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Screenwriting at University of Portsmouth - 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

University of Portsmouth has participated in the Teaching Excellence Framework. These ratings were awarded in 2023, for four years.

Open days

9Nov
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate
7Dec
University of Portsmouth Open Day
Undergraduate

Course summary

This is a Connected Degree Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course. Overview Blend your love of film with your passion for writing on our BA (Hons) Screenwriting degree course. You’ll explore theories and genres of film and writing through history, study how they might evolve in the future, and experience the craft of filmmaking both as critic and creator. This unique combination will support and prepare you to write short stories, create scripts, and produce screenplays. From your second year, you'll collaborate more widely and chose modules such as filmmaking, editing, and having your scripts brought to life on the main stage of the New Theatre Royal by fellow performance students. You'll develop skills on this degree course that will set up for a career in the creative sector, particularly the film industry. Other career paths include journalism, scriptwriting, marketing, public relations and teaching. Course highlights

  • Take part in Portsmouth's annual Comic Con for the latest developments in creative writing and literature, popular culture, fan communities, and technology – course lecturers and students are panellists
  • Get the opportunity to shadow theatre professionals and have your work performed on stage thanks to our links with Portsmouth's New Theatre Royal and other local theatres
  • Deepen your learning from an experienced teaching team of published novelists and journalists, prestigious magazine editors, scriptwriters, academic researchers, and performance poets
  • Build your writing portfolio by contributing to our course blog The Eldon Review and hyperlocal news zine Star & Crescent
  • Gain valuable professional experience by taking an optional placement
  • Experience another culture and way of learning by studying abroad for a year or a single semester
  • Boost your lingual abilities by learning a language with our extra-curricular Institute-Wide Language Programme – and earn credits for it
Careers and opportunities Alongside critical awareness and creative ability in film and writing, you'll also develop project management skills applicable to any career path you pursue. Your burgeoning screenwriting skills will enable you to work in other creative media besides film, television, and the stage, such as video games and graphic novels. You can also continue your studies to postgraduate level or take further teacher training to work in education. Graduate areas Areas graduates from our Creative Writing courses have worked in include:
  • creative writing (prose, poetry, script)
  • advertising and marketing
  • arts and events management
  • local and community broadcasting
  • teaching
  • stand-up comedy
  • travel industry
Graduate roles Roles graduates from our Creative Writing courses have gone onto include:
  • novelist
  • poet
  • playwright
  • teacher
  • copywriter
  • journalist
  • theatre manager
  • editorial assistant

Modules

Year 1

  • Film Craft (20 credits)
  • Future Production (20 credits)
  • Screen Debates (20 credits)
  • Tips, Tricks, Techniques (20 credits)
  • True Stories (20 credits)
  • Writing for the Film and Tv Industries (20 credits)
There are no optional modules in this year. Year 2 Core modules All modules below are worth 20 credits each.
  • Fiction Film-Making (20 credits)
  • Screenwriting (20 credits)
Optional modules
  • British Cinema (20 credits)
  • Creative Writing and Critical Thinking (20 credits)
  • Crime Writing (20 credits)
  • Engaged Citizenship Through Interdisciplinary Practice (20 credits)
  • Factual Media Production (20 credits)
  • Film and Ethics (20 credits)
  • Film, Media and Communication Study Exchange (60 credits)
  • Film, Media and Communication Study Exchange (60 credits)
  • Finding Form - Fiction (20 credits)
  • Professional Experience (20 credits)
  • Student Enterprise (20 credits)
  • Transmedia Narratives and Strategies (20 credits)
  • World and Transnational Cinema (20 credits)
Year 3 Core modules For your dissertation, you'll choose one of the following modules. Each are worth 40 credits.
  • Professional Industry Skills (20 credits)
  • Self Promotion (20 credits)
Optional modules
  • Advanced Screenwriting (20 credits)
  • Creative Writing Dissertation (40 credits)
  • Film and Media Dissertation (40 credits)
  • Gender, Sexuality and Cinema (20 credits)
  • Media Fan Cultures (20 credits)
  • Writing Project (With Publishing) (20 credits)
Placement year After your second or third year, you can do an optional work placement year to get valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your aspirations. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year. We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.

How to apply

29Jan

This is the deadline for applications to be completed and sent for this course. If the university or college still has places available you can apply after this date, but your application is not guaranteed to be considered.

Application codes

Course code:
W810
Institution code:
P80
Campus name:
Main Site
Campus code:
-

Points of entry

The following entry points are available for this course:

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3

Entry requirements for advanced entry (i.e. into Year 2 and beyond)

We welcome applications for advanced entry. If you’d like to apply for advanced entry, you need to select the required year when you complete your UCAS application.

This course may be available at alternative locations, please check if other course options are available

Entry requirements

Qualification requirements

Additional entry requirements

Portfolio

Applicants without a relevant subject or experience will be asked to provide a portfolio to support their application.

Other

A relevant subject or experience in English/Creative Writing/Journalism/Media or Film Studies is required.

English language requirements

TestGradeAdditional details
IELTS (Academic)6English language proficiency at a minimum of IELTS band 6.0 with no component score below 5.5.
PTE Academic54An overall score of 54 with a minimum of 51 in each skill.
TOEFL (iBT)7979 with a minimum of 18 in Reading, 17 in Listening, 20 in Speaking and 17 in Writing.
Cambridge English AdvancedCambridge English: Advanced (CAE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Cambridge English ProficiencyCambridge English: Proficiency (CPE) taken after January 2015. An overall score of 169 with no component score less than 162.
Trinity ISEPassTrinity College Integrated Skills in English (ISE) Level III with a Pass in all 4 components

Student Outcomes

Operated by the Office for Students
85%
Employment after 15 months (Most common jobs)
95%
Go onto work and study

The number of student respondents and response rates can be important in interpreting the data – it is important to note your experience may be different from theirs. This data will be based on the subject area rather than the specific course. Read more about this data on the Discover Uni website.

Fees and funding

Tuition fees

EU £9535 Year 1
England £9535 Year 1
Northern Ireland £9535 Year 1
Scotland £9535 Year 1
Wales £9535 Year 1
Channel Islands £9535 Year 1
Republic of Ireland £9535 Year 1
International £17200 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 who are resident in EU countries: please note that the net fee is inclusive of the Transition Scholarship Placement Year and Year abroad (at the time of publishing for 2024/25): UK/Channel Islands and Isle of Man students – £1,385 EU – £1,385 (including Transition Scholarship) International (Non-EU) – £2,875. Fees are accurate at the time of publishing and are subject to change at any time without notice. All fees are subject to annual increase. For more information about fees, go to port.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/undergraduate-fees-and-student-finance/tuition-fees-living-costs-and-other-study-costs
Screenwriting at University of Portsmouth - UCAS