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Screenwriting at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS

Course options

2025 - 2026
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There are other course options available which may have a different vacancy status or entry requirements – view the full list of options

Course summary

This postgraduate screenwriting course offers aspiring writers the opportunity to develop their work to a professional standard. You will be guided by leading practitioners with years of industry experience, including the Programme Director Daragh Carville, co-creator and lead writer of hit ITV crime drama The Bay. Why choose this course?

  • You will be taught by leading industry professionals, including BAFTA award-winning writer and script editor Barbara Cox (The Bill, Cardiac Arrest, Holby City), writer, director and actor Anna Maguire (Saving Private Ryan, Constellations, Violation) and former BBC producer and script editor Tanya Nash (EastEnders, Holby City).
  • A distinctive feature of the course is its fast-track core module on screenwriting theories, conventions and formats.
  • You will also benefit from industry talks with guest speakers, and a four-day summer school on working in the industry, including pitching and storytelling.
  • You will build up a portfolio of projects across a range of genres.
What you will learn Working closely with tutors and fellow students in interactive workshops, you will learn the essential skills of screenwriting, from the planning stages - writing outlines and treatments - through to the practicalities of formatting, polishing and presenting finished scripts, for both film and TV. You will gain a practical working knowledge of:
  • story structure
  • scene design
  • characterisation
  • visual storytelling
  • dialogue.
As well as writing finished scripts for film and TV, you will receive a thorough grounding in writing proposals, outlines and treatments. You will also study classic and contemporary screenplays, films and TV series to gain an understanding of how screenwriting has developed over time and continues to evolve today. How you will learn Teaching on this screenwriting course is on campus in evening sessions so you can balance study with work and other commitments. It includes lectures, seminars and tutorials, but the workshop model is at the heart of our approach. Working closely with tutors and other students in small groups, you will respond to work-in-progress, sharing your work in an atmosphere that is both focused and supportive. We offer this course as a Master’s and a Postgraduate Certificate. For the Certificate, you study fewer modules and do not complete a dissertation. Highlights
  • This postgraduate screenwriting course allows graduates in other subjects to achieve professional standards of practice and understanding of the industry.
  • We have state-of-the art cinema and exhibition spaces, all housed in a historic building that was a former home to key members of the Bloomsbury Group, including the author Virginia Woolf and the artist Vanessa Bell. Birkbeck has a number of institutes specifically designed to foster work across disciplines, such as the Birkbeck Institute for the Moving Image.
  • Located in central London, in the heart of historic Bloomsbury, Birkbeck is within easy reach of cinemas, theatres and galleries, as well as the British Film Institute and British Library.
  • We offer a number of bursaries for postgraduate students.
Careers and employability On successfully graduating from this MA Screenwriting at Birkbeck, you will have gained an array of important transferable skills, including in:
  • media literacy
  • critical thinking
  • the ability to work independently and also as part of a team
  • the ability to work to deadlines
  • professional formatting and presentation.
Studying this course will prepare you for roles in a range of fields and professions including in:
  • screenwriting
  • script editing
  • film and TV developments
  • theatre and dramaturgy
  • journalism
  • gaming
  • teaching and lecturing.
Some of our graduates from this course have gone on to be employed at the BBC, Channel 4, the British Film Institute (BFI), AbbottVision, Rocket Pictures and Stolen Picture.

Modules

For information about course structure and the modules you will be studying, please visit Birkbeck’s online prospectus.

Assessment method

Assessment is 100% coursework.

How to apply

International applicants

If English is not your first language or you have not previously studied in English, the requirement for this course is the equivalent of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS Academic Test) score of 6.5, with not less than 6.0 in each of the sub-tests. If you don't meet the minimum IELTS requirement, we offer pre-sessional English courses and foundation programmes to help you improve your English language skills and get your place at Birkbeck.

Entry requirements

A second-class honours degree (2:2) or above in any related subject; other qualifications will be considered. Applications are encouraged from those with or without prior screenwriting experience. As part of the application process, applicants are required to submit the following: Part 1- the opening ten pages of script for a film or TV drama; Part 2- a four-page feature film treatment; Part 3 - any three pieces of creative text, such as a short story, an extract from a novel (five pages), an article or a poem. After review of the application and entrance task, the admissions tutors may invite candidates to attend an interview. Applications are reviewed on their individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

England £11070 Year 1
Northern Ireland £11070 Year 1
Scotland £11070 Year 1
Wales £11070 Year 1
International £20340 Year 1

Tuition fee status depends on a number of criteria and varies according to where in the UK you will study. For further guidance on the criteria for home or overseas tuition fees, please refer to the UKCISA website .

Additional fee information

Students are charged a tuition fee in each year of their course. Tuition fees for students continuing on their course in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.
Screenwriting at Birkbeck, University of London - UCAS