Hoyt Bowman
Student spotlight details
Hoyt, author and lifelong learner, shares how a love of writing – and a little inspiration from C S Lewis – led him to pursue the Certificate of Higher Education in Creative Writing.
'I reside in the small town of Ayer, Massachusetts, United States, born and raised, though I must confess that my heart is in my ancestral homeland of England. I am currently fully employed, at age 76, serving as the accounts payable accountant for my employer. I received my BS in Liberal Arts and Business in 2003, completing a quest that began in 1967 that took me through six colleges in three states.
'My route to the Certificate of Higher education is complex. After my first novel, Meathwyn, was published about five years ago I knew that being published did not make me an expert. Wanting to learn how to do it properly, I began looking for appropriate schools. Those in the USA were prohibitively expensive if the course looked good, affordable if the course was inadequate.
'Having been a fan of C S Lewis for many years, a little voice kept saying, “Why not there?” It took a while, but eventually I made the discovery that the premier university on the planet, Oxford, was both what I was looking for and affordable. I promptly signed up for the short and flexible online course ‘Getting Started in Creative Writing’, beginning June 2020.
'Short course followed short course, and somewhere in that journey I asked my tutor if there was a full, structured programme I could follow. After being told there was I promptly applied to the Certificate of Higher Education, not knowing what would happen. Short courses are one thing, being an undergraduate student at Oxford is another. A few days after the online interview, to my great surprise and delight, I received an email saying I had been accepted, to start in Michaelmas term 2021, and that the credit (CATS points) from three of the short online courses I had already completed could be transferred in to the Certificate.
'The most challenging part of the Certificate was budgeting the necessary time. Fortunately for me, those short courses had laid the foundation for effective study. More surprising than challenging was the discovery that Oxford expects its students to think! I learned that on day one of the very first short course I took, and it was a refreshing change from the memorise and regurgitate thinking neither needed nor wanted of USA colleges.
'Everything has been rewarding and enjoyable! If I had to pick one thing it would be the summer school I attended in 2023, part of the the Oxford University Summer School for Adults programme, to fulfil the face-to-face credit requirment of the Certificate. On campus at Oxford, surrounded by a lovely city to explore, being in England at last, so much more…
'I am still studying with Oxford Lifelong Learning via the short online courses, and pondering the next programme. The intent is to keep on while I have breath and brain.
'Studying here is much more than gaining factual knowledge. It is a life changing, enriching and expanding experience not to be missed.'
Photo: Hoyt at our May 2025 Award Ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre.
