Creative Writing Major - Bachelor of Arts
Are you dreaming up a novel, a screenplay, short stories, poems, the lyrics to an album, or a graphic novel? With the Creative Writing major you develop your creative writing skills for the page, screen and spaces in-between.
Explore style and genre, media, and the demands of readers, editors and publishers. You develop your skills as a writer, testing your creative ideas in an environment that challenges, critiques and supports you as you go.
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This is part of the Bachelor of Arts.
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Your work will range from reflective portfolios to a sustained literary or multimedia work. The degree will prepare you for employment in the creative and professional writing industries.
Apart from the courses below you also need to complete courses from your second major, your chosen minor(s) or electives.
Core courses
All Bachelor of Arts students need to complete core courses that help you develop transferable skills and support your work in all other courses in the degree.
Complete one course from each of the following clusters. Each cluster aligns with one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Partnerships and Reduced Inequalities
Choose one of:
- ENGL502 Reading New Zealand
- ENGL503 A Pacific Reader
- JAPA511 Speak Japanese I
- MAOR505 Te Mānutanga Beginners Māori Language 1
- MAOR506 Te Ekenga Waka Beginners Māori Language 2
- NZSL502 Deaf Community and Culture I
- NZSL510 New Zealand Sign Language I
- NZSL520 New Zealand Sign Language II
- SPAN501 Spanish 1A
- SPAN502 Spanish 1B
Peace and Justice, Climate Action and Economic World
Choose one of:
- CRIM580 Criminology and Criminal Justice
- EVNT500 Introduction to Event Management
- HIST500 Introduction to New Zealand History
- HIST501 The Holocaust: Its Causes, Character, and Legacy
- PSYC580 Introduction to Psychology A
- SOSC582 Social Thinking
- SOSC583 Social Institutions
- SOSC585 Climate Action
- TOUR511 Global Issues in Tourism
Sustainability, Health and Wellbeing
Choose one of:
- FOOD501 Food and the Senses
- CLSY513 Organisation and Human Behaviour Perspectives
- HOSP509 Hospitality Social Enterprise
- TOUR512 Tourism and Sustainability
Quality Education, Gender Equality and Reduced Poverty
Workplace experience is an important part of your degree, and the Work Integrated Learning course is the final part of your degree. This is a supervised work placement related to your major(s), for an organisation of your choice. It's a great way to get industry experience while still being able to get feedback from AUT lecturers, and for many of our students this workplace experience also leads to a job offer.
Recent placements included:
- Woman’s Day magazine
- Imersia Ltd
- Namseoul University
You could also take the Foundations in Research course if you’re considering continuing into postgraduate study.
Want more info about work integrated learning at AUT?
Read more about workplace experience in AUT programmes, how it works and why it’s so beneficial when you start your career.
Creative writing major courses
If you're majoring in creative writing, this is the main subject area you specialise in. It makes up one third of your degree and consists of seven creative writing-related courses you study throughout your degree (including one 30-point course).
Year 1 courses
Complete two of:
- CWRT501 Introduction to Creative Writing
- CWRT560 Kaupapa Māori Storytelling
- ENGL502 Reading New Zealand
- ENGL503 A Pacific Reader
Year 2 courses
Complete the following courses:
- CWRT602 Creative Writing: Influences, relationships and power
- CWRT603 Creative Writing: Prose, poetry, creative non-fiction
- ENGL604 The Novel: Jane Austen Mania
Year 3 courses
Complete the following courses:
- CWRT700 Creative Writing Project
- ENGL701 New Literatures
Ready to enrol in your courses?
Find out how you can enrol in the courses and classes for your programme, whether you’ve just joined AUT as a new student or you’re already studying with us. If you’re looking for more info on a specific course use our course search.
Build your degree
Use our online tool to build your own degree and see what your three years of study could look like.
https://www.aut.ac.nz/courses/bachelor-of-arts/creative-writing-major
- Social media management
- Web content management
- Dramaturgy
- Fiction writing
- Journalism
- Media writing
- Performance arts
- Screenwriting
- Travel writing
- Gaming narrative designer
- Virtual and augmented reality content producers
Find out more about industry trends, job descriptions and what employers may be looking for.
Other majors in the Bachelor of Arts
- Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Culinary Arts
- Economics (not open to new students from 2025)
- Education
- Event Management
- Global Tourism
- History
- International Studies
- Interpreting
- Māori Development
- Māori Media
- New Zealand Sign Language & Deaf Studies
- New Zealand Sign Language - English Interpreting*
- Psychology
- Social Sciences
*This major focuses on New Zealand Sign Language and developing the skills to become a Sign Language interpreter. It doesn’t include the option to include courses from different subjects.
- Only major of its kind in New Zealand
- You’ll be mentored by a published author
- Workplace experience in your final semester
- Option to include subjects from across AUT in your degree
- Imaginative and resourceful
- A writer
- Intrigued by words
- Expressive
The information on this page was correct at time of publication. For a comprehensive overview of AUT qualifications, please refer to the Academic Calendar.