Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing)

A Bachelor of Creative Arts at RSU encourages you to immerse yourself creatively, critically and practically. The Creative Industries is one of the fastest-growing, most dynamic sectors in the world.

In the digital age, writing is becoming more and more central to the way we communicate with each other. The Bachelor of Creative Arts (Creative Writing) teaches skills and strategies so your writing is strong and clear. It helps you express ideas in imaginative ways that will impact your readers. Creative writers work in a range of areas: poetry, editing, writing for multimedia, commercial and content writing, commercial theatre and performance, short stories and novels, or even in ways that combine or challenge these forms. Creative writers might write to entertain or to educate – but they’re always drawing on the human condition, exploring what it means to be human.

This course is designed to teach you to think about your story, image and scene. Creative writers draft and re-draft so their work is at its best, and this process is exciting.

What you will study

Core subjects will teach you the foundation for editing, writing across borders, genre and form, contemporary theory and research practice and you will explore social justice and children's literature. 

You will work on a major project that will allow you to develop a significant piece of creative content on completion of your degree. Various artist and writer-in-residence programs take place throughout your degree and you will be encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities, facilitate public readings, perform your written work and pursue publication. There are opportunities to combine writing genres and explore the intersections between writing and other creative disciplines.

Course structure

(Current year structure - subject to change)

Course Learning Outcomes

Course Learning Outcomes are statements of learning achievement that are expressed in terms of what the learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do upon completion of a course. Students graduating from this course will be able to:

Course Structure

To qualify for award of the degree, the Bachelor of Creative Arts, a candidate must successfully complete at least 144 credit points comprised of:

1. Four subjects (24 credit points) from the BCA core, outlined in the below schedule;
2. At least one of the four majors in this degree:
   1. Creative Writing (72 credit points)
   2. Music (72 credit points)
   3. Visual Arts (72 credit points)
   4. Visual Arts and Design (96 credit points)
3. Electives to bring the total number of credit points completed to 144.
4. No more than 60cps at 100 level can be counted towards the Bachelor of Creative Arts degree.
5. Students must achieve a clear pass in the core 300-level subjects to be eligible to graduate with a Bachelor of Creative Arts. 

Click on subject codes in the above table for information on sessions of offer for each subject.

Majors

Students studying the Bachelor of Creative Arts will complete one of the following majors:

• Creative Writing (72 credit points)
• Music (72 credit points)
• Visual Arts (72 credit points)
• Visual Arts and Design (96 credit points)

Minors

As part of their elective subjects, students are encouraged to undertake a in order to add a multi-disciplinary aspect to their Bachelor of Creative Arts Degree.

Each comprises 24 credit points. Creative Arts offers minor studies in the following areas:

• Art History
• Creative Production
• Creative Writing
• Graphic Design
• Media Arts
• Music
• Photography
• Technical Theatre
• Theatre
• Visual Arts

Students may not undertake a Major and in the same discipline (for example, students cannot take both a major and a minor in Creative Writing). 

Information regarding minors including which subjects to take to complete a minor, are available on the 2020 LHA General Schedule of Minors page.

Minors appear on the transcript (i.e. academic record) but do not appear on the testamur. To have a recorded, students must submit an Application to Declare or Change Intended Major/Minor.