Creative Writing is more than just writing stories. It’s about learning how to engage your readers, how to capture their attention. It’s about how to communicate with others; to help them see the world through your eyes, while still giving them space to use their own views. You can use these skills in many fields and career paths, including communication, education and even business.

History is about learning to understand the modern world, to reflect on past events and their consequences. You’ll learn to interpret, analyse and critically evaluate historical accounts. You can look at British history, but also international history, including that of America. You’ll look at primary and secondary sources and learn about their reliability.

In your first year, you’ll explore a wide range of historical eras ranging from 1450 to 2000. You’ll take a module on the ‘historians’ toolkit,’ specially designed to help with the transition to university. For Creative Writing, you’ll take a module on ‘becoming a writer,’ where you’ll get hands on with writing different genres in two-hour workshops. You’ll also explore writing for the screen, building different worlds in fiction writing and more. 

In your second year, all your modules are optional. This means you will be able to choose those modules that suit your interests best. You can choose to look at poetry, playwriting, or literature for Creative Writing. For History you can opt to learn how to make a historical documentary, which encompasses both subjects. You’ll be able to look at the British empire, crime in 16th to 18th century England, and much more.

Work placement/study abroad option: Between your second and final year, you’ll have the option to study abroad or do a work placement for up to a year. Not only will this give you an amazing experience to talk about but will also give your CV a boost. If you’d rather go straight to your final year, that’s fine too.

In your third year, you’ll really hone in on what you’ve learnt so far. Most of your modules will be workshop and seminar based, with complementary lectures where applicable. You can take on a History project, where you independently research an area of your choosing. You’ll also work on a Creative Writing project, which is the culmination of three years’ worth of studying. For your project you can either choose poetry or prose.

Work placement

Graduate with invaluable work experience alongside your degree and stand out from the crowd.  

This course offers you the opportunity to enhance your study and CV with a work placement sandwich year. It’s a chance to explore career possibilities, make valuable contacts and gain sought after professional skills.  

Our dedicated Careers and Employment team are here to help guide you through the process.

If you take up a work placement between your second and third year of study, at the University of Hertfordshire you’ll pay no tuition fee for this year. We’ll ask you to make your decision in your second year, so there is plenty of time to think about it.