Department of English

The English Department at City, University of London, is an interdisciplinary environment for the critical analysis, production and dissemination of literature and other cultural texts. The Department’s teaching and research are structured around three key subject areas: English Literature, Creative Writing and Publishing.

The Department houses BA, MA and PhD programmes in English, MAs in Publishing, International Publishing, Creative Writing, and Creative Writing and Publishing, and an MFA in Creative Writing.

Our motto is 'English in the World'. The Department has an outward-looking focus on literature, creative writing and publishing from around the world, as well as an interest in London as a literary​ and cultural hub.

We see English as a constantly evolving academic discipline that plays an active role in the modern world, informing and changing attitudes, perceptions and behaviours. Publishing and Creative Writing at City similarly focus on these activities as fast-changing aspects of a global cultural sphere.

Our ethos is reflected in our research, which strives to shift our understanding of English in the world, and in our teaching, which seeks to decolonise and re-envision the curriculum as politically informed and socially conscious.

The Department of English is built around the core values of employability, creativity and critical thinking. We believe that English can help students develop a range of transferable skills as global citizens. With professional and digital writing and innovation at the heart of our programmes, we seek to demonstrate the discipline’s contemporary relevance by contextualising traditional English for non-traditional communities of users.

Our location in central London promises an unparalleled student experience, with world-leading cultural institutions, literary landmarks, and creative opportunities on our doorstep.

City’s membership of the University of London provides students and researchers with access to outstanding research resources.

You will learn about the business of writing and the current literary landscape, the different forms and requirements of print and electronic publication, and the role of editors, agents and publishers in the publication process.

In your first year of studies you will follow the trajectory of the Creative Writing MA. In your second year you will gain a deeper understanding of your craft through critical work, supervision, and practice, and will learn how to transfer these skills to the professional field of teaching creative writing.

Students acquire intimate knowledge of publishing and are offered support from professional writers to complete a substantial creative writing project.

The programme offers the option of industry placements and has a strong record of alumni publications and creative writing prize winners.

Students arrive with degrees in a wide range of humanities, social science, business, and science subjects, and come from all over the world.

We enjoy fantastic links to commercial publishers in London from across the full range of publishing sectors. The MA seeks to provide students with a practical understanding of how twenty-first-century publishing works in increasingly globalised, fast-changing and often digital markets.

Students arrive with degrees in a wide range of humanities, social science, business, and science subjects, and from all over the world.

The programme enjoys fantastic links to many different commercial publishers in London from across the full range of publishing sectors. The programme seeks to provide students with a practical understanding of how twenty-first-century publishing works, and pays particular attention to issues of innovation and digitisation in publishing.

The Department of English makes a sustained and significant contribution to the research base through numerous academic and public roles, appearances, projects, events, collaborations and activities.

With our conviction that English is a socially engaged and globally relevant discipline, the Department is committed to communicating with diverse audiences through various public engagement activities, including school and community workshops, public events and media engagement.

Our Department has research expertise in the fields of literature, creative writing and publishing, and we particularly welcome applications from research students with an interest in these areas: