To be admitted to the degree programme, you will need:
• A BA degree in literature, languages or a cognate discipline, with a minimum of 65% average in the final year, or 65% average across literary, writing and cognate course praxis.
• A portfolio of unpublished creative writing – to be submitted by 15 September to: phillippa.devilliers@wits.ac.za along with a detailed CV and covering letter.
All applicants should submit a portfolio of creative work to Phillippa Yaa de Villiers: phillippa.devilliers@wits.ac.za, comprising twenty pages (1.5 spacing, 12 pt) of any combination of the following:
• Part of an unpublished creative prose manuscript (fiction or non-fiction).
• A selection of short stories.
• A selection of creative non-fiction essays.
• A selection of poems.
- Students wishing to take the poetry course MUST submit at least twelve poems as well as eight or more pages of prose. Students who will not be doing the poetry course may submit poetry in their portfolio, but at least fifteen pages of the portfolio must be prose.
- The portfolio should be accompanied by a covering letter explaining your reasons for applying to this programme, the extent of your own reading of creative work, and what you hope to achieve in this course.
- DO NOT submit academic essays written for your degree courses. DO NOT submit newspaper articles, press releases or public relations biographies.
- The portfolio should demonstrate a high degree of writing competency, a commitment to wide and varied reading and an interest in using language creatively.