Screenwriting
Entry requirements
A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in any related subject; other qualifications will be considered.
Applications are encouraged from those with or without prior screenwriting experience.
As part of the application process, applicants are required to submit the following:
- Part 1: the opening ten pages of script for a film or TV drama
- Part 2: a four-page feature film treatment
- Part 3: any three pieces of creative text, such as a short story, an extract from a novel (five pages), an article or a poem.
After review of the application and entrance task, the admissions tutors may invite candidates to attend an interview.
Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.
Months of entry
October
Course content
One distinctive feature of the course is the fast-track core module which will allow all students enrolling on the course, including graduates in other fields, to gain detailed knowledge of screenwriting theories, conventions and formats, and develop the ability to apply these to writing practice. Subsequent modules will deepen your writing skills and knowledge of screenwriting with assignments of increasing length designed to meet industry requirements, such as feature film script and television series writing. You will also study the discourse and practices of screenwriting.
If you progress to the Master's degree, central to that course is examining how the industry works, and to this end there are six autumn industry talks with guest speakers, and a four-day summer school, which focuses on the writer working in the industry, and includes pitching and storytelling workshops.
We offer this course as a Master’s and a Postgraduate Certificate. For the Certificate you study fewer modules and do not complete a final project/portfolio.
Highlights
- Graduates in other fields can achieve professional standards of practice and understanding of the industry.
- We have state-of-the art cinema and exhibition spaces, all housed in a historic building that was a former home to key members of the Bloomsbury Group, including the author Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell. Birkbeck has a number of institutes specifically designed to foster work across disciplines, such as the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image.
- Located in central London, in the heart of historic Bloomsbury, Birkbeck is within easy reach of cinemas and galleries, as well as facilities such as the British Film Institute and the British Library.
- We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.
Careers and employability
Graduates can pursue career paths in the creative industries, such as screenwriting, script editing and collaborating with readers/directors/producers/co-writers. Possible professions include:
- screenwriter
- script writer
- creative writer
- magazine or newspaper journalist
- English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher
- higher education lecturer.
We offer a comprehensive careers service - Careers and Enterprise - your career partner during your time at Birkbeck and beyond. At every stage of your career journey, we empower you to take ownership of your future, helping you to make the connection between your experience, education and future ambitions.
Information for international students
If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests.
If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.
Qualification, course duration and attendance options
- MA
- full time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- part time24 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
- PGCert
- part time12 months
- Campus-based learningis available for this qualification
Course contact details
- Name
- Student Advice Service
- studentadvice@bbk.ac.uk
- Phone
- +44 (0)20 3907 0700