Playwriting and Screenwriting

A program that focuses on the principles and techniques for communicating dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the composition of creative written works for the theatre, film, and/or television. Includes instruction in creative writing craft, scene writing, script development, stage and/or camera instructions, line and moment analysis, script reading, script editing, and the creation of full productions.

Degree Statistics

This program is offered at 53 institutions across the United States, with a total of 2564 degrees awarded annually.

Certificates Below Bachelor's

certificates awarded

Associate Degrees

degrees awarded

Bachelor's Degrees

414

degrees awarded

Post-Baccalaureate Certificates

certificates awarded

Master's Degrees

375

degrees awarded

Doctoral Degrees

degrees awarded

Other Awards

1,713

awards given

Top Schools for Playwriting and Screenwriting

These institutions offer the most degrees in this program, ranked by total annual completions.

Rank	Institution	Degrees
1	New York University New York, NY	369
2	Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA	285
3	Chapman University Orange, CA	282
4	Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA	192
5	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	174
6	New York Film Academy Burbank, CA	138
7	SUNY at Purchase College Purchase, NY	93
8	DePaul University Chicago, IL	81
9	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO	77
10	Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA	72
11	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA	69
12	Emerson College Boston, MA	63
13	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, OH	54
14	Stephens College Columbia, MO	45
15	Maharishi International University Fairfield, IA	45
16	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	36
17	Hollins University Roanoke, VA	30
18	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	30
19	Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA	30
20	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	27
21	National University San Diego, CA	24
22	Academy of Art University San Francisco, CA	24
23	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	24
24	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	24
25	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA	24
26	CUNY Hunter College New York, NY	21
27	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA	21
28	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN	21
29	Marymount Manhattan College New York, NY	18
30	Pepperdine University Malibu, CA	15
31	Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA	15
32	Boston University Boston, MA	15
33	Brown University Providence, RI	12
34	The Juilliard School New York, NY	12
35	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	12
36	Biola University La Mirada, CA	9
37	Pellissippi State Community College Knoxville, TN	8
38	Mount Saint Mary's University Los Angeles, CA	6
39	Emory University Atlanta, GA	6
40	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	6
41	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	6
42	Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale, AZ	6
43	Houston Christian University Houston, TX	6
44	University of the Arts Philadelphia, PA	6
45	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	6
46	Yavapai College Prescott, AZ	4
47	Asbury University Wilmore, KY	3
48	Gallaudet University Washington, DC	3
49	Pacific Union College Angwin, CA	3
50	Metropolitan Community College Area Omaha, NE	3
51	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	3
52	La Sierra University Riverside, CA	3
53	Coker University Hartsville, SC	3