Professional Writing (Joint Honours)

UCAS code: Y002

Start date: September

Course length: full time: 3 years, part time: 4-6 years

Campus: Kedleston Road site, Derby Campus

This course is available to international students

A joint honours degree is the perfect choice for you if you want to study more than one subject. You can combine this course with one or two other joint honours courses that are offered at our Derby Campus to create your own joint honours degree.

You can study Professional Writing as a joint subject (half and half with another subject), as a Major subject or as a Minor option. If you choose Professional Writing as a joint or major subject, you'll also have a choice of optional theory modules, which will give you an insight into the historical and current developments of the media industries.

You'll learn about newspaper and magazine journalism, scriptwriting for film, TV and radio, PR, advertising and marketing  and writing for digital media.

This course has a strong practical element. You will work on producing journalistic material for our dedicated website: www.derbysphere.com, create publicity and promotional campaigns and write for the web and social media. You will also get the chance to see how theory is put into practice with study visits to, for example, newspaper and broadcasting offices, the local courts and sports grounds. We have a dedicated newsroom, with cross-platform facilities including TV and radio broadcast studios and industry standard equipment and software.

Your main focus on this course will be practising and perfecting your writing skills for different audiences and different media, so you'll develop the knowledge and understanding you'll need to choose from a wide variety of careers.

Core modules include Personal Development Planning (PDP). All our writing modules are taught by highly skilled professionals in their various fields, such as journalists, scriptwriters, digital media developers and PR and marketing experts. The theory modules are taught by academics, who are researchers and have published papers or books in their areas of expertise.

• BA (Hons) in English and Professional Writing
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and American Studies
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Applied Criminology
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Business Managment
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Creative Writing
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Dance & Movement Studies
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Education Studies
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Film & Television Studies
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Geography
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Human Resource Management
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Law
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Marketing
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Mathematics
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Media Studies
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Popular Music Production
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Psychology
• BA (Hons) in Professional Writing and Zoology

You'll study a total of 120 credits per year. This will be made up of single or double modules.

Stage one

You'll study modules such as:

• ‌
• Introduction to Journalism
• Introduction to Professional Writing (PDP)
• Photojournalism and Documentary Reportage

Stage two

You'll study modules such as:

• Conflicting Images: News and the Media
• Media Law
• Journalism Principles and Practices
• Persuasion and Performance
• Print Journalism
• Professional Writing Workshop (PDP)
• Work Based Learning in Creative and Cultural Industries
• Writing for Radio
• Writing for the Screen

Stage three

You'll study modules such as:

• Advanced Scriptwriting
• Journalism Practices and Performance
• Broadcast Journalism
• Independent Study in Professional Writing
• Management Experience in Creative and Cultural Industries
• Professional Writing Workshop (PDP)
• Writing for Digital Media

* Personal Development Planning

Our entry requirements are usually 220-300 UCAS points, of which at least 200-240 will be from your core A2s (full A levels) including English, or equivalent qualifications such as BTEC Diploma, International Baccalaureate, Scottish Highers etc.

We'll accept up to 60 points towards the total from level 3 qualifications such as AS levels (where those AS levels are not taken on to A2 level), the Extended Project or Music qualifications.

We don't accept points from Key Skills Level 3. If you have any questions about what is or isn't accepted, please contact our Admissions team.

We also accept the Access to HE Diploma.

Your points at level 3 will be in addition to 5 GCSEs at grade C or equivalent level 2 qualifications.

The UCAS tariff points are a guide - we'll also consider all the information that you've included in your application. We'll also want to see that you're enthusiastic and motivated to take this course and that you have the potential to benefit from coming to university.

General undergraduate entry requirements

Fees for 2013/14

This is a classroom based course.

UK/EU students

• Full time: £7,700 (each year)
• £965 per module (you usually take 18 of these modules in total)

International students

• Full time: £9,945 (per year)

*These fees apply if you're starting this course between September 2013 and August 2014. We recommend you check fee details with us though, as they can change. Costs can increase each year.

How you'll learn

Practical writing modules focus on writing skills for a number of media, helping you to build up a portfolio of work. Theory modules include formal lectures, seminars, tutorials, screenings, group exercises.

How you're assessed

Coursework only.

All employers need good, persuasive communicators, so your choice of future career is wide and varied.

Throughout your degree you will be building up a portfolio of writing projects to a professional level, and increasing your employability skills.  You will be working individually and in teams, as well as on individual assignments in which you will have contact with outside organisations.  We have excellent links with local and national employers, particularly in the creative, cultural and media industries. You will be encouraged to do periods of work experience with these organisations, which will enhance your CV and boost your career prospects.

Some of our Professional Writing graduates have gone on to work in the advertising, PR, and publishing and broadcasting industries. Others have gone on to forge careers in retail management, human resources, the Armed Forces, government agencies, the National Health Service, and in education.

Two of our former students won a nationwide BBC scriptwriting competition. Another was nominated for the Journalist of the Year award for an article she wrote for a newspaper while on work experience. Many students have had their worked published or broadcast during the course.