Writing

Course Overview

The MA in Writing is a one-year, full-time course. It covers a range of genres and forms, and it interacts with our other postgraduate offerings in publishing, literature and drama. The course thus builds on our strengths in the teaching of writing for page and stage, screen, journalism and other media. The course is open to applicants from any disciplinary background (within and beyond Arts) and welcomes all types of writing interests. A ‘Qualifier’ option is available for potential applicants who do not have a university degree but have a suitable publications record or sufficient experience in a related creative field.



A weekly ‘Writers Seminar’ features writers, publishers, agents and other visitors from the writing professions. Galway’s Cúirt literary festival is the focus in April. Students attend events and complete a related assessment.



Course Outline

Core course:

In each semester, all students will take a Writers' Seminar. This will meet once a week for three hours through the semester. Its scope will include fiction and non-fiction, poetry and prose, dramatic and non-dramatic writing, journals and journalism. Normally, there will be a different visiting writer at each seminar meeting. Only students from the MA in Writing may enrol for credit in this seminar. Assessment is based on weekly journal writings.



Optional courses:

Optional modules vary from year to year. Please contact the programme director for the current year’s offerings. Some of the modules offered are listed below. Students must take six modules in total. The Writers' Seminar is compulsory, students may then take any five of the following modules—two from one semester and three from the other:



Poetry Workshop. Students produce drafts sometimes in response to prompts or assignments from the workshop leader(s). These drafts are sometimes circulated for class discussion, with a view to improvement. By the end of the semester, students produce a number of complete poems and the class publishes a chapbook.



Fiction Workshop. Students examine elements of craft in published writers selected by the workshop leader. They also produce short pieces of fiction, sometimes in response to a prompt or assignment. Drafts may be discussed in class, or in conference with the teacher. By the end of the semester, students submit a set number of words of fictional narrative.



Non-Fiction Workshop. For a month students complete weekly writing assignments in elements of narrative (description, dialogue, etc.), then an essay or book proposal, which is next week by week undertaken in steps. Class meetings are devoted primarily to discussion of works-in-progress.



Books Journalism. This module will familiarise students with the various means by which books and authors are publicly ‘processed’ and discussed in professional fashion by readers and the writing marketplace generally. The prime focus will be styles of, and platforms for, literary reviewing.



DJ6100 Features Journalism. This module focuses on the nature and practice of writing feature pieces.



Irish Drama from Wilde to O’Casey. This module introduces students to the major figures in Irish Drama from the period just before the Revival to the post-independence era. It provides an in-depth insight into the plays, writers, and practices of a crucial period in Irish history that has had a formative and lasting impact on both Irish and international theatre. We consider the works of Shaw and Wilde before moving to the foundation of the Abbey Theatre, and the works of Yeats, Synge, Gregory and others. We conclude with the post-independence period showing how the plays of Sean O'Casey inaugurated a new period of international experimentation, evident in the work of the Gate Theatre and in plays by such writers as Teresa Deevy and Mary Manning. A key component of this module will be the exploration of ways in which the Abbey Theatre Digital Archive can present opportunities for innovative methodologies and insights.



Irish Drama from Beckett to the Present. This course introduces students to the major figures in Irish Drama from the post-war period to the present. We begin with a detailed study of the drama of Samuel Beckett before moving to consider Friel and Murphy from the 1960s onwards. We move then to the Troubles and their impact on Irish drama, and conclude by exploring Irish theatre in the global era. The class will also play a central role in a broader project about the Creative Arts Canon and Curriculum, whereby students will be carrying out research on neglected Irish female playwrights and producing resources related to their work.

Year 1 (90 Credits)

Required EN590: Final Project: Portfolio

Required EN604: Writer's Seminar

Optional FM500: Screen Writing Fundamentals

Optional DM6111: Generative Art and Media

Optional EN6113: Writing Workshop: Poetry 2

Optional EN573: Travel Literature

Optional FM502: Screenplay Development

Optional EN6135: Studies in Poetry

Optional EN602: Writing Workshop: Fiction

Optional EN6112: Writing Workshop: Nonfiction 1

Optional EN601: Writing Workshop: Poetry

Optional DT6123: Playwright's Workshop I

Optional EN527: Literature Of North America

Optional EN6111: Writing Workshop: Fiction 2

Optional EN603: Writing Workshop: Non-Fiction

Optional DJ6100: Features Journalism

Optional EN6101: Books Journalism

Optional DT6135: Playwright's Workshop II: Dramaturgical Approaches to Craft

Optional DT6137: Irish Theatre and Performance Histories

A university degree (minimum standard 2.2, or US GPA 3.0) or the equivalent in education and/or professional experience. Students will be accepted on the basis of their degree result (and/or experience), a sample of recent writing (3,000 words maximum) and a personal statement of interest (500 words maximum). Those who wish to explore possibilities for entry through the ‘qualifier’ option should contact the course director.

How to apply

We encourage all applicants to apply as early as possible.



Review/Closing Dates (for Taught Programmes)

For most programmes, University of Galway does not set specific closing dates for receipt of applications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and course quotas will be reviewed continuously throughout the application cycle with the exception of applications for some programmes which are reviewed after the specified closing date. Candidates who do not have their final degree marks available may be made a conditional (provisional) offer.



Online Application

Applications to most postgraduate programmes at University of Galway are made online via www.universityofgalway.ie/apply (see "Application Weblink").

1 year full-time.

Next start date: September 2024.



Review/Closing Dates (for Taught Programmes)

For most programmes, University of Galway does not set specific closing dates for receipt of applications. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and course quotas will be reviewed continuously throughout the application cycle with the exception of applications for some programmes which are reviewed after the specifed closing date*. Candidates who do not have their final degree marks available may be made a conditional (provisional) offer.

Career Opportunities

Graduates have gone on to work in the areas of teaching, journalism, publishing, editing, public relations and marketing. Graduates have also progressed to various doctoral programmes in the humanities—and it is now also possible to undertake a practice-led PhD in English/Creative Writing at University of Galway. Many graduates have concentrated on their development as independent writers, and over 60 books have been published by writers from this MA.