Admission

Who Should Apply?

Emerson’s low-residency Writing for Film and Television graduate program enrolls a cohort of students from a wide range of backgrounds and geographical locations within the United States. Housed in the School of the Arts, our program attracts students who have majored in, work in, or have a passion for writing, reading, movies, television, and/or theatre. After graduation, our students pursue careers in screenwriting for TV and film, playwriting, novel writing, podcasting, copywriting, production, and development or content creation.

Application Deadlines

Applicants can apply for admission for a fall start.

Fall

• Priority: February 1
• Regular: May 1
• Late: Not offered

*Priority Decision Advantages: priority review for admission, first consideration for scholarships, and earlier receipt of an admission decision.

For official term start dates, please review our Academic Calendar.

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Admission Requirements

• Online Application
  • After submitting your application, you will receive an email with your Admission ID. Please use your username and password to log in and check the status of your application.
• Official Transcripts
  • Review the official transcript requirements.
• 2 Letters of Recommendation
  • From persons best able to assess academic and professional qualifications, including motivations and goals
• Admission Essay: Emerson College's graduate programs form a vibrant and engaged community of creative artists, professionals, scholars, and clinicians who all believe in the power of language and communication to transform society. Your careful responses to the following prompts will help us determine if the program you are applying to is the right fit for you. Please answer each prompt as thoughtfully as possible.
  • How does the focus and curriculum of the program to which you are applying align with your experience and goals? What particular aspects of your current and/or future work do you hope to develop while in graduate school? 500 words.
    Drawing on your personal, professional, creative and/or academic experience please share an example of a time that you overcame an individual or collective challenge and the approach you took to address that challenge. 250-500 words.
    The mission of Emerson College is the betterment of society through communication and the arts. With this in mind, what impact do you want your work to have? 500 words. 
• Writing Sample: Choose one of the following writing samples to submit.
  • Screenwriting: 15 pages maximum of screenwriting. This can include short screenplays or an excerpt from a longer film or television script. Script samples must be accompanied by loglines.
  • Dramatic Writing: 15 pages maximum of novel excerpts, short stories, plays, or chapters of fiction or creative nonfiction writing. Please double-space any prose writing.
  • Combination of Screenwriting and Dramatic Writing: 15 pages maximum, combining any of the above writing forms. Please double-space any prose writing.
• Resume
  • Include your professional and educational history.
• English Proficiency: Applicants whose native language is not English must provide evidence of English proficiency by submitting official TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, or Pearson test results.

View our graduate admission policies

International Applicants

• Emerson College cannot accept applications from international students for the low-residency program at this time, as the College is not able to issue I-20s appropriate for participation in this program.