Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing)
Course summary for local students
Student Information Centre
Tel 1300 334 733
enquire@deakin.edu.au
G = Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus
S = Geelong Waterfront Campus
W =Warrnambool Campus
X = Off campus
| Award granted | Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing) |
|---|---|
| Campus | Offered at Melbourne Burwood Campus, Geelong Waurn Ponds Campus |
| Length | 3 years full-time or part-time equivalent |
| Next available intake | March (Trimester 1) |
| Indicative annual fee 2013 | $5,940* - Commonwealth Supported Place (HECS) |
| Level | Undergraduate |
| Faculty contacts | Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries artsedstudentsupport@deakin.edu.au
artsedstudentsupport@deakin.edu.au
Course Director Antonia Pont, +61 3 924 46205, a.pont@deakin.edu.au
Contact the Course Director for matters relating specifically to the academic content of this course - all enrolment related queries must go to the Student Support Office. |
| VTAC Codes | 14121 - Burwood (Melbourne), Commonwealth Supported Place (HECS) 15251 - Waurn Ponds (Geelong), Commonwealth Supported Place (HECS) |
| CRICOS course code | 055182A |
| Deakin course code | A316 |
| For students commencing from 2008 | |
Course sub-headings
- Course overview
- Fees and charges
- Career opportunities
- Course rules
- Course structure
- Entry requirements - general
- Entry requirements - specific
- Pathways
- Credit for prior learning - general
- How to apply
Course overview
Deakin's Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing) aims to provide the qualities and attributes that will enable you to work both in specialised fields, and across professional boundaries.
Initially you will undertake various forms of constructive, descriptive and narrative writing, progressing to editing, creative non-fiction and script writing as well as the traditional genres of poetry and fiction writing.
You will develop broadly based skills in the processes of writing and revision, and gain expertise and practical experience across a range of genres, styles and professional environments. In all writing and editing units, the emphasis is on publication or the achievement of professional standards.
The course will encourage you to explore new communication technologies both in the practical realms of professional communication and in cross-genre experimentation and creative production.
You will also learn the practical skills necessary to support, create and collaborate in work across a range of forms, in writing, film, drama and new media.
As part of the course you are required to complete a sub-major selected from areas of Children's Literature, Film Studies, Journalism or Literary Studies.
Fees and charges
Equivalent Full Time Student Load (EFTSL)EFTSL is the standard annual full time load. Eight credit points is the standard full time load for one year of study.
Commonwealth supported place (CSP)
A Commonwealth supported place is one for which the university receives some government funding. As such, students enrolled in these places are required to contribute only part of the cost of their course. To be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place you must be an Australian citizen, or a New Zealand citizen or holder of a permanent visa who will be residing in Australia for the duration of your unit/s of study.
* The "indicative annual course fee" cited has been provided as a guide only. It has been calculated on the basis of a typical enrolment of a student undertaking the course in 2013, and reflects the cost involved in undertaking a full-time quota of units within the specified discipline.
The actual fees charged by Deakin University will depend upon the discipline from which each individual unit is chosen, and may vary from the indicative course fee cited, particularly if units are chosen from a number of disciplines. The cost of each unit offered in 2013 can be viewed from the Unit Search.
Please note that the fees per unit/credit point may increase annually due to rises in the cost of course delivery and service.
Deakin assumes no responsibility for persons relying on "indicative course fees" to calculate the total future cost of their course.
Career opportunities
As a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing), you may find employment in consumer goods and services companies, in freelance editing and writing, finance, health and manufacturing industries, government departments, media and entertainment industries, publishing companies and tourism, hospitality and service industries.Course rules
For students who commenced from 2008 to 2011 refer to the handbook of the year you commenced.
For students commencing from 2012
To qualify for the Bachelor of Arts (Professional and Creative Writing) a student must complete 24 credit points of study, including:
- a major sequence of at least 8 credit points in Professional and Creative Writing
- a sub-major of 4 credit points selected from ONE of the parallel studies: Children's Literature, Film Studies, Journalism or Literary Studies
- no more than 8 credit points taken outside the course-grouped units for Arts (in effect this means that up to 8 credit points may be taken outside the recognised Faculty of Arts and Education major sequences)
- no more than 10 credit points at level 1
- at least 14 credit points at level 2 or above
- at least 4 credit points at level 3
Course structure
Professional and Creative Writing - unit set code MJ-A000002
Select 8 credit points from the following listed units for the Professional and Creative Writing major:
Core units
Level 1
Trimester 1
| ALW101 | Writing Craft |
Trimester 2
| ALW102 | Writing Spaces |
Level 2 & Level 3
Students will then select a further 6 credit points, ensuring at least 2 credit points are undertaken at level 2 and 2 credit points at level 3 from the following:
Trimester 1
| ALW225 | Fiction Writing: Story, Structure and Starting Out |
| ALW223 | Creative Nonfiction: the Personal Essay |
| ALW227 | Script Writing: Focus On Fiction |
| ALW240 | Poetry: Making It Strange |
| ALW393 | Writing Project A |
Trimester 2
| ALW205 | Editing and the Author |
| ALW392 | Theorising Creativity |
| ALW394 | Writing Project B |
Trimester 1 or trimester 2
| ALX321 | Creative Industries Internship * |
The following electives in related writing areas may be taken in addition to the prescribed major sequence:
Trimester 1 or trimester 2 or trimester 3
| ALW117 | Writing for Professional Practice ** |
Trimester 1 or trimester 3
| ACV211 | Texts and Images II: in Quest of Story and Image *** |
Trimester 1
| ACC301 | Freelancing in the Arts *** |
Trimester 2
| ACV110 | Texts and Images 1: Ways of Seeing, Reading and Telling Stories |
Notes:
*Internship units are normally undertaken in third level (or equivalent) and are subject to completion of specified prerequisite units and special application requirements. Interested students should contact Arts and Education Student Support and Enrolment Enquiries on their campus for further information.
*** ACC301 and ACV211 are not offered 2013, re-offered 2014 subject to approval.
NOTE: Students may also extend their parallel studies into a major sequence in Childrens Literature, Film Studies, Journalism or Literary Studies.
Parallel Studies - core requirement
Select ONE parallel study from the four listed below:
Children's Literature
Level 1
Trimester 1
| ALL153 | Literature for Children and Young Adults |
Trimester 2
| ALL154 | Power Politics and Texts for Young People |
Level 2
Trimester 2
| ALL230 | Re-Imagining Literature for Young People |
Film Studies
Select 4 from the following including both level 1 units:
Level 1
Trimester 1
| ACM120 | Moving Pictures: Screening Film History |
Trimester 2
| ACM112 | Writing with the Camera |
Level 2
Trimester 1 or Trimester 2
| ACM217 | Documentary Production Practice |
| ACM237 | TV Studio Production |
Trimester 2
| ACM236 | Mindscreen: Cinema, Psychology and Psychoanalysis |
| AAM220 | Cinemas and Cultures |
Journalism
Select 4 from the following including both level 1 units:
Level 1
Trimester 1
| ALJ111 | Contemporary Journalism A |
Trimester 2
| ALJ112 | Contemporary Journalism B |
Level 2
Trimester 1
| ALJ216 | Research for Writers |
Trimester 1 and Trimester 3
| ALR207 | Media Relations |
Trimester 2
| ALJ217 | Editing and Design |
Literary Studies
Level 1
Trimester 1
| ALL101 | The Stories We Tell: Inventing Selves and Others |
Trimester 2
| ALL102 | From Horror to Romance: Genre and Its Obsessions |
Level 2
Trimester 1
| ALL201 | Love, Death and Poetry |
Trimester 2
| ALL202 | Writing Modern Worlds |
Students to also consider a second major or 4 credit point submajor sequence as an elective from the following list to support their studies in the Professional and Creative Writing degree:
Anthropology , Australian Studies , History , International Relations, Philosophy , Public Relations, Politics and Policy Studies , Sociology
Transition to University study
The faculty offers two units ASC160 Introduction to University Study and ALW117 Writing for Professional Practice which are specifically designed to ease the transition into university study. New students are encouraged to enrol in one or both of these units in their first year.
Entry requirements - general
Deakin University offers admission to undergraduate courses through a number of Admission categories.In all categories of admission, selection is based primarily on academic merit as indicated by an applicant's previous academic record.
For more information on the Deakin Admissions Policy visit The Guide.
Entry requirements - specific
Applicants should have successfully completed VCE, or equivalent. Prerequisites are Units 3 and 4–a study score of at least 30 in English (ESL) or 25 in any other English.
The Faculty offers alternative entry options for mature age and other special categories of applicants. Information about these is available in the VTAC guide and on the Deakin University’s website at http://www.deakin.edu.au/future-students/applications-enrolments/index.php
Pathways
This course has pathways from the following institutions: Box Hill Institute TAFE and Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, from the Diploma of Professional Writing and Editing. Other TAFE pathways apply. For more information refer to the Credit for Prior Learning (Credit Transfer) Search.
Credit for prior learning - general
The University aims to provide students with as much credit as possible for approved prior study or informal learning which exceeds the normal entrance requirements for the course and is within the constraints of the course regulations. Students are required to complete a minimum of one-third of the course at Deakin University, or four credit points, whichever is the greater. In the case of certificates, including graduate certificates, a minimum of two credit points within the course must be completed at Deakin.
You can also refer to the Credit for Prior Learning (Credit Transfer) Search which outlines the credit that may be granted towards a Deakin University degree.
How to apply
Applications for on and off campus study for Trimester 1 must be made through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre (VTAC). For more information refer to VTAC (external site).
Applications for Trimester 2 and Trimester 3 must be made directly to the University through the Applicant Portal. For information on the application process and closing dates, see the Apply web page. Please note that closing dates may vary for individual courses.
