Gerard Driesen Scholarship to Support Indigenous Students
For Indigenous students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts, worth up to $10,000.
Range of criteria
AU$34,560 (2022 annual)
Work closely on your writing in an intensive studio model with world-leading lecturers and creative practitioners, improving your writing and solving problems from industry.
This degree is designed to make you confident, skilled and adaptable in today’s creative industries - where writing and editing are essential skills, and so are creativity, communication, and critical thinking. Along with leading genres like fiction, screen, and digital writing, you’ll become an adaptable writer by learning the skills to adjust to a constantly changing industry, spending deep time with your creative work, making new experiments, and gaining a diversity of knowledges. Your flair for creative expression will be complemented by becoming proficient in the business side of writing, allowing you to understand the publishing process as well as learn the skills required to become a freelance writer, collaborator or creative entrepreneur, working in events and digital media.
With a strong emphasis on industry connections, you will develop a large network of relationships throughout the degree, maximising your opportunities to gain employment upon graduation, and building a lifelong network of creative peers.
Graduates in this degree can expect to work in a variety of roles, including working as writers, editors, publishers, screenwriters, screen producers, digital and mobile media writers, and producers of events like writers’ festivals.
The Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) was unlike anything offered at other universities. At RMIT, creative writing was the focus of the degree - not a singular unit or area of study. I felt reassured that I wouldn’t just be spending three years studying something I loved - I’d also get a career out of it at the end. It’s such a unique degree that lends itself to all kinds of industries and career outcomes.
You will learn how to develop your creative, critical and professional skills as a creative writer in a range of environments including workshops, seminars and intensive face-to-face studios.
You’ll undertake individual projects and work in teams. You will work closely on your writing in a studio model and spend deep time on your creative work, including writing intensives aimed at building a rigorous creative practice you can use outside of class.
You will also work on solving problems from industry, building international communities of peers through responding to briefs. Recent partners include the Jakarta Post, the Emerging Writers' Festival, and SingLitStation Singapore.
As part of the curriculum, you will hone your writing skills through connections to students and lecturers across the creative industries, enhancing your employability. You may participate collaborative studios with media, editing and publishing students, or work on projects with students from design, advertising and photography disciplines.
You will also have the opportunity to participate in the Emerging Writers’ Festival Gazette, making and publishing a dynamic daily newspaper, travelling to China to collaborate with local writers, hosting Singaporean writers, and collaborating on an event for Melbourne Writers Festival.
Our key staff are authors, screenwriters, essayists, playwrights, reviewers and researchers. They work across digital, screen and print writing platforms, and integrate their creative practice with a dedication to teaching and world-leading research.
This degree 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 workshop leaders who get to know your work over the 3-year degree. You will receive professional 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, writers’ festivals, digital projects and book production.
Internships and work placements are offered as part of the degree to help you develop vital connections to the industry while you study.
All subjects are delivered in English. You can access online and digital resources. Additional assistance is available from the RMIT Study and Learning Centre and through one-on-one academic advice throughout your degree.
This degree has close ties with all levels of the writing and publishing industry, including publishers such as Hardie Grant Books and Hachette Publishing; screen industry leaders like Film Victoria and Channel Seven; writers’ festivals including Melbourne Writers Festival, and Emerging Writers’ Festival; and cutting-edge leaders of the industry including digital publishers and literary journals.
Recent students have: collaborated with visiting writers from Singapore on an event at Melbourne Writers Festival; published comics with award-winning Risograph publisher Glom Press; and collaborated with writers from China on publishing projects through emerging mobile technologies. In these studios, students learn teamwork, responsiveness and project leadership, helping you develop diverse and flexible careers.
You will have the opportunity to meet and engage with guest lecturers and writers-in-residence, including poets and short story writers, 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 intensive studio learning with professional or vocational practice.
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 degrees have links with many leading Creative Writing programs in North America and Asia, which students can take advantage of through courses of exchange studies developed with student advisors.
In addition to our ongoing collaborations with literary organisations and universities in Singapore and China, students have the chance to participate in new projects and programs that arise from time to time such as The Jakarta Post through its b/ndL Studios and Writers Immersion Cultural Exchange (WrICE), which helps students as emerging writers build relationships with writers at different stages of practice.
RMIT offers a range of opportunities for our students to study abroad through global work, exchange and study experiences with over 165 partner universities worldwide.
The knowledge and skills you will acquire throughout this degree and how they can be applied in your career are described in the learning outcomes.
Each semester, you’ll be immersed in a new creative writing Studio. Across the three years of the degree, these Studios will take you from the foundations of creative writing practice to the production of a major folio of work in your chosen form of creative writing. Studios will enable students to learn and apply the forms of four key genres: Poetry, Fiction, Nonfiction and Screenwriting, in the context of their histories and the work of leading contemporary practitioners. Students also experiment with studios in digital media, sovereignty and Indigenous knowledges, comics and book production, editing and publishing, and performance.
You will then be able to choose which genres you would like to focus upon to explore in more detail. You will apply your writing and professional skills in collaborative and real-world industry contexts, as well as develop your own individual career vision.
You will study one of five contextual strands (minors) as part of your degree. The five contextual strands are: Asian Media and Culture; Cinema Studies; Politics Economies Communication; Literary Studies; and Approaches to Popular Culture.
Creative Writing students can also take advantage of a rich choice of electives offered in the School of Media and Communication, as well as from across the University - complementing and enriching your core studies, or broadening your horizons You can pursue studies in your areas of interest including screen production, games, journalism, editing, advertising and design, as well as choose from a range of specialist creative writing electives.
Choose a plan below to find out more about the subjects you will study and the course structure.
Full- or part-time study is determined by how many credit points you are enrolled in during the semester. An undergraduate study load is considered part-time if you are enrolled in 24 credit points or fewer (approximately two subjects).
Once you are enrolled into this degree you can choose to switch to a part-time study load. This may impact your study duration and tuition fees. Please discuss your study options with your program manager prior to enrolment.
If you are eligible to apply via VTAC, copy and paste the below code into VTAC search.
Please ensure that you have checked the admissions requirements and apply page before applying.
Note: International student visa holders can only study full-time.
IMPORTANT: International students can only enrol in plans that have a CRICOS code. Plans listed above which do not display a CRICOS code are not CRICOS registered. RMIT is in the process of seeking CRICOS registration for these plans and is awaiting the outcome.
If you are eligible to apply via VTAC, copy and paste the below code into VTAC search.
Please ensure that you have checked the admissions requirements and apply page before applying.
Typically there are three broad areas of work in the creative writing industry:
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 degree will prepare you for roles such as:
There are opportunities to go on to further studies in Creative Writing, through RMIT's highly regarded Honours, Masters and PhD degrees 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 must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent qualification).
Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) units 3 and 4: a study score of at least 32 in any English, or equivalent studies.
Entry to this program is competitive. Applicants are ranked and selected in order of merit based on the assessment of their selection task.
You must complete and submit the Creative Writing selection task.
Applications are assessed in the order that they are received until the date below, if places are still available.
For your best chance at admission into this program, you are encouraged to apply as early as possible.
Please click the apply button to submit your direct application.
The link to submit your selection task will appear on the applicant dashboard after you have submitted your application.
Applicant type | Register and submit the selection task |
---|---|
All applicants | 15 July 2022 |
Outline your interests and background in creative writing, reading and/or film analysis, and how this has prepared you for this program, including any relevant writing experience in creative writing or a related field. This could include formal work experience or publication, volunteering, formal studies, writing competitions, book reviews, blogging and online communities (400 to 500 words).
Outline your approach to creative writing, which may include reference to ideas and theories, as well as influential authors who inform your practice and future writing ambitions (400 to 500 words).
Prepare three to four different pieces of creative writing. This can be a combination of fiction or non-fiction, prose, poetry, script, essay (maximum 2000 words in total).
You must collate all of your responses, including the applicant statement and sample writing pieces, in a single PDF.
Selection task details and submission dates will be available on 1 August 2022.
The highest level of education you have previously completed will determine which category applies to you.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent senior secondary school) qualification.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Certificate IV or above (or equivalent).
You may satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice.
If you are applying to RMIT as an applicant with vocational education training, you may sit the STAT multiple choice if you:
STAT results are valid for two years prior to the commencement of study and can be used to meet Year 12 English prerequisites. You are still required to meet all other program prerequisites or equivalents.
Learn more about RMIT STAT results including minimum STAT scores required to meet prerequisites.
You must have successfully completed at least two courses (subjects) in an Australian bachelor degree or four courses (subjects) in an Australian associate degree, or overseas equivalent.
You may satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice.
If you are applying to RMIT as an applicant with vocational education training, you may sit the STAT multiple choice if you:
STAT results are valid for two years prior to the commencement of study and can be used to meet Year 12 English prerequisites. You are still required to meet all other program prerequisites or equivalents.
Learn more about RMIT STAT results including minimum STAT scores required to meet prerequisites.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 (or equivalent qualification) and meet the stated prerequisites. You may satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice.
You may satisfy the academic requirements by completing the STAT multiple choice.
If you are applying to RMIT as an applicant with vocational education training, you may sit the STAT multiple choice if you:
STAT results are valid for two years prior to the commencement of study and can be used to meet Year 12 English prerequisites. You are still required to meet all other program prerequisites or equivalents.
Learn more about RMIT STAT results including minimum STAT scores required to meet prerequisites.
View the following videos for some practical application advice:
Here's some advice for preparing folios and pre-selection kits to help make the process easier.
Wondering how an art and design selection interview works? Here's everything you need to know.
View the following videos for some practical application advice:
Here's some advice for preparing folios and pre-selection kits to help make the process easier.
Wondering how an art and design selection interview works? Here's everything you need to know.
View the ATAR profile and selection rank from students offered a place into this program wholly or partly on the basis of ATAR in the most relevant recent intake period.
The student profile provides insight into the likely peer group for this program.
*ATAR refers to the lowest selection rank to which an offer was made (including consideration of any adjustments) for current and recent Year 12 applicants.
RMIT is committed to providing transparency to the admissions process. In line with this commitment, we provide you with information that will help in making informed choices about your undergraduate study options. Find out more about RMIT’s commitment to admissions transparency.
You need to satisfy all of the following requirements to be considered for entry into this degree.
You must have successfully completed an Australian Year 12 or an equivalent senior secondary school qualification with a minimum average of 65% (see calculator below).
Equivalent qualifications may also include completion of the RMIT Foundation Studies program or a recognised post secondary diploma in the relevant discipline with the required grades.
Meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee entry. Your application will still need to be assessed and accepted.
There are no prerequisite subjects required for entry into this qualification.
All applicants are required to complete and submit a selection task for this program. See below for full selection task details.
To study this course you will need to complete one of the following English proficiency tests:
For detailed information on English language requirements and other proficiency tests recognised by RMIT, visit English language requirements and equivalency information.
Don't meet the English language test scores? Complete an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Advanced Plus Certificate at RMIT English Worldwide.
Applications are now closed for Semester 1 2022. |
If you are applying via VTAC you must complete and submit the Creative Writing selection task by the following dates:
VTAC round | Submission due date |
---|---|
Main round (All applicants) |
19 November 2021 |
All subsequent rounds (if places are available) |
17 January 2022 |
The selection task requires:
You must collate all of your responses, including sample writing pieces, in a single PDF.
Selection task details and submission dates will be available on 1 August 2022.
View the following videos for some practical application advice:
Here's some advice for preparing folios and pre-selection kits to help make the process easier.
Wondering how an art and design selection interview works? Here's everything you need to know.
Pre-selection kit: You are required to submit a completed pre-selection kit (PDF 105kb) along with your application.
This course offers pathway options. If you don’t meet the entry requirements, a formal pathway might be your way in.
Didn't get the ATAR you needed for entry into this degree?
At RMIT we've got your back, with a range study options to help you achieve your goals, no matter your ATAR.
Guaranteed Pathways gives you the option to preference pathway packages in VTAC.
If you apply and are successful in gaining a place in a Guaranteed Pathway package, you will progress straight into the Bachelor Degree upon successful completion of the relevant vocational degree (otherwise known as TAFE) first.
With a Guaranteed Pathway package, you can graduate with two internationally-recognised RMIT qualifications.
High performing graduates of the Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) are well placed to take up further study, either to pursue a particular research interest through an Honours year at RMIT - including through creative project - or by taking a postgraduate Masters' qualification, including the Master of Writing and Publishing at RMIT.
These options also offer further pathways to higher study such as a PhD.
Credit, recognition of prior learning, professional experience and accreditation from a professional body can reduce the duration of your study by acknowledging your earlier, relevant experience.
Credit and exemptions will be assessed consistent with the principles of the RMIT Credit Policy.
When you successfully complete the Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing you are guaranteed entry into the Bachelor of Arts (Creative Writing) with 3 semesters of advanced standing (equivalent to 144 credit points).
Alternatively, you can gain entry from RMIT Foundation Studies or a range of vocational study programs.
RMIT has pathway arrangements with many partner institutions around the world.
If your institution has a pathway arrangement with RMIT you may be able to receive credit and reduce the time it will take to complete your preferred RMIT program.
Find out if your institution has a pathway arrangement with RMIT
If you have qualifications from an institution that is not an RMIT partner, credit into your RMIT program will be assessed on a case by case basis.
Credit may reduce the duration of your study by acknowledging your earlier, relevant study experience.
When you are submitting an application, please indicate that you want to be considered for credit and provide detailed course syllabus (also known as course outline), outlining volume of learning, course content and weekly topics, learning objectives/outcomes, assessment types and their weightings, and reference to the learning resources such as prescribed textbooks and recommended readings.
When you successfully complete this program, you may be eligible for entry into an RMIT Honours or Postgraduate degree.
In 2022, the annual student contribution amount (tuition fee) you will pay for a standard year of full-time study is between AU$3,985 to AU$14,630*.
Amounts quoted are indicative fees per annum, and are based on a standard year of full-time study (96 credit points). A proportionate fee applies for more or less than the full-time study load.
Fees are adjusted on an annual basis and these fees should only be used as a guide.
You may be eligible to apply for a HECS-HELP loan, which can be used to defer payment of up to the full amount of your student contribution fees. You may also be eligible to apply to defer payment of your SSAF through the SA-HELP loan scheme.
Learn more about fees for undergraduate study.
For information on how to pay your fees or how to apply for a refund, please see Paying your fees and applying for refunds.
From 2022, there are new government rules about eligibility for higher education student funding as part of the Australian Government’s Job-ready Graduates legislation. If you're starting a program in or after 2022 and are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) or have a HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP loan, these changes affect you. For details, please see Low completion rate and government funding.
If you are offered a Commonwealth supported place, your tuition fees are subsidised by the Australian Government.
Your share of the fee (student contribution) is set on an annual basis by the government and is determined by the discipline areas (bands) of your individual enrolled courses, not the overall program.
The Australian Government has introduced changes to university funding and student contribution fees under its Job-ready Graduates Package.
The fees in the table below apply to students commencing their program in 2022. Fees for continuing students are available at fees for Commonwealth supported students.
Each course (subject) falls into a band. The band determines the student contribution amount for the course.
Amounts listed in the table below are based on a standard, full-time study load (96 credit points per year) with all courses in the same band. A proportionate fee applies for more or less than the full-time study load or for enrolment in courses (subjects) from a combination of bands.
You can learn how to calculate your exact tuition fees for units from different bands at Fees for Commonwealth supported students.
Student contribution band by course (subject) |
Maximum annual student contribution amount (per EFTSL) in 2022 |
---|---|
Education, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics, Statistics, Nursing, Indigenous and Foreign Languages, Agriculture | $3,985 per standard year $498 per standard (12 credit point) course |
Allied Health, Other Health, Built Environment, Computing, Visual and Performing Arts, Professional Pathway Psychology, Professional Pathway Social Work, Engineering, Surveying, Environmental Studies, Science, Pathology | $8,021 per standard year $1,002 per standard (12 credit point) course |
Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Science | $11,401 per standard year $1,425 per standard (12 credit point) course |
Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Communications, Society and Culture | $14,630 per standard year $1,828 per standard (12 credit point) course |
The Australian Government provides financial assistance via the HECS-HELP loan scheme, which allows eligible students (such as Australian citizens or holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa) to defer payment of up to the full amount of their student contribution.
You may be eligible to apply to defer payment of the Student services and amenities fee (SSAF) through the SA-HELP loan scheme. If you use SA-HELP, the amount will be added to your accumulated HELP debt.
If your FEE-HELP and/or SA-HELP loan application is successful, the Australian Government will pay RMIT, on your behalf, up to 100% of your fees. This amount will become part of your accumulated HELP debt.
You only start repaying your accumulated HELP debt to the Australian Government once you earn above the minimum income threshold for repayment, which is set each year by the Australian Government (this also applies if you are still studying). The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will calculate your compulsory repayment for the year and include this on your income tax notice.
For more information about loan repayment options see Commonwealth assistance (HELP loans) or Study Assist.
In addition to tuition fees, you will be charged an annual student services and amenities fee (SSAF), which is used to maintain and enhance services and amenities that improve your experience as an RMIT student.
The SSAF is calculated based on your enrolment load and the maximum fee for 2022 is $315.
For more information about calculating your actual SSAF see Paying SSAF.
You may also be required to purchase other items related to your program, including field trips, textbooks and equipment. These additional fees and expenses vary from program to program.
For Indigenous students enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts, worth up to $10,000.
RMIT awards more than 2000 scholarships every year to recognise academic achievement and assist students from a variety of backgrounds.
The annual tuition fee for 2022 is AU$34,560.
The total indicative tuition fee for 2022 commencement is AU$109,440.
In addition to tuition fees you also need to pay for:
You also need to account for your living expenses. Estimate the cost of living in Melbourne.
Find out more details about how fees are calculated and the expected annual increase.
Find information on how to apply for a refund as a continuing international student.
RMIT awards more than 2000 scholarships every year to recognise academic achievement and assist students from a variety of backgrounds.
Use our Frequently Asked Questions to learn about the application process and its equity access schemes, find out how to accept or defer your offer or request a leave of absence, discover information about your fees, refunds and scholarships, and explore the various student support and advocacy services, as well as how to find out more about your preferred program, and more.
Acknowledgement of country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.
Acknowledgement of country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.