Writing for Screen and Television
Bachelor of Fine Arts
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing for Screen and Television is a unique, four-year program for students who seek intensive professional preparation for a career in screen and television writing. This rigorous program emphasizes small, workshop-style classes, and attracts students from all over the world. Students attend a variety of guest speaker presentations, take high level industry internships, are provided with mentors and taught by world-class professors.
Each fall, a class of 24 undergraduate writing students is selected to begin the program. A total of 128 units is required for completion of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree; 72 of these units are taken in a prescribed sequential order. There are no spring admissions.
Applicants must submit supplemental application and materials to the program office. For specific instructions, contact Writing for Screen and Television, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211 or telephone (213) 740-3303, or online at www-cntv.usc.edu.
General Education Requirements
The university's general education program provides a coherent, integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge you will need to consider yourself (and to be considered by other people) a generally well-educated person. This program requires six courses in different categories, plus writing and diversity requirements, which are described in detail in the
General Education Program section.
Required Production Courses
Undergraduate writing students are required to take CTPR 241 Fundamentals of Cinema Technique and CTPR 290 Cinematic Communication. These introductory production courses are taken concurrently during the junior year.
CTPR 241 is an experiential course dealing with the technical and aesthetic principles of directing, cinematography, editing and the development of ideas through a cinematic vocabulary.
In CTPR 290 students are taught the principles of filmmaking through demonstrations, hands-on production and critical analysis. Each student makes five digital video non-dialogue projects using equipment supplied by the school. Approximately $1,000 should be budgeted for miscellaneous expenses, lab and insurance fees.
Four-Year Major Requirements for the B.F.A. in Writing for Screen and Television
Year One, First Semester | Units |
CTWR 106a | Screenwriting Fundamentals | 4 |
| | 4 |
Year One, Second Semester | Units |
CTCS 190 | Introduction to Cinema | 4 |
CTWR 105 | Non-Verbal Thinking: Visual and Aural | 2 |
CTWR 106b | Screenwriting Fundamentals | 4 |
| | 10 |
Year Two, First Semester | Units |
CTCS 200 | History of the International Cinema I | 2 |
CTPR 318 | Acting Experience for Writers | 2 |
CTWR 206a | Writing the Screenplay | 4 |
CTWR 213 | Content and Consciousness | 2 |
| | 10 |
Year Two, Second Semester | Units |
CTCS 201 | History of the International Cinema II | 2 |
CTPR 241 | Fundamentals of Cinema Technique | 2 |
CTPR 290 | Cinematic Communication | 4 |
CTWR 206b | Writing the Screenplay | 2 |
CTWR 215 | Practicum in Writing Short Films | 2 |
| | 12 |
Year Three, First Semester | Units |
CTCS 464 | Film and/or Television Genres, or | |
CTCS 469 | Film and/or Television Style Analysis | 4 |
CTPR 319 | Directing for Writers: Pre-production | 2 |
CTWR 306a | Advanced Screenwriting | 4 |
CTWR 434 | Comedy Writing Genres | 2 |
| | 12 |
Year Three, Second Semester | Units |
CTPR 301 | Creating the Non-Fiction Film | 4 |
CTWR 306b | Advanced Screenwriting | 2 |
CTWR 435 | Writing for Film and Television Genres | 2 |
| | 8 |
Year Four, First Semester | Units |
CTWR 418a | Senior Thesis | 4 |
CTWR 453 | Advanced Feature Rewriting | 4 |
CTWR 459a | Entertainment Industry Seminar | 2 |
| | 10 |
Year Four, Second Semester | Units |
CTWR 418b | Senior Thesis | 4 |
CTPR 419 | Directing for Writers: Post-Production | 2 |
| | 6 |
Electives
A minimum of 20 elective units is required.
Suggested electives in Cinema-Television include:
CTWR 430 | The Writer in American Cinema and Television | 2 |
CTWR 431 | Screenwriters and Their Work | 2 |
CTWR 433 | Adaptations: Transferring Existing Work to the Screen | 2 |
CTWR 434 | Comedy Writing Genres | 2 |
CTWR 435 | Writing for Television Genres | 2, max 8 |
CTWR 437 | Writing the Situation Comedy Pilot | 2 |
Grade Point Average Requirements
A minimum grade of C (2.0) must be earned in all required and prerequisite courses (a grade of C- (1.7) or lower will not fulfill a major requirement).
Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts, with a major in Writing for Screen and Television, is an intensive two-year degree program which concentrates on writing for narrative film and television. During the course of their studies, students benefit from a wide array of internship and mentorship opportunities available as a result of the university's close links to the Los Angeles film industry's top screenwriters, directors, production companies and studios.
Course work includes practical instruction in everything a working writer needs to learn about the filmmaker's art and craft. Writing is taught in small workshop-style classes. The approach focuses on the visual tools of storytelling, developing stories from characters and then on an Aristotelian three act structure. Fractured narratives, ensemble stories, experiments with time and points of view, as well as other idiosyncratic styles of storytelling, are also addressed. The curriculum covers other professional concerns, including legal issues, agents and the Writer's Guild, as well as the history and analysis of cinema. Classes are taught by working writers with a wide variety of skills, experience and attitudes.
Each fall 32 students are selected to begin the Graduate Writing for Screen and Television Program; there are no spring admissions. Applicants must submit a supplemental application and materials to the Graduate Writing for Screen and Television Program. For specific instructions, contact the Graduate Writing for Screen and Television Program, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211, or telephone (213) 740-3303, or online at www-cntv.usc.edu.
A total of 44-46 units in cinema-television at the 400 and 500 level is required. Course work includes hands-on instruction in production, acting and directing.
Graduate Production Preparation Course
CTPR 521x Filmic Communication is taken in the first semester. This course reviews the basic aspects of filmmaking through lectures and hands-on production using digital video. A minimum grade of B (3.0) is required in CTPR 521x in order for a student to continue in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Screen and Television program.
Course Requirements
Year One, First Semester | Units |
CTWR 513 | Writing the Short Script | 2 |
CTWR 514a | Basic Dramatic Screenwriting | 2 |
CTPR 521x | Filmic Communication | 2 |
CTWR 572 | Practicum in Directing Actors for Film | 2 |
| | 8 |
Year One, Second Semester | Units |
CTWR 434 | Comedy Writing Genres, or |
CTWR 437 | Writing the Situation Comedy Pilot | 2 |
CTWR 514b | Basic Dramatic Screenwriting | 2 |
CTWR 516 | Advanced Motion Picture Script Analysis | 2 |
| | 6 |
Year Two, First Semester | Units |
CTWR 435 | Writing for Film and Television Genres | 2 |
CTWR 459a | Entertainment Industry Seminar | 2 |
CTWR 515a | Practicum in Screenwriting | 4 |
CTPR 575 | Directing for Scriptwriters | 2 |
| | 10 |
Year Two, Second Semester | Units |
CTWR 459b | Entertainment Industry Seminar | 2 |
CTWR 515b | Practicum in Screenwriting | 4 |
CTPR 536 | Editing for Scriptwriters | 2 |
| | 8 |
Total: 46 units required for the degree. Only two writing courses can be taken per semester.
CNTV Electives
A minimum of 14 elective units at the 400 and 500 level is required, determined by which options the student selected.
Electives |
3 courses must be selected from the following: |
CTCS 464 | Film and/or Television Genres | 4 |
CTCS 469 | Film and/or Television Style Analysis | 4 |
CTCS 501 | History of the International Cinema Before World War II | 2 |
CTCS 502 | History of the International Cinema After World War II | 2 |
CTCS 503 | Survey History of the American Sound Film | 2 |
CTCS 504 | Television, New Media and Culture | 2 |
CTCS 505 | Survey of Interactive Media | 2 |
Grade Point Average Requirement
An overall grade point average of 3.0 (A = 4.0) must be maintained in all courses. In addition, an overall grade point average of 3.0 in all units attempted is required to qualify for registration in CTWR 515ab. Courses in which a grade of C- (1.7) or lower is earned will not apply toward a graduate degree.
In lieu of a thesis, the student is required to complete a full-length screenplay which will be developed in CTWR 515ab and must be accepted by the Division of Writing Graduation Committee.
Time Limit
Students must maintain satisfactory progress toward their master's degrees at all times. The time limit to complete all requirements is three years from the first course at USC applied toward the Master of Fine Arts degree. Course work more than seven years old is automatically invalidated and may not be applied toward the degree.