Study
As a student within the centre you can choose to follow either a critical or a creative pathway, or a combination of the two.
Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney was both a student and lecturer here in Queen's University, and other famous poet-alumni of the university include Ciaran Carson, Paul Muldoon and Medbh McGuckian.
Heaney was a founding member of the famous ‘Belfast Group’ in the 1960s: a forum in which young poets came together with critics to discuss their work and the craft of good poetry more generally. The fruitful interaction of creative and critical activity is at the heart of what the centre offers students.
The centre strives to be a home for generations of new writers, and a place where writing lives, for decades to come.
Programmes of Study
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MA English - Creative Writing
The MA in Creative Writing focuses on prose fiction and scriptwriting. It encourages students to develop as independent writers and self-reflect. It provides a broad understanding of the literary marketplace and the commercial aspects of literary production.
Creative Writing students are taught by experienced novelists, playwrights and screenwriters, attend workshops with visiting authors, publishers, editors and agents, and have a number of opportunities to present their work.
- MA in Poetry: Creativity and Criticism
Poetry is an art that brings together creative and critical thought. This programme combines these two strands into one, making it suitable for poets and critics alike.
Students are taught in an environment with a reputation for writing and critical appreciation of poetry from Ireland, Britain and the United States and benefit from the literary activities and resources of the Seamus Heaney Centre.
- PhD in Creative Writing
The PhD in Creative Writing involves both an extended piece of creative work and a related critical component. To apply for a PhD in Creative Writing you must have already completed an MA in Creative Writing in the same genre. Students with a Distinction at MA level will be given preference.
The School of Arts, English and Languages at Queen’s remains one of a handful of institutions which offer a PhD in Creative Writing. A former graduate of the MA in Creative Writing, Emily Dedakis, was the first student in Ireland to attain a PhD in Creative Writing and places are currently available for students wishing to study poetry, prose, or scriptwriting at doctoral level.
- Scholarships and Bursaries
MA in Poetry Scholarships
£10,000 Seamus Heaney International Poetry Scholarship* (available to an international student)
Villanova Scholarship (£5,000 against fees)
The Michael Longley Scholarships: Two scholarships of £7,500 (available to two students annually)This is available to any graduating student from Villanova University, Pennsylvania.To be eligible for the Scholarship an applicant must:
- be a graduating student from Villanova University, Pennsylvania.
Process for Selection:
- Applicants should apply as normal to the MA.
- You shouls submit a cover letter stating their course at Villanova and datesof study.
- The selection panel will be made up of the convenor the creative writing MA plus two other members of academic staff.
- The closing date for applications to the scholarship is 31stAugust 2022
Creative Writing Scholarship (£5,000 against fees)
This is available to a student from Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland taking up a place on the MA in Creative Writing at Queen’s University Belfast.Preference will be given to students who can demonstrate financial need, by meeting the criteria below.To be eligible for the Scholarship an applicant must:
- be resident No Northern Ireland or the republic of Ireland and qualify for fees at ‘Home Student’ status;
- have been accepted on to the MA in Creative Writing (Full time) in the School of AEL.
- Preference will be given to students who can provide evidence of financial need. This could include:
- As an undergraduate student you were/are in receipt of a maintenance grant, a special support grant or a means tested bursary.
- You are in receipt of a means tested benefit such as Housing Benefit or Universal Credit.
- You were in the care of a Health and Social Care Trust or Local Authority for three months or more from the age of 14 years.
Process for Selection:
- Applicants should apply as normal to the MA.
- All those selected will be notified of the scholarship and the eligibility criteria, and invited to submit a cover letter stating how they meet the eligibility criteria.
- The selection panel will be made up of the convenor the creative writing MA plus two other members of academic staff.
- The closing date for applications to the scholarship is 31stAugust 2022
Queries about these scholarships can be directed to the MA convenor, Sam Thompson: sam.thompson@qub.ac.uk
Course Conveners
Other Learning Programmes
SUMMER SCHOOL
The Poetry Summer School
20-24 JUNE 2022
Led by Professor Nick Laird, the Seamus Heaney Centre’s Poetry Summer School is an annual intensive week of creative development for emerging poets, with seminars, workshops and one-to-one tutorials, alongside a programme of readings and other evening events. We are back to an in-person summer school this year.
WRITING THROUGH CONFLICT
Spring Break Programme
In March 2019, the Seamus Heaney Centre hosted a group of students from Villanova University Pennsylvania for a week-long intensive writing programme. Their tutors were stage and screenwriters, novellists, and poets from the Heaney Centre. Alongside this was a full programme of social and networking opportunities to introduce students to the city and its writers.
