Online learning at the Open College of the Arts provides a significant degree of flexibility in how and when you study the arts. Instead of being tied to a physical campus or rigid timetables, your learning happens where you are – whether that’s your home, studio, or any comfortable space – and you can access your course materials whenever best suits your personal schedule, allowing you to create a study plan that integrates with your existing commitments. Each 40-credit unit has a 12-month timeframe for completion (including an initial induction period) to ensure a focused and progressive learning experience. You’ll also join a diverse and inspiring global community of students, and gain access to a dedicated department space where you can engage with webinars and workshops in addition to your core learning materials.

Our online student platform, OCA Learn, becomes your central hub after registration, providing all your course materials and a space to connect with others. Through OCA Learn, you’ll conveniently submit your completed assignments online. Throughout your studies, you’ll receive expert guidance from a dedicated tutor, a practicing artist, who will offer constructive feedback on your submitted work. This feedback is designed to help you grow, highlighting what you’re doing well and  areas for improvement, often delivered through a mix of detailed written notes directly on your digital submissions within OCA Learn, and the chance to connect with tutors via video.

Stage 1 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

Unit 1.1 Essential Writing Skills teaches you the basics of creative writing. You’ll learn techniques like keeping a notebook, freewriting, observation, and building descriptive prose. You’ll also study character development, dialogue, and narrative voice. Plus, you’ll learn about style, language, plot, structure, and the importance of revising your work. 

To move on to Unit 1.2, you’ll first need to successfully pass the assessment for Unit 1.1. Please be aware that this initial progression step might involve a slightly longer gap between unit enrolments compared to the transition between subsequent units. 

Unit 1.2 Further Writing Skills builds on the learning in 1.1: Essential Writing Skills, and offers an introduction to some basic skills in more specialised forms –  prose writing, poetry and screenwriting. The exercises and assignments are designed to help you to develop some of the specific skills you need to start writing poetry, scripts for the screen, or to begin writing from life.

Unit 1.3 Creative Arts Dimensions leads through a series of exercises and assignments designed to help you to take your writing in specialised forms to a level that prepares you for stage 2. You will develop reading, drafting, editing and presentation skills and respond to constructive critical suggestions from your tutor. You will reflect on the writing process and critically appraise your own work.

Stage 2 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

Unit 2.1 Investigation and Experiment is where you begin to specialise. You will choose two of the following pathways:

• Moving on with Scriptwriting
• Poetry, Form and Experience
• Starting Your Novel
• Writing for Children
• Writing for Teens/Young Adults
• Writing Short Fiction
• Narrative Journalism

You will work through these two pathways at the same time. Choose carefully, as you will stay with these specialisms in Creative Writing units 2.2 and 2.3.

Unit 2.2 Skills and Proficiency is designed to begin to build and hone the skills you began to explore in Creative Writing 2.1. For some of you – such as those taking the Poetry and Scriptwriting pathways – some of the skills are already building on those you learned at Stage 1. But those taking some of the other pathways, such as Writing for Children, Writing for Teens and Young Adults, Writing Short Fiction, Narrative Journalism or Starting Your Novel have been introduced to some brand new ideas and concepts. 

Unit 2.3 Innovation and Challenge guides you to hone your skills, practices and techniques, which are needed to specialise in your chosen form. This unit develops an increasingly autonomous approach to your learning and leads to the development of an increasingly individual style. You will continue to explore local, national and global markets, current thinking and may take up the opportunity to collaborate in creative and meaningful ways.

Stage 3 comprises three 40-credit units that must be studied in order.

Unit 3.1 Practice and Research supports you to create a project plan – a proposal for the types of work you aim to do –  and produce a Creative Reading Commentary to analyse the work of another writer or writers in your chosen form. You’ll reflect on your work in progress through reflective commentaries. 

Unit 3.2 External Projects helps you move towards being an independent practitioner. You’ll focus on a specialist area of inquiry to undertake a body of work, be that a novel in progress, collection of poetry, short stories or a script. 

Unit 3.3 Reaching Your Audience provides the opportunity to demonstrate all that you have learned by undertaking a self-directed project, focusing on a specialist area of inquiry, and reflecting on your experiences through a reflective commentary.

When you complete a unit, you are invited to submit a portfolio of work and critical essays to the next available assessment event. There are three undergraduate assessment events held each year, and when you complete your unit decides which assessment event you submit to. In some instances, you will require your assessment results before progressing onto your next unit.

You have a total of 12 months to complete each 40-credit unit, starting with a two-week induction.

You will arrange your assignment submission dates with your tutor directly so you can study at your own pace within the unit timeframe (although it’s important to note that full-time study is not available). This means that the course completion time varies depending on the study hours dedicated, and when you submit to assessment.

After successfully finishing a unit, you have a six-month window to enrol for your subsequent unit of study. This six-month period begins from the date you receive your assessment results.

Programme Specifications

Programme Specification

The BA (Hons) Creative Writing course was updated in 2021. Students who enrolled before the update will continue with the previous version (the “Teach Out” programme) until they progress to a new stage of their studies. At that point, they will switch to the updated course.

Teaching Out Programme Specification

New students cannot enrol to the Teach Out programme.

Accessibility Guides

Accessibility guides give an indication of the type and format of content, teaching, and learning activities on the course, and how these are ordinarily delivered.

Review Accessibility Guides Here

Curriculum changes

We regularly review our curriculum; therefore, the qualification described on this page – including its availability, its structure, and available units – may change over time. If we make changes to this qualification, we’ll update this page as soon as possible. Once you’ve registered or are studying this qualification, where practicable, we’ll inform you in good time of any upcoming changes. If you’d like to know more about the circumstances in which OCA might make changes to the curriculum, see our Academic Regulations or contact us. This description was last updated on 14 December 2022.

Academic Regulations for Subsidiary Institutions of The Open University are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA).

Academic Regulatory Framework

The Academic Regulatory Framework (ARF) regulations are applicable to all taught courses offered by the Open College of the Arts (OCA). As of January 2024, this will lead to an undergraduate award of The Open University (OU).

You can review the ARF through the link below:

Academic Framework