Pondering MA choices

[QuestionableMouse]

I'm in my last year of an English undergraduate degree, predicted either a high 2:1 or First.

I'd really like to do a MA, either in publishing or creative writing. I have a current part time internship at a small publisher and the editor there has said a MA will help me to break into the industry. I'm a published writer already, if that makes a difference. I'll be 36 by the time the course starts.

I've narrowed it down to a few universities and will be attending open days as they come. The MA at my current uni doesn't match with what I want to do so even though I'd love to stay I've decided to move somewhere else. I'd like to (eventually) be an editor, preferably of fiction.

Current choices are:

Uni of Central Lancashire- they have a specialist publishing MA with good industry links.

Edge Hill - Creative Writing MA. I attended an open day there is 2016 and thought it was a lovely place, and the course is good.

Chester Uni. Creative Writing again. Really drawn here, course is highly rated and the fact it's in a small city is attractive to me. There are private halls (studios) which I could afford if I was careful. They also have a scholarship that would help to pay for the course which is attractive.

Lancaster Uni - 1st in the rankings for Creative Writing. Realistically a bit further away that I wanted to move but the course sounds fantastic and they do it via distance learning.

Just wondering if anyone has experience of these places/unis? Or the courses, even? I'd have to keep my car with me (due to work/parents not being in the best of health and potentially needing to get home quickly.)

Argh sorry. I didn't mean to post it in Aibu - had two tabs open and used the wrong one 🤔😩

Personally I'd choose something that a) was in a location that I would like to live and b) would give me the opportunity to gain industry experience. I'm not remotely in this field though! Good luck - sounds like a interesting degree.

Manchester Metropolitan. Best creative writing school ever. Very highly rated.
Award winning tutors.
Great support.
Loads of creative stuff to get involved in

I know people who have done the Lancaster course - some who commuted a considerable distance for it - and they thought it was amazing. Lots of external events organised by people in the department too. All the ones I know have gone on to be successful in that field.

Honestly, Man Met.
Have had a brilliant experience there.
Not trying to persuade you, but...

I hadn't even considered Manchester! Thanks, I'll take a look.

I would do you MA in the best university possible. You need to consider not just the nature of the course but also the nature of the people you will be studying with. Unfortunately, my experience is that there is a higher chance that you will get stuck in a group of completely demotivated and disinterested students who have no idea why they are even at the university if you go to a former polytechnic. Not all former polytechnics are like this, of course, but it's something to consider.

@AfterSomeAdvice1234

Unfortunately the unis in the area I want to live either don't offer this type of MA or aren't very good.

If you want to message me I can give you some more info

Thank you but Manchester is a bit more than I can afford. The course alone is £8500. It does sound fantastic though!

What do you want to get off the back of it?

A job in the publishing industry? I would have my doubts as to how useful a masters will be tbh.

To write as a career? I believe the courses can help kick start that, but bear in mind it’s often not the most lucrative.

Masters are expensive. I’d advise being very clear about what you want and how likely they are to deliver that.

The open uni do an MA in creative writing. Then you wouldn't have to move

An MA in creative writing isn't going to help you get published, or help you find work. All it will do is accelerate your development as a writer. Be aware that almost all Masters courses in writing focus on literary fiction, rather than genre, if that's something you are interested in writing.

I think that you can do just as well by reading widely, writing a lot, and taking online courses--the self-editing one run by Jericho Writers is meant to be excellent.

However, if you want to work in publishing, a Masters in publishing might well help you. Publishing is very London-centric, so you'd be far better taking a Masters at a London university: I've heard good things about the course at UCL, and I think Kingston.

If you want to be a writer, then all you have to do is write, really. And keep at it.

I'm already published but the advice I'm getting from an actual editor is to look into a MA. I don't really want to debate my course choices, just see if anyone has experience of the unis I posted.

I've spent the last couple of months looking into this just to narrow that list down. 😀

Thank you though.

No useful info from me only to say that I'm insanely jealous and would love to do what you're doing OP, good luck with whatever you choose

You look like you've done your research but have you seen the MA in professional writing at Falmouth

Falmouth is almost 500 miles from where I live and it's just too far. Thank you though.

It took me a long time to get to this point and I'm really enjoying the process. You're never too old to go back into education! The MA might not benefit me in getting a job but I think it'll improve me as a person and I honestly never ever thought I'd be getting chance to do a degree, let alone a master's.

Manchester is a bit more than I can afford.

It seems a shame to disregard this possibility, particularly as it would presumably suit you geographically. There’s a lot going on writing-wise in Manchester.

Will you be applying for a Government Postgraduate Loan?

I’ll throw in the MSt in Creative Writing at Oxford U. The course is oddly structured (though that might work well in terms of distance for you,) but Oxford is bursting with creative energy right now.

Yes, I'll be applying for a loan. 😀

It's roughly £10k and I need it both to pay the course fees and to live on (at least in part, I'll probably have a part time job as well) so £8.5k is a big chuck of that.

I'm not discounting it completely, I'll look into it to see if they have any scholarships or the like first.

Thank you!

I’ve tried and tried to think of unarguable criteria for choosing a course - but it’s really hard! I keep coming back to ‘reach’ - whether you want the quickest route to a professional career or a year or two rapidly honing your craft.

Lancaster really has shot up the popularity league tables recently - which suggests a deal of investment in tangible and intangible resources. So it may be an exciting place to study.

(Is there some reason other than distance that keeps UEA off your list? It was historically the place, though I don’t know its relative status now.)

Bear in mind that Oxford has recently taken delivery of a vast sum of money for a new Humanities centre ...

Lancaster sounds fantastic. I'm really attracted to uni in a smaller city. I'm trying to line up an open day for there ASAP. Same with Chester.

It's probably obvious but where's UEA? 😂😀

UEA here ...

Tut!

Ah... I was being an idiot 😂

Thank you. Not avoiding it but it didn't come up on the ucas postgrad search!

I'll have a look. (Because I need more options for me to dither over. 😂😂.)

Thanks for the recommendation, it looks fantastic. I need to sort some open days out I think.