Screenwriting

Entry requirements

You should usually hold a second-class honours degree (certain programmes may require a 2:1) from a recognised British or overseas university. Advice on recognition can be obtained from the Admissions Office. Non-graduates with appropriate professional qualifications will be considered on an individual basis by Programme Conveners; contact details can be found on the individual programme page. Applicants will be expected to apply and register for the full master's award.

Months of entry

September

Course content

Our MA Screenwriting will help you to develop personal voice in your writing, create distinctive and high-quality work, and to take that work from concept to industry-ready screenplay. Our unique approach combines technical practice with academic theory. The programme is flexible in its format and divided into three blocks; voice, writing and pitching, allowing you to focus on the areas that interest you the most. Our aim is to bring the most out of the individual talent of each writer.

You’ll be encouraged to develop your own writer’s voice – that deep-seated, often hidden message that urges you not just to write, but to write about the things that move you. Writing from an emotional, often psychological space offers freedom to the writer and greater engagement from an audience.

You’ll learn how to develop this voice and learn how the screenwriter is an ethnographer, paying close attention to descriptions of peoples and cultures, considering their customs, habits and mutual differences. You will also learn how to make your screenwriting stand out, using non-traditional, decolonised, less Western-focused forms, applicable from the gallery space to the theatre.

Whether you’re a playwright, fine artist or producer, you’ll develop your screenwriting skills with hands-on work and personal tuition that will result in a full feature or TV pilot screenplay of 60-100 pages, from concept to second draft. You will graduate with a piece of work of a standard you will be able to present not just to industry, but within your field of specialisation.

Finally, you’ll learn how to package your script and pitch your work. You will learn about industry requirements so you can ensure your work is coherent, accessible, professionally presented and noticeable. This includes live pitching sessions, development funding applications, guest lectures from industry speakers, and field trips.

The MA is for both recent graduates and mature students who wish to take their writing to the next level, and to be able to engage with the film industry as screenwriters, writer-directors, creative producers, translators or script editors.