlds of media, journalistic and literary employment.

The first year of the course introduces you to essential creative writing and journalism skills that you can apply across a range of media, including narrative storytelling, finding your voice and exploring character, dialogue and conflict.

In the second year you will have the opportunity to develop your creative strengths in such fields as fiction, scriptwriting (with the opportunity to have your script turned into a short film by BA Film students), and storytelling for games, as well as to develop and deepen your journalistic knowledge and skills across print, broadcast, online mobile and emergent technologies.

The third-year gives you the opportunity to work in-depth on an independent project, as well as to boost your employability through our innovative Entrepreneurship and Work Placement modules.

Year 1

• Journalism Skills (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• What is Journalism? (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• Character, Conflict and Dialogue (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• Writing Creatively (30 Credits) - Compulsory

Year 2

• Multimodal Journalism (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• Political Communication (30 Credits) - Optional
• Arts, Lifestyle and Sports Journalism (30 Credits) - Optional
• Storytelling for Games (30 Credits) - Optional
• Fiction: The Short Story (30 Credits) - Optional
• Screen Writing for Shorts (30 Credits) - Optional

Year 3

• Working as a Writer (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• Creative Writing Project (30 Credits) - Compulsory
• Global Journalism and News Cultures (30 Credits) - Optional
• Long-Form Journalism (30 Credits) - Optional
• Popular Non-Fiction (30 Credits) - Optional
• Genre Fiction (30 Credits) - Optional

Startup Stock Photos / Pexels

Teaching

Classes are held at our Dubai Knowledge Park campus Sunday to Thursday between 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. Additional sessions may be scheduled over the weekend or holiday periods and you should expect to receive notice of these in advance.

You will be actively involved in a range of learning, teaching and assessment approach as part of your programme. These approaches ensure that you are involved and engaged by placing you at the centre of your own learning. You will be required to actively participate in learning activities and engagement with your fellow students, both individually and collaboratively. Faculty increasingly use existing and emerging technologies and your programme will be facilitated using a variety of media and online tools (My Learning on UniHub, podcasts, wikis, etc.) which will allow you access to a diverse range of online resources and learning materials. By engaging in e-learning you will also be developing skills of which are essential for your learning and highly valued by employers. Such skills including flexibility, communication, IT skills and teamwork.

Entry Requirements

We accept students with a diverse range of entry qualifications and from varying backgrounds. The following international qualifications are normally considered for admission:

• Middlesex University International Foundation Programme (IFP)
  • Successful completion of the Middlesex University International Foundation Programme (IFP)*** (equivalent programmes from other Universities/Colleges/Institutes will be considered).
• Indian Secondary School Certificates
  • Indian Secondary School Certificates issued by the CBSE/ISC boards/NIOS/All-State Boards may be considered: minimum grade of 60% overall.
• British A-Levels
  • Minimum two, maximum of three subjects, with grades of B, B, C (three subjects) or with A*, A* (two subjects)
• International Baccalaureate
  • You must have passed the full IB Diploma. In some cases, applicants will also need to have studied certain subjects at Standard or Higher Level. If you are unsure about the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact us for support.
• GCSE
  • Students who have completed their GCSEs are eligible to join our International Foundation Programme – a one year programme to prepare students for entry onto our Undergraduate Programmes. Please note that students must meet the British AS and A Level entry requirements in order to gain entry into the First Year of any one of our Undergraduate Programmes.
• UAE’s General Secondary Education Certificate Examination
  • UAE’s General Secondary Education Certificate Examination Grade 12 (Tawjihiya) plus successful completion of the Middlesex University International Foundation Programme (IFP)*** or equivalent programmes
• Pakistani National Curriculum
  • Completion of Year 1 at a recognised post-secondary institution (university / college). Candidates that have successfully completed FSC/HSC are admitted to the Middlesex University’s International Foundation Programme (IFP)***
• Iranian Pre-University Certificate
  • A minimum overall grade of 12. Students completing the High School Diploma are admitted to the International Foundation Programme (IFP)***
• Nigerian Senior School Leaving Certificate
  • Candidates are admitted to the International Foundation Programme (IFP)***
• National Curriculum of the countries of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
  • National Curriculum of the countries of Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan: Candidates are admitted to the International Foundation Programme (IFP)***
• West African GCE
  • Candidates are admitted to the International Foundation Programme (IFP)***
• American High School Diploma
  • Students with American High School Diploma are eligible to join our Foundation programme. However, if you have passed the American High School Diploma with the university required GPA and SAT or ACT or AP Scores you may be eligible for direct entry into Year 1 of the undergraduate programme. If you are unsure about the suitability of your qualifications or would like help with your application, please contact us for support.
• BTEC Level 3
  • BTEC Level 3 qualifications***** (suite of qualifications known as Nationals) may be considered for direct entry into an undergraduate programme
  • ***** BTEC qualifications (QCF) (suite of qualifications known as Nationals) are acceptable both on their own and in combination with other qualifications. Applicants are expected to have studied for the Diploma or Extended Diploma. The Certificate, Subsidiary Diploma and 90 Credit Diploma are expected to be studied in combination to equal that of at least the Diploma (for example, the Subsidiary Diploma would need to be offered in combination with either a Diploma or two GCE A levels).

Note: *** International Foundation Programme (IFP) is a one year programme to prepare students for entry to Undergraduate programmes

This list shows only a selection of qualifications. If your high school system does not appear here, please contact our Admissions Office and we will be able to advise you further.

English Language Requirements (Undergraduate)

All programmes at Middlesex University Dubai are taught in English and applicants with previous education outside of English-speaking countries (such as the UK, the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand), must demonstrate English language proficiency as follows:

• IELTS Academic: 6.0 (minimum 5.5 in each band)
• TOEFL Internet-based: 72 (17 in listening & writing, 20 in speaking and 18 in reading)
• PearsonPTE Academic: 51
• PearsonPTE General: Level 3

Additionally, students with the following qualifications may be considered as having met the English language requirements:

• GCSE/IGCSE/O-Level English (as a first or second language): Grade C or Higher
• CBSE/ISC boards/NIOS/All state boards: Minimum grade of 70% in English
• International Baccalaureate: Minimum grade 4 in English A1 (Standard or Higher Level) in IB OR a minimum of grade 5 in English B (Higher Level)
• West African/Nigerian Curriculum (WAEC/WASSCE/SSSCE): Minimum grade “C6“

Future Careers and Employability

Graduates will be well prepared to go on to careers in creative writing and/or journalism, and across a wide range of industries wherever, good writing and critical thinking are valued. The course is also particularly useful in areas where work on analysing and producing language is central. This could include roles in screenwriting, playwriting, copywriting, advertising, website management, PR, marketing, branding, and journalism. Students are also able to use the skills they’ve developed to work on their own short stories and/or novels.