Graduate Program
M.F.A. in Writing for Film and Electronic Media (Screenwriting)
• 45 hours of course work (M.F.A. In screenwriting); including 3 hours for Thesis Report preparation. The Graduate School requires that 6 of the 45 hours must be in a minor field, outside the student's major department. Minor work may be done in the College of Communication or elsewhere in the University.
• For the final thesis project, a feature length screenplay + rewrites. One or more TV scripts may qualify as a thesis if a petition to the thesis committee is approved.
• A written Thesis Report (RTF 398R for 3 hours credit) based on this project
The MFA in screenwriting is a two-year (including one summer), 45 hour degree designed for creative individuals with a demonstrated commitment to storytelling for the screen. The objective of the program is to provide a foundation of skills that will enable writers to achieve success either in features or TV and in either Hollywood or independent arenas. Seven students are admitted each year, a number which optimizes the workshop environment and makes it possible to provide maximum guidance.
Students are enrolled in a writing workshop during each of the program↓ s four full semesters. In the first semester, students are introduced to the principles of writing for the screen, focusing on characterization, story structure, scenework, dialogue, and use of conflict. In the three subsequent semesters, students complete three original features. In addition to these core writing classes, students take a course in adaptation in which another complete feature is required and a course in writing for television, in which spec scripts for a current 30 minute comedy and 60 minute drama are required. In their fourth semester, students also take a rewriting course in which they revise one of the previous scripts written while at UT. It is this revised script that will serve as the student's thesis. The Thesis Project is considered by the Graduate School to be a "Project-in-lieu-of-Thesis" and degree requirements include a written report describing and analyzing the preparation of the Project.
In addition to writing classes, students are encouraged to use their electives to broaden their knowledge and filmmaking experience via the department↓ s production and film studies offerings. During the summer between the first and second year of the program, students are strongly urged to participate in the College of Communication↓ s Semester in Los Angeles Program. This opportunity is seen as an important component of an overall screenwriting education as it provides crucial industry-related experience and exposure. Students are also required to intern as part of their program of work. The Los Angeles internship program may take place either between your 1st and 2nd year, or after your 2nd year. Alternatively, an internship could be done in Austin , and a good candidate for that internship is our own UT Film Institute and its feature film production partner, Burnt Orange Productions.
The Department also encourages students in production courses to use student-written scripts for production projects and many writing students write short scripts expressly for this purpose. Writing students are encouraged to make use of other campus opportunities such as those found in the Theatre and Dance Department, the Creative Writing Sequence in the English Department, and the James A. Michener Center for Writers.