MA Screenwriting

Why choose Herts?

Excellent employment opportunities: There are major skills shortages in the UK film industry with 30,000 new jobs are to be created in the next few years.
Teaching excellence: Howard Berry is a multi-award-winning lecturer and industry professional who has worked with Warner Brothers and the Stanley Kubrick Estate for over a decade as a consultant and expert.
Professional accreditation: Gain BAFTA albert sustainability – industry-standard certification.

Employment opportunities

There are major skills shortages in the UK film industry. 30,000 new jobs are to be created in the next few years, with most areas of the industry reporting a 35% gap in skills in the workforce according to Screen Skills.

Career paths

Graduates are equipped for careers that could lead to work in the fields of producing, directing, cinematography and camera, sound recording and sound design, editing, and screenwriting. Additional future roles could be in the fields of marketing, distribution, development, production finance and management, script development, social media and online media creation and further academic writing and/or study.

Work experience opportunities

Previous postgraduate students have gained work placements with leading organisations and productions such as EastEnders on the BBC.

About the course

The MA Screenwriting postgraduate degree provides an exciting opportunity to learn screenwriting in a highly productive culture of filmmaking, in tandem with students learning to produce, directing and filmmaking craft techniques. The course has been designed to offer students opportunities to initiate, develop and realise original and advanced level work in screenwriting – including story development, characters, dialogue and narratives. The structure of the programme is designed so that production is informed b the ideas of the writer, and writing is informed by the practicalities of production and post. The programme aims to:

Enable students to initiate, develop and realise distinctive and creative work in the fields of film production and post-production
Gain detailed knowledge and understanding of key production processes and professional practices relevant to the film industry
Understand the structure and operation of the film industry, its global scope, regulatory frameworks, business practices, markets, and audiences.
Develop a range of transferable and entrepreneurial skills which equip students to respond to the and future career challenges
Gain an understanding of sustainability within the film industry, the impact of production on climate, and the ways in which the industry can impact positively in this area, through a BAFTA albert accredited series of lectures and workshops.