Screenwriting University of Hertfordshire

Overview

The MA in Screenwriting postgraduate degree at University of Hertfordshire provides an exciting opportunity to learn screenwriting in a highly productive culture of filmmaking, in tandem with students learning to produce, directing and filmmaking craft techniques. 

The course has been designed to offer students opportunities to initiate, develop and realise original and advanced level work in screenwriting – including story development, characters, dialogue and narratives. The structure of the program is designed so that production is informed b the ideas of the writer, and writing is informed by the practicalities of production and post. 

The programme aims to: 

• Enable students to initiate, develop and realise distinctive and creative work in the fields of film production and post-production 

• Gain detailed knowledge and understanding of key production processes and professional practices relevant to the film industry 

• Understand the structure and operation of the film industry, its global scope, regulatory frameworks, business practices, markets, and audiences. 

• Develop a range of transferable and entrepreneurial skills which equip students to respond to the and future career challenges 

• Gain an understanding of sustainability within the film industry, the impact of production on climate, and the ways in which the industry can impact positively in this area, through a BAFTA albert accredited series of lectures and workshops. 

The MA Screenwriting postgraduate degree provides a practical and intensive study of screenwriting in an environment that encourages experimentation, professional development, and new ideas. The combination of creative, technical, practical and management skills – and shared tuition and collaboration with the Film Production pathway, in which filmmakers and screenwriters learn key skills – make this course unique.

Careers

Employment opportunities 

• There are major skills shortages in the UK film industry. 30,000 new jobs are to be created in the next few years, with most areas of the industry reporting a 35% gap in skills in the workforce according to Screen Skills.  

Career paths 

• Graduates are equipped for careers that could lead to work in the fields of producing, directing, cinematography and camera, sound recording and sound design, editing, and screenwriting. 

• Additional future roles could be in the fields of marketing, distribution, development, production finance and management, script development, social media and online media creation and further academic writing and/or study.