Program Description

The California State University, Northridge Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting degree is for students who seek a rigorous, professionally oriented education in writing for film and television. The Department of Cinema and Television Arts prepares highly skilled and motivated individuals for careers in the entertainment industry and for careers as artist-teachers in college and university film and television departments. Only applicants who demonstrate an exceptional level of talent, creativity and commitment to personal intellectual development will be admitted into the program. The highest academic and artistic standards, as well as professional decorum, will be expected throughout the course of study. Forty-two units of graduate work are required, including the writing of motion picture screenplays and narrative television scripts; directing for TV; and a culminating experience writing a feature-film screenplay as the M.F.A. thesis for this terminal degree.

Admission Requirements

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.
2. An original screenplay or original teleplay work sample in English, in standard American film format or TV industry format. The work sample can be a complete script of between 20 and 120 pages, or the first 25- to 35-page section of an original feature-length screenplay. A complete stage play script of similar length also is acceptable. With international applicant work samples, American professional script formatting is preferred, but the professional formats of other nations will be considered. Free American standard screenplay formatting programs are available at various sites online.

IELTS Requirements

Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking	Overall
6	6	6	6	6.5

Remarks:

Score reporting required.