Information for Applicants:
MPhil/PhD Programme
Download booklet on postgraduate funding
The Framework for PhD Supervision in Creative Writing
See also the Postgraduate Studentships site
Since the early nineties the department has had a growing number of MPhil/PhD researchers. We are very interested to hear from suitably qualified writers with original ideas for research.
Candidates should be experienced writers, usually possessing an MA in Creative Writing or other relevant subject and/or publications in book form or included in literary magazines and anthologies. They should have an original proposal for research. The thesis should be a sustained piece of creative writing, of volume length and publishable standard, accompanied by commentary, criticism and appropriate references.
Applications are assessed by the department's dissertation panel. Researchers are assigned to a supervisor, who reports regularly to the panel on progress. All researchers are registered in the first instance for the MPhil. After the first year (or second, in the case of part-time researchers), a formal review takes place. The supervisor and another panel member evaluate an extract from the literary work-in-progress and accompanying statement by the candidate and decide whether to recommend upgrading to PhD. If upgrading is approved, the time already completed is credited to the PhD.
Time normally allowed for completion of PhD: three years full-time; six years part-time.
Research Degrees in Creative Writing
MPhil - There are two types of project suitable for the MPhil degree:
Researches into issues involved in the teaching or assessment of creative writing; the uses of information technology in the subject; aspects of publishing. These projects may include work-placements with suitable organisations.
Predominantly creative projects including the production of a literary text, which should be competent and publishable, but need not be ground-breaking in theme or style. The text should be accompanied by written research of a factual and focussed nature, i.e. sociological, psychological, or historical explorations necessary to the production of an authentic text.
PhD - The PhD comprises two elements:
An original literary text of exceptional quality written specifically for the degree. This text should show coherence and originality and attain publishable standard, as determined by the team of examiners, which will include those qualified in academic research as well as the professional practice of writing.
The second part of the thesis, which shall normally be between 10,000 and 30,000 words in length, is an analysis and demonstration of the creative process involved in the production of the literary text OR a discussion of its relationship to contemporary or traditional achievements in the genre.
The candidate is required, both in this part of the thesis and in the oral examination, to show a thorough understanding of the creative process or of the critical context of the text. This element of the thesis is crucial to the academic quality of the degree but is of overall secondary importance: it could not redeem an unsatisfactory literary text.
The Framework for PhD Supervision in Creative Writing
How to Apply
The postgraduate application form can be downloaded at:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/users/admissions/postgrad/pgform1.htm
The postgraduate Handbook can be downlaoded at:
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/depts/english/crew/phd_crew.htm
Room on the postgraduate application form is limited, so you should also send the following as Word attachments accompanying your application:
• a CV detailing any publications
• a covering letter saying why you are applying to Lancaster
• a brief description of your research project outlining its key research questions, its literary form, the focus of your reflective thesis and how this will relate to your creative work
• a writing sample of no more than 30 pages of prose or 30 pages of script or 16 poems
Application forms with attachments should be sent to the Creative Writing Postgraduate Secretary, Lyn Kellett: l.kellett@lancaster.ac.uk .
Click here for information on Postgraduate Bursaries.
Download the Creative Writing Postgraduate Handbook for 2006-07
Download the Examination of Research Degrees Guidance Notes
Provision of laptops for PhD students: As a result of a successful Capital Expenditure bid to Hefce, all new full-time campus based PhD students in the Faculty will be eligible to receive a laptop, which they will be able to keep throughout their (up to) four years of study.
Click here to see what some of our current and previous PhD students say.
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