European Universities

<p>I had a 4.0 weighted average last year and I will probably get it again this year. I am only a sophmore so I have not taken the SAT/ACT yet. I will take it next year though. I am looking for a European university that offers an undergraduate program in Creative Writing. I love to read and I love to write so this would be a dream, especially in Europe. Any ideas of universities that offere a creative writing MAJOR!</p>

<p>(1) Most european universities will teach in their native language, not english. You’ll be limited to mostly the UK for study unless you fluently speak another language. </p>

<p>(2) Can you afford to study in Europe? European universities will not give you any financial aid and you’ll be paying international students fees at all of them. In the UK this translates to around $14,000-$22,000 in tuition + room/board and expenses around $9,000-$18,600, expenses around another $2,000 and travel costs around $1,000. You’re looking at a minimum $26,000 per year not including any money for going out, entertainment, etc. And, remember, that that the pound is around 1.55USD, meaning your USD is only 0.64GBP. </p>

<p>Federal loans will only cover around $5,000-$8,000 per year. Where are you getting this extra ~$20,000 per year? Are your parents able to pay this out of pocket? You’ll need to prove that either (1) you have around $45,000 in a bank account just sitting there for you to spend on your education or (2) you’ve secured loans for around this amount. If your parents are not willing or able to pay for your education abroad, then it’s very unwise to try and use this option as you’ll have way too much debt.</p>

<p>It will probably be easiest for you to study in the UK…but not many UK schools have a specific creative writing undergrad major. (I’ve only heard of Oxford having one, but as a Master’s course.)</p>

<p>For what it’s worth, here’s the 2014 Guardian League table for English undergrad: </p>

<p>1 UCL
2 Durham<br>
3 Cambridge<br>
4 St Andrews<br>
5 Oxford</p>

<p>If you need teaching to be in English, also consider Ireland and The Netherlands.</p>

<p>In the UK, Uni of East Anglia is one of the top places for creative writing (JK Rowling went to Exeter, but I believe she studied Classics).</p>

<p>I don’t think the European Universities tend to teach subjects like creative writing. Even in GB or Ireland.</p>

<p>Instead, you tend to choose a topical subject, like political science or english lit or medicine. They are very strict about their requirements for classes and coverage, with exams at the end of the year or course to determine grades. The closest thing might be journalism, but again, it is rarely taught as a subject.</p>

<p>Look at the Cambridge U website. They offer disciplines, within which you must apply and stick to if admitted.</p>

<p>Hi kylieq3,</p>

<p>another option is to look at US schools which have unique programs with European Universities. I know that Columbia has a program where you spend the first 2 years in France at one of the Sciences Po campuses and then your next two years are at Columbia in NY. At the end you graduate with two undergraduate degress (one from Sciences Po and one from Columbia). You can take all your courses in english (although you are required to take a bit of French while in France I believe) and, although the majors are a bit more limited for your time at Sciences Po, I believe you can major in whatever you want once you get back to Columbia. </p>

<p>Other schools have programs similar to this (I think NYU has a special program where you study abroad 2 out of 4 years). That might be a better option for you because studying something like creative writing is much less common in the UK/Ireland.</p>

<p>Oh and fyi studying English is quite different from studying creative writing. English is much more like what you do in English class (analysis of works) rather than writing your own stuff.</p>

<p>Thanks for the info! I think I’ll look for universities around me with great study abroad programs. I spent a month abroad this summer and I loved it! It was just the most amazing thing!</p>