Turn real life into compelling stories
This course offers the chance to experiment with writing styles and techniques in a supportive academic environment with inspiration. We'll be reading creative non-fiction and learning from and with leading experts, experienced tutors, and peers.
Ready to get into non-fiction writing? We look forward to welcoming you.
Why choose this course with us?
- Learn at Cambridge, whatever your experience: this is an open-entry course
- Access Cambridge teaching in a flexible format: part-time and online
- Gain a credited, Cambridge award: boost your learning and career opportunities
- Join our peer-learning and Cambridge alumni communities: connection and support, for life
Course Dates
Course details
Academic team
Course information
Course highlights
During this part-time online certificate course, you will:
- experiment with your own approach to life writing (such as travel, memoir, food, historical, true crime)
- develop key study and writing skills
- workshop new writing for tutor and peer feedback
How can you use the tools and techniques of fiction to enhance your non-fiction? Join us on this course to explore the different forms of writing in the creative non-fiction category and experiment with multiple approaches.
As part of our learning community, you will:
- explore the meaning of creative non-fiction and discuss the different forms of writing that might fall within this category
- learn how to use creative writing tools such as description, research, drama and dialogue to make your non-fiction more engaging
- discover how to create a memorable sense of place
- reflect on the traditions and conventions of travel and nature writing and examine more recent trends in writing about place
- explore the challenges of writing about the familiar and the unfamiliar in nature
- consider the many aspects of life writing, the roots of the genre and the range of styles that are used
- experiment with your own approach to life writing
Course Breakdown
This course will run from 9 October 2026 to 9 June 2027, and teaching will take place using a range of online delivery methods.
All teaching sessions are given in UK time.
Below are the expected teaching dates. Exact teaching dates and times will be confirmed in the course guide upon enrolment.
Michaelmas term: Introduction to creative non-fiction
9 evening classes usually on Tuesdays (7.15-9.15pm) starting from 9 October 2026 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (31 October and 21 November) usually from 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm).
- Course (unit 1) start date: Friday 9 October 2026
- Unit 1 end date: Wednesday 6 January 2027
This unit will discuss what makes non-fiction “creative” and the types of writing this might include. We will study a range of published work, such as writing about food, narrative history (history that tells a story), popular science, the essay, sports writing, writing about art, true crime and comic writing to see how authors have used different techniques to engage with their reader.
Lent term: Writing about place
9 evening classes on Tuesdays (7.15-9.15pm) starting on 04 January 2027 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (30 January and 27 February 2026) 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm)
- Unit 2 start date: Monday 04 January 2027
- Unit 2 end date: Wednesday 24 March 2027
Students will examine how encounters and companions can add depth and pace to non-fiction and the role played by a sense of quest. We will look at how nature, in its many forms, can add to a description of place – whether in an urban or rural setting, in today’s world or the in past.
Easter term: Life writing
8 evening classes usually on Tuesdays (7.15-9.15pm) starting from 29 March 2027 plus 2 Saturday day-schools (17 April and 08 May) usually from 11am to 4pm (break 1-2pm).
- Unit 3 start date: Monday 29 March 2027
- Unit 3 end date: Wednesday 9 June 2027
Life Writing focuses on an individual (or occasionally more than one - a family, a couple, a partnership) and so character is to the fore. To make that character come to life requires a strong sense of time and place, good descriptive powers and an eye for telling detail. The unit aims to give students the confidence to experiment with their own work and enjoy the rich possibilities of focusing on a single life.
After the course
You may wish to take our other Certificate in Creative Writing: Fiction and Writing for Performance. Students who have successfully completed both Certificate courses can apply to be awarded the Certificate of Higher Education in Creative Writing, worth 120 credits at level 4. You may also be interested in progressing to our Diploma in Creative Writing: Advanced Non-Fiction.
Entry requirements
There are no formal academic entry requirements for this course. It’s open to all learners who are interested in the subject.
English language requirements
Our courses are taught in English and require a good level of fluency. If English is not your first language, you’ll need to meet the requirements of one of the language proficiency tests below. You’ll need to complete your test and submit the results to our admissions team by 15 September 2026.
IELTS (Academic), IELTS for UKVI Academic, IELTS One Skill Retake
Overall score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in any component.
TOEFL iBT or TOEFL Home Edition
https://www.ets.org/toefl.html
Overall score of 92, with no element below 20.
(Please note that changes to TOEFL Internet Based Test and Home Edition mean that it will no longer be suitable for entry to Cambridge at Undergraduate level from 21 January 2026. Tests taken after this date will not be accepted.)
Cambridge English C2 Proficiency
https://www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-tests/proficiency/
Overall score of 176, with no element lower than 169.
As part of our open and inclusive learning environment, you can enjoy the world-class resources, expertise and facilities of Cambridge University wherever you are on your academic journey.
Our video-based teaching platforms offer a flexible way to access lectures, while our Virtual Learning Environment makes it easy to study and learn online and interact with your tutor and fellow students.
Our teaching methods include lectures, presentations by guest speakers and facilitators, workshops, and interactive and experiential learning activities. There will be assignments, reading and discussions to complete outside of classroom sessions to develop your craft.
You will demonstrate your learning using a range of assignments submitted at the end of each unit. There are more details about how this course is assessed in the course guide we will send you once you have enrolled.
Qualifications
This course is equivalent to half of the first year of a full-time undergraduate degree. It offers 60 CATS credits, which are recognised by higher education institutions and employers.
Hours of study
The award of academic credit is a means of quantifying and recognising learning and within the UK, one credit notionally represents 10 hours of learning*. This course attracts 60 credits, so students should expect to need to study for approximately 600 hours in total to complete all units successfully. However, it is recognised that students study at different paces and use a variety of approaches, so this is a recommendation, rather than a hard-and-fast calculation.
SEEC Credit Level Descriptors for Higher Education (2021) here.
Fees
The total fee for this course is shown above in 'Course details'.
To help you manage your finances more comfortably, you can pay the fee in instalments. For more information on payment options, and how to secure your place, see how to pay.
Funding
We're dedicated to reducing and removing financial barriers to learning. Visit financial support before applying to find out what options may be available to help you in your studies. You can explore external funding and stay up to date on our concessions and bursaries.
We're committed to supporting you in your learning journey, and we offer a variety of support opportunities to meet individual needs. Visit student support to find out more about how we can help.
