M.Phil. in Creative Writing
1 Year Full-Time
Our Creative Writing faculty are all practicing writers. We've all been through it and we're respectful of how exposing writing can be, and how vulnerable someone can feel as they approach the craft with serious intent for the first time. Sometimes students tap straight into a rich vein of form. Others take time to eliminate the writers that they don't want to be until they arrive at a true voice. We know that virtuosity can be immediate but also that progress is more often painstaking and incremental. Our workshops and lectures are supportive places. There is no one path to being a writer but it is our job is to help a student set out the imaginative, technical and practical wayposts of their own practice. We like to think that we do it well.
The programme benefits from taking place in the heart of Dublin, a city with a vibrant contemporary literary culture – a milieu alive with writers, theatres, literary events, festivals, magazines and publishers. Trinity has a notably rich literary heritage of its own, ranging from Jonathan Swift and Oliver Goldsmith to Derek Mahon and Eavan Boland. The college has also long led the way in the teaching of Creative Writing. Many distinguished writers have graduated from this master’s programme, from established voices such as Conor O’Callaghan, Chris Binchy and Sean O’Reilly to exciting emerging talents such as Sara Baume, Nicole Flattery and Lisa Harding.
The instruction from the professors and guest speakers, the feedback from my fellow students, and the focus on the work itself was what I needed to bring my writing to the next level.
There is not a better city than Dublin, better university than Trinity, and better place than the Oscar Wilde Centre to study the craft of fiction writing. The faculty have a wide range of experiences and are overflowing with wisdom, the Oscar Wilde Centre is alive with history, but best of all were my classmates and the diversity of literary influences, experiences, and writing they produced.
Course Structure
The centrepiece of the Creative Writing M.Phil. is the three-hour weekly workshop. This is where you bring work and get to listen to others. The idea of it is daunting, but the reality is hardworking, inclusive and dynamic. For the first term, students are encouraged to range across form and genre, to break habits and open new vistas. This is where students start to see the core of their portfolio emerge, although most don't see the portfolio taking shape until the following Spring. The ‘Structure in Fiction and Poetry’ module works through the shapes and uses, the interior dynamics of writing. ‘Writing for a Living’ addresses the demands of reviewing and essay writing. Both modules are structured and intellectually rigorous but at heart they involve writers talking about writing and bringing the class into the orbit of their own experience.
In the second semester, the weekly Briena Staunton lectures brings a series of established writers in to talk about the practice of writing. A visiting Writer Fellow also leads a workshop, offering students a further chance to engage with a working writer in close-up. The creation of a final portfolio is the formal endpoint of the MPhil, but it is equally important for us to see writers emerge in rich, artistically textured and diverse surroundings. That is the enduring satisfaction.
Teaching and Assessment
The programme is designed as a one-year, full-time course. Teaching is delivered through lectures, group workshops and personal tuition. Much of this takes place in the Oscar Wilde Centre for Irish Writing, which offers a supportive and sociable working environment for the School of English’s creative writers. Current faculty teaching on the programme include the course director Eoin MacNamee, as well as Una Mannion, Kevin Power, Seán Hewittand Carlo Gébler. Visiting Writer Fellows in recent years have included Claire Keegan and Colette Bryce. The course is assessed by means of various essays and portfolios, culminating in working towards a final dissertation portfolio of 15-16,000 words.
Admissions Information
Applicants are expected to hold a university degree or equivalent qualification (at least an upper second or equivalent, GPA of at least 3.3). In addition, applicants must submit a portfolio of selected recent creative work. The portfolio of sample work should include no more than 3000 words of prose (short stories, excerpt/s from a novel or drama) or 6-8 poems; genres may be combined but this is not a requirement.
Applications for admission in 2025/26 open in November 2024. Candidates are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible. Shortly after we receive your application you will receive an AAS designation. This means that the application is awaiting assessment. The Creative Writing applications, EU and non-EU, are reviewed by a panel of assessors. As the course receives a high volume of applications the majority of offers won't be made until after the deadline for submissions. If an offer is made, candidates wishing to secure a place (and to be considered for any funding opportunities that may be available) should confirm the acceptance of the offer as soon as possible.
Classes will begin in early September 2025.
Funding
The Peter Irons Taught Postgraduate Studentships
The studentships will contribute towards M.Phil. tuition fees (EU or Non-EU) for any School of English taught postgraduate programme. They are generously funded in memory of Peter Irons. Two studentships will be awarded for the academic year: one for an EU student, and one for a non-EU student. For further information, please open this PDF link.
European Excellence Awards
The €1,000 awards are open to applicants with EU fee-status who hold an offer letter for a Postgraduate Taught programme in Trinity College Dublin. Further information can be found here.
Details of further funding opportunities from TCD can be found here.
Brontë Prize
This prize was founded in 1921 by a bequest from Miss A.G. Woolson of Portland, U.S.A. It is awarded triennially by the Board on the recommendation of a committee for the best essay on either (a) an English author of Irish descent, or (b) the seats of learning in Ireland prior to 900 A.D. or (b) the seats of learning in Ireland prior to 900 a.d. The committee consists of the Regius Professor of Greek and the Professors of Latin and English Literature. A candidate must be of Irish birth or have been domiciled in Ireland for at least ten years. The candidate must also be an undergraduate of Trinity College Dublin or a graduate of not more than five years’ standing. The next award will be made in 2025 and essays must reach the Registrar before 1 October 2025. Value, €1,905.
Dublin Cost of Living
Whether you're moving to Dublin from Ireland or abroad, the biggest problem you're likely to face is just getting set-up in the city. Below, you'll find web links providing advice on getting accommodation, placing deposits, household utilities, looking after your finances, and general tenancy agreements.
https://www.tcd.ie/students/living-dublin/
https://www.internationalstudents.ie/info-and-advice/practical-information/cost-of-living