Master of Fine Arts

The Master of Fine Arts with a track in Screenwriting is granted by the School of Cinema-Television. It is a two-year program which concentrates in writing for narrative film and television. The curriculum covers the writing of dramatic scenes, story structure and the full array of tools available to the storyteller for heightening audience interest, involvement and participation. Graduate screenwriting students advance from learning the basics of visual storytelling to writing short scripts and treatments and finally a feature-length screenplay.

Each fall 30 students are selected to begin the Graduate Screenwriting Program (GSP); there are no spring admissions. Applicants must submit supplemental application materials to the Graduate Screenwriting Program. For specific instructions, contact the Graduate Screenwriting Program, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211, or telephone (213) 740-3303.

A total of 42 units in cinema-television at the 400 and 500 level is required. In addition to the writing courses, course work includes instruction in: video equipment, uses and technology; acting and the direction of actors; directing; film economics; and history and theory of film.

Graduate Production Preparation Course

In addition to the 42 units, students are required to take a four-unit undergraduate prerequisite production course, CNTV 291 Beginning Dramatic Production, in the first semester.

This course reviews the basic aspects of filmmaking through lectures and hands-on production using 8mm video. A minimum grade of B (3.0) is required in CNTV 291 in order for a student to continue in the Master of Fine Arts program. CNTV 291 is not a graduate level course and will not count toward the total 42 units required for the degree. Grades received in this course will not be included in calculating the student's grade point average.

Course Requirements

Year One, First Semester		Units
CNTV 291	Beginning Dramatic Production	4
CNTV 459	Business and Legal Considerations for the Writer	2
CNTV 513	Writing the Short Script	2
CNTV 572	Practicum in Directing Actors for Film	4
		____
		12

Year One, Second Semester		Units
Elective	(e.g., CNTV 434 Comedy Writing, etc.)	2-4
CNTV 509	Understanding the Process of Filmmaking	2
CNTV 514	Basic Dramatic Screenwriting	2
CNTV 516	Advanced Motion Picture Script Analysis	2
CNTV 575	Directing for Scriptwriters	2
		____
		10-12

Year Two, First Semester		Units
CNTV 515a	Practicum in Screenwriting	4
CMPP 589a	Graduate Film Business Seminar	4
Elective	(e.g., CNTV 437 Writing the Situation Comedy Pilot, or CNTV 502 History of the International Cinema: Silent Film, etc.)	2-4
		____
		10-12

Year Two, Second Semester		Units
CNTV 515b	Practicum in Screenwriting	4
Electives	(e.g., CNTV 536 Editing for Screenwriters or CNTV 464 Film Genres, etc.)	6-8
		____
		10-12

CNTV Electives

A minimum of 14 units of CNTV electives at the 400 and 500 level is required and at least six units must be taken from the following critical studies courses:

Electives		Units
CNTV 464	Film Genres	4
CNTV 469	Film Style Analysis	4
CNTV 500	Seminar in Theory and Textual Analysis	4
CNTV 501	History of the International Cinema: Silent Film	2
CNTV 502	History of the International Cinema: Sound Film	2
CNTV 503	Survey History of the American Sound Film	2
CNTV 510	Case Studies in National Media	4
CNTV 511	Seminar: Non-Fiction Film/Video
CNTV 518	Seminar: Avant-Garde Film/Video	4
CNTV 564	Seminar in Film and Television Genres	4
CNTV 567	Seminar in Film/Television and a Related Art	4
CNTV 569	Seminar in Film and Television Authors	4

Grade Point Average Requirement

An overall grade point average of 3.0 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 CNTV 515ab.

In lieu of a thesis, the student is required to complete a full-length screenplay which will be developed in CNTV 515ab and must be accepted by the Graduate Screenwriting Program Graduation Committee.

Time Limit

Students must maintain satisfactory progress toward their master's degrees at all times.

The degree must be completed three years after the beginning of graduate work at USC. Course work more than seven years old is automatically invalidated and may not be applied toward the degree.

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