Choosing a Screenwriting MFA

A screenwriting MFA gives you structured time to write: workshops, deadlines, faculty feedback and a cohort of readers. Programs differ more than their titles suggest. Some are film-and-television programs, some add playwriting, some are full-time on campus and others are low-residency with most work done online. Funding ranges from a full package for every admitted student to modest competitive awards. This guide covers what to compare and how to read program pages carefully.

What the program actually teaches

Start with the media covered and how much choice you get:

• Feature and television tracks. UCLA's two-year Screenwriting MFA lets students focus on either

feature film or television writing, with opportunities to take workshops in both, and applicants choose a Feature Film Track or Television Track when they apply.

• Screen and stage. NYU's Dramatic Writing MFA requires introductory courses in playwriting,

screenwriting and episodic writing in the first semester and complete works in two of the three media by the end of the first year, ending in a full-length thesis in one medium. Northwestern's MFA is in Writing for Screen and Stage.

• Screen and television focus. USC describes its Writing for Screen & Television MFA as a

two-year degree focused on training screenwriters.

If you write only features, a program that requires plays may stretch you in ways you want, or may not. If you want to write for television, check how many TV workshops are offered and whether they are guaranteed. UCLA, for example, states that admission does not guarantee specific workshop placements each quarter.

Format: campus, online or low-residency

Delivery and attendance are separate questions:

• Full-time, on campus. UCLA states that all of its film and television MFA programs are

full-time, and LMU's bulletin lists its Writing for the Screen MFA as in-person over three years.

• Low-residency programs combine short in-person residencies with online study. Stephens College

describes its MFA in TV & Screenwriting as low-residency: students travel to Hollywood for about ten days at the start of each semester (early August and early January) for a workshop worth three credits, and take their other courses online with mentors.

Low-residency is not the same as fully online: you must be able to travel for each residency. See our online screenwriting MFA page and our guide to online vs. low-residency film programs.

Length, workload and the thesis

Programs run from two to three years. UCLA's MFA requires a minimum of six quarters (maximum seven) and at least 72 units, and lets students complete thesis requirements within their track in five quarters. NYU's Dramatic Writing MFA requires at least 58 credits. Stephens says its candidates work with at least four different mentors over two years, and its thesis can range from a limited series pilot and bible to a group of short films or a written academic thesis.

Ask what you will have finished at graduation: how many features, pilots or plays, and whether the thesis is reviewed by faculty or industry readers. NYU, for example, says each Dramatic Writing student discusses their thesis scripts in an individual panel with industry professionals in the final semester, and that its weekly workshops are taught by professional writers. Practices like these differ between programs, so ask each school how scripts are critiqued and by whom.

Funding: from full packages to modest awards

Unless a writing program also asks you to shoot work, tuition, fees and living costs are the main expenses, so funding matters a great deal. Programs publish very different terms:

• Northwestern's FAQ says it offers full tuition remission and a stipend for each quarter of the

two-year program to all admitted students, including international applicants.

• USC's School of Cinematic Arts says its awards are generally modest, ranging from $1,000 to $25,000,

and also points to teaching and student assistantships and fellowships.

• AFI says its scholarships are based on need and merit and may partially cover tuition and fees.

A full package for all admitted students, a competitive scholarship and a partial award are different things. Check the year the policy applies to, and see our funding page.

What you submit

Screenwriting applications are built around writing samples, and the rules are strict:

• UCLA asks for two completed feature screenplays (80–130 pages each) for the feature track, or

two original hour-long drama pilots, or one hour-long drama pilot and one half-hour pilot, for the television track. It will not review adaptations, spec episodes or co-written scripts. The deadline for Fall 2027 is November 1, 2026.

• USC asks for two short assigned scenes in screenplay format, a writing sample of up to ten

pages (it reads only the first ten), an autobiographical character sketch and an essay about a challenge you faced.

• Chapman accepts either ten scripted pages or roughly 1,000 words of prose.
• AFI asks for a screenplay of up to 20 pages, written by the applicant alone, plus a scene of up

to five pages on an assigned topic.

Our guide to preparing a screenwriting sample covers format and selection in more detail.

Questions to ask before you apply

1. Which media does the program teach (feature, TV, stage, other), and can you choose?
2. Is it on campus, low-residency or online, and what travel is required?
3. How long is it, how many credits or units, and is it full-time?
4. What is the funding policy, for which year, and is it guaranteed or competitive?
5. What samples are required, in what length and format, and what is excluded?
6. What will you have written by graduation?

Browse programs on our screenwriting MFA page. Requirements, deadlines and funding change from cycle to cycle, so confirm every detail on the program's official pages.