Graduate Program
Welcome to the MFA in Writing for Dramatic Media
Our Master of Fine Arts program takes a “conservatory” approach to screenwriting that is based on practice and repetition. As a student in the program, you will become closely acquainted with the process of pitching a story before writing it, employing critical and analytical approaches to filmmaking and screenwriting, and exploring multiple areas of screenwriting, including:
- Feature screenplays
- Short screenplays
- Television sitcoms
- Television dramas
- Telenovelas
- Sketch comedy
- Webisodes
- Mobisodes
Throughout the three-year program, you will work closely with expert faculty and a variety of guests from the industry as you create a significant body of feature motion picture and television scripts and hone them to the sharpest professional sensibility.
Electives
Elective classes will include additional graduate-level film courses as well as graduate-level dramatic literature or creative writing courses taught in other departments such as English, theatre, or foreign languages.
Creative Project Requirement
Each screenwriting student will be expected to complete a minimum of four full-length feature motion picture screenplays and two television scripts. In practice, the output is actually closer to five screenplays and four television scripts. One screenplay will be selected to be the candidate’s final creative project. The oral defense of that script will serve as a capstone to the course of graduate study in the program.
Students in Other Grad Programs
Our graduate courses are normally open only to matriculating advanced degree students in the Department of Film. Other students who may qualify under Graduate College or university regulations must receive prior consent to register from the graduate coordinator.