MA Nature Writing

Entry requirements

We are looking for graduates with a 2:2 Honours degree with 53% or above in their first degree in a relevant subject area. While we normally only accept applicants who meet this criteria, if you are coming from a different academic background which is equivalent to degree level, or have relevant work experience, we would welcome your application.

Applicants will be asked to submit a sample of creative writing which can be roughly 2,000 words of prose or 3-4 poems.

Course content

This exciting and innovative MA introduces you to diverse and challenging approaches to Nature Writing and Environmental Writing/Activism. Uniquely to this MA, you may either choose to develop separate pieces of work across a variety of genres, or to focus on a single project across the MA, guided by your own interests and nature-related activities (walking, climbing, swimming, hawking, environmental activism, etc). You will explore current ecocritical approaches and the role that creativity can play in the major environmental and social issues of our times. 

You will be based in a beautiful, biodiverse campus, within which several outdoor classes will be uniquely taught. Exeter itself is also an historic UNESCO City of Literature, situated close to coast and moorland, with its own unique canals, rivers and edgelands with a rich urban/rural environment for exploring Nature and Environmental Writing.

Uniquely again, you will be taught by Professors with extensive publications and activities in the fields of Nature Writing; Science Writing; Biodiversity and Ecology; Environmental Activism; Nature & Wellbeing; Water & Waste, and other related subjects. Their expertise covers a wide range of genres - poetry, prose fiction, non-fiction, text & image works, and environmental engagement with international partners. Your professors’ publications and engaged research activity will form a unique and key element of your reading lists. 

You will develop a wide range of skills in writing, research, individual and group work, and presentation skills, as well as honing creative skills and techniques, to enhance your independent writing and its role in your environmental thinking.

The programme will appeal to those seeking to develop their writing and research to a high level; those seeking high level training prior to embarking on a PhD; recent graduates who wish to extend and enhance their studies before embarking on a career, and to those already working or active in environmental areas, or who are interested in career development in this field.

Please note that this course requires you to read and analyse complex English literary texts, but we do not teach English language skills – these are available at the University though our services for international students (INTO). You will need a near-native level of English to participate fully in classes and complete assessments successfully.

The modules we outline here provide examples of what you can expect to learn on this degree course based on recent academic teaching. The precise modules available to you in future years may vary depending on staff availability and research interests, new topics of study, timetabling and student demand.

Fees

2025/26 entry

UK fees per year:

£12,500 full-time; £6,250 part-time

International fees per year:

£25,300 full-time; £12,650 part-time

Scholarships

We invest heavily in scholarships for talented prospective Masters students. This includes over £5 million in scholarships for international students, such as our Global Excellence Scholarships*.

For more information on scholarships, please visit our scholarships and bursaries page.

^{*Selected programmes only. Please see the Terms and Conditions for each scheme for further details.}

Teaching and research

Learning and teaching

Whether you already know what kind of books or screenplays you wish to write or are still searching for the best form in which to express your creativity, we offer the chance to try your hand in a range of genres, and to benefit from feedback tailored to your writing needs.

A programme of visiting speakers takes place throughout the academic year with writers, publishers and agents coming to talk to students about the next steps in their careers. The roll call changes every year to reflect both our students’ interests and new trends. Recent guest lecturers have included the Booker prize winning novelist Hilary Mantel; the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize-winning novelist Hisham Matar; the Pulitzer Prize winning US Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey; the writer, editor and publisher Richard Cohen, and many others.

Portfolio

Our MA can be taken over one-year full time, or two years part time. During your studies, you will build a portfolio of creative work for possible publication, including a dissertation in your chosen genre. You will also be able to take a range of optional modules and explore literary genres and forms with a mutually supportive, like-minded group of fellow writers.

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Careers

Whether your ambition is to become a full-time writer, a teacher of writing, or to develop a creative career which includes writing in one of its many forms, we have a strong track record of supporting our students through to publication and doctoral level work.

While at Exeter, our MA students publish their creative work in RIPTIDE and in the postgraduate journal EXCLAMATION. The Creative Writing Society also run a journal called Enigma.

In addition, our industry connections within publishing, literary journalism and broadcasting, book festivals and prizes open many opportunities to establish the contacts necessary for successful publication.

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