Graduate Writing for Film and Television (MFA - Low Residency)

About the Graduate Writing for Film and Television Program

Emerson College’s low-residency Writing for Film and Television MFA program teaches you to write for film, television, and other emergent forms of media across multiple genres. You will build a professional-caliber writing portfolio with original feature, pilot, and short screenplay samples.

Housed in the Department of Visual and Media Arts in the School of the Arts, the program’s faculty are filmmakers, producers, screenwriters, and theorists who will mentor and guide you through your online courses. Each semester begins with a six-day residency on our Boston or Los Angeles campus, where you'll participate in workshops, screenings, lectures, and a master class with a guest lecturer. Previous lecturers have included Krista Vernoff, showrunner for Grey’s Anatomy, and David Magee, writer of Life of Pi. The rest of your coursework will be online, allowing you the flexibility to earn your MFA from anywhere.

Program Highlights

• Low-residency MFA program
• Learn from Hollywood screenwriters and industry professionals in master classes, seminars, screenings, guest lectures, staged readings, and pitch sessions
• Each semester begins with a six-day residency, alternating between our Boston and Los Angeles campuses. The rest of the semester is 100% online with asynchronous coursework (and some synchronous workshops) to fit your schedule.
• The full-time program takes two years to complete.
• No GRE required to apply