Senate
Subject: Demand
and Recruitment for Creative Writing Research
Origin: Dr
B P Vale, Research Student Office
DEMAND AND RECRUITMENT FOR CREATIVE WRITING RESEARCH
The new M.A. strand in Creative Writing in the Department of English and Drama has recruited six full-time students and one overseas part-time student in its first year, and promises to maintain this level of recruitment next year. There are at least two of the current M.A. intake who are interested in pursuing creative research. Similar Ph.Ds in are available and popular in many other universities: amongst others, Lancaster University, the University of East Anglia, Essex University, the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and the University of Wales, Bangor, all run successful Ph.Ds in Creative Writing; and Cardiff University’s Department of English, Communication and Philosophy runs a Ph.D in Creative and Critical Writing which, as its title indicates, mixes creative work and literary criticism in new and exciting ways – an option which our proposed Ph.D would make possible. The demand for Creative Writing postgraduate and research opportunities is constantly growing. The AHRB explicitly acknowledges this demand by providing for Creative Writing in its English Language and Literature Panel for Ph.D research studentships; Creative Writing is also fully acknowledged as research by the RAE.
The M.A. strand in Creative Writing at Loughborough includes a module in Research Methods as well as training in the planning and development of longer creative pieces and self-reflective critical evaluations; these skills will feed directly into the Ph.D process, which involves the research, development, planning and writing of a longer piece of creative work and an accompanying evaluative piece (see below).
RUBRIC FOR CREATIVE WRITING RESEARCH
The Ph.D normally consists of an extended and original piece of creative work and a shorter critical evaluation in which this creative work is interrogated. The creative element could be a cycle of poems, novel, section of a novel, novella, play script, or collection of short stories. The word length of this section will normally be between 50000 to 70000 words, depending on genre. It should be of professional and publishable or performable quality according to standards set by the examiners. In the case of a play script, the examiners will normally be concerned with the script itself rather than any particular performance.
The critical component will involve a self-reflective and evaluative analysis about some aspect of the creative or research process. This may include reference to thematic preoccupations, wider literary, theoretical, or poetic contexts, discussion of research material, and so on. For instance, where relevant, the analysis may discuss how the creative piece relates to the research on which it is based; it may examine how the creative piece relates to other writers’ theorisations of the art-form concerned; it may describe how the creative piece contributes to wider cultural debates. The evaluative section of the thesis will normally be 10000-20000 words in length.
The Ph.D will require the student to develop his/her research skills and, to this end, s/he will be expected to attend seminars and workshops on research methods in the first year. The time allowed for completion of the Ph.D is normally three years full-time, five years part-time. Candidates should normally have some experience in their chosen field and have an M.A. in a relevant subject. These conditions will be waived in certain circumstances.