Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing)

You will learn how to develop your creative, critical and professional skills as a creative writer in a range of environments including workshops, studios and seminars. You’ll undertake individual projects and work in teams.

Our key staff are authors, screenwriters, essayists, playwrights, reviewers and researchers. They work across online, screen and print writing platforms, and integrate their creative practice with a dedication to teaching and research.

This program offers guest lectures and master classes taken by industry professionals from Australia and around the world. The work you produce will be assessed by peers, guests and you will receive feedback from industry practitioners.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work in studios with students from other communication disciplines to work together on projects such as short films and book production.
Internships and work placements are offered as part of the program to help you develop connections to the industry while you study.

All programs are delivered in English. You can access online and digital resources through the myRMIT student portal. Additional assistance is available from the RMIT Study and Learning Centre.

This program has close ties with Hachette, Hardie Grant Books, Film Victoria, Allen and Unwin, Channel Seven, Text Publishers, Melbourne Writers Festival, Emerging Writers Festival, Sleepers Publishing and leading literary journals such as Griffith REVIEW, Overland, The Lifted Brow and Kill Your Darlings.

You will have the opportunity to meet and engage with guest lecturers and writers-in-residence to gain insight into the world of writing and possibilities of production and publication.

RMIT University is committed to providing you with an education that strongly links formal learning with professional or vocational practice.

Typically there are three broad areas of work in the creative writing industry:

• writing for publication in print and online media
• writing for screenplay and script development
• writing for and about education and other research fields.

There are increasing opportunities arising in online and mobile media platforms through interactivity, games and apps as well as emerging opportunities for self-employment through ebooks and ezines, and self-publication via the internet. There are also career opportunities resulting from emerging trends such as boutique publishing.

The writing industry is a constantly changing and competitive environment as more and more people want to create their own work and see it published. Local and international projects and events are well supported through government and private funding.

This program will prepare you for roles such as:

• writer
• editor
• publisher
• events/festival manager with writing focus
• screenwriter
• screen producer.

There are opportunities to go onto further studies in Creative Writing, through RMIT's highly regarded Honours, Masters and PhD programs in the School of Media and Communication, in which students can choose to undertake research through creative practice, linked to internationally recognised research groups such as the nonfictionLab and Screen Cultures.

You will have the opportunity to participate in overseas student exchange and volunteer for events that expose you to local and international writing opportunities and industry professionals. RMIT’s Creative Writing programs have links with many leading Creative Writing programs in North America and Asia, which students can take advantage of.

In 2014 a number of writing students had the opportunity of participating in the Writers Immersion Cultural Exchange (WrICE) when they visited Singapore and Penang, Malaysia. Prestigious WrICE Student Fellowships are currently offered each year.

RMIT’s Education Abroad Office (EAO) supports students to undertake an exchange or short term mobility activity with over 165 partner universities worldwide.