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Wits University Faculty of Humanities
Creative Writing The PhD in Creative Writing is undertaken over a minimum period of two years. The Department will only accept candidates for whom a suitable supervisor is available. In the case of co-supervision, one of the supervisors will be appointed as primary supervisor.
Creative Writing The PhD in Creative Writing is undertaken over a minimum period of two years. The Department will only accept candidates for whom a suitable supervisor is available. In the case of co-supervision, one of the supervisors will be appointed as primary supervisor.

Qualification: PhD

Faculty: Humanities

Duration: 2-5 years

School: Literature, Language and Media

Study mode: Full-time, Full-time; Part-time

Overview

The PhD in Creative Writing is undertaken over a minimum period of two years. It comprises two parts:

A creative project that may take the form of a play or film script; a novel or collection of stories; a memoir; a collection of essays or work of creative non-fiction; a collection of poetry.

A dissertation of approximately 30 000 words that accompanies the creative project and illuminates it in one of several possible ways (see below for an explanation of the relationship between the dissertation and the creative project).

These two parts of the PhD will constitute the thesis and be examined as a whole.

The scope of the PhD should be outlined in the research proposal for approval by Faculty and submitted for assessment six months after the candidate has registered.

Graduates of the programme have gone on to publish books, as well as to work in a wide range of fields, including publishing, television, theatre and journalism.

A supervisor will be identified once the application has been submitted. The School will only accept candidates for whom a suitable supervisor is available.

 

• An MA in Literature or Creative Writing

• At least one book of writing (preferably in addition to an MA manuscript), in a creative-writing genre (fiction or non-fiction) published through a reputable publisher; or a substantial body of work (short stories, essays etc) in reputable journals or anthologies

• A work/several works that demonstrate competency to conduct the research and writing for the dissertation (non-fiction essays, or academic papers) and should show ability to conduct a scholarly argument and to make use of other texts in the construction of this argument. These works should be of a standard consonant with entry to a PhD programme as rated by peer review (newspaper and/or journal reviews and/or expert opinion solicited by the coordinator of the PhD in Creative Writing).

• Candidates should submit this work and other examples of his/her published writing to the coordinator of the PhD in Creative Writing, Bronwyn Law-Viljoen bronwyn.lawviljoen@wits.ac.za before s/he will be allowed to register with the University and begin work on a proposal. This portfolio of published work must be of such a standard as to justify the admission of a candidate to a PhD programme in which a creative writing project, and a scholarly dissertation, of a PhD standard, will be required from the candidate.

• Candidates must first be accepted by the department before they can apply to the University for this degree.

Check with Department
  • Applications are handled centrally by the Student Enrolment Centre (SEnC). Once your application is complete in terms of requested documentation, your application will be referred to the relevant School for assessment. Click here to see an overview of the Wits applications process.
  • Please apply online. Upload your supporting documents at the time of application, or via the Self Service Portal.
  • Applicants can monitor the progress of their applications via the Self Service Portal.
  • Selections for programmes that have a limited intake but attract a large number of applications may only finalise the application at the end of the application cycle.

Please note that the Entry Requirements are a guide. Meeting these requirements does not guarantee a place. Final selection is made subject to the availability of places, academic results and other entry requirements where applicable.

International students, please check this section.

For more information, contact the Student Call Centre +27 (0)11 717 1888, or log a query at www.wits.ac.za/askwits.

Click here to see the current average tuition fees. The Fees site also provides information about the payment of fees and closing dates for fees payments. Once you have applied you will be able to access the fees estimator on the student self-service portal.

For information about postgraduate funding opportunities, including the postgraduate merit award, click here. Please also check your School website for bursary opportunities. NRF bursaries: The National Research Foundation (NRF) offers a wide range of opportunities in terms of bursaries and fellowships to students pursuing postgraduate studies. External bursaries portal: The Bursaries South Africa website provides a comprehensive list of bursaries in South Africa.