Edinburgh Napier University / Southpoint Education International

MA Screenwriting

Study your Specialist MA flexibly in the Caribbean. Apply online today to see if you are eligible for this degree.

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This is your chance to learn more about the innovative, online programmes offered by Edinburgh Napier University.

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Best priced UK online MBM

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Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) holds the prestigious No. 1 ranking in the UK for value-added education (The Guardian). It has also been awarded the highest possible rating of 5 stars for Teaching, Employability, and Internationalisation by the QS World University Rankings 2024. Since 2012, Southpoint Education International has been the exclusive regional recruitment representative of the university. All degrees are exclusively awarded by Edinburgh Napier University.

The University offers industry-informed courses that expertly balance theory and practice, ensuring graduates are well-equipped for success in today’s competitive global job market. ENU has a renowned international reputation for the employability of its graduates.

Further enhancing its prestige, the Edinburgh Napier University Business School has achieved AACSB accreditation, placing it among the top 5% of Business Schools worldwide.

Overview

To us, a screenwriter is an artist in their own right, and should always be looking for ways to bend and break the rules. This programme aims to empower students to construct the mix of knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to become the kind of screenwriter they want to be, broadening not just their core writing skills but their knowledge of the rapidly changing markets and contexts in which screenwriting occurs.

We set frequent writing assignments and expect you to bring the results to class. You’ll workshop, analyse and develop the results of that work in regular workshop sessions, mirroring the developmental process common in screen industries and honing your analytical skills. Overall, we aim to equip our graduates to succeed – and to change the culture they choose to enter.

The programme is part-time and remote, meaning it can be completed around other commitments without uprooting and moving to Edinburgh, however it’s also collaborative—you’ll work alongside your coursemates in online seminars and analyse each other’s work in online script workshops.  This will help you to develop the collaborative skills and peer networks that are absolutely necessary for success in screen industries.

Course Details

This 2-year online MA is founded in cutting edge research into screenwriting technique specifically designed to create empowered, innovative, convention-challenging screenwriters with the will and the expertise to break boundaries and create screen stories of international quality.

You will be guided to develop a mastery of screenwriting fundamentals, and pushed to look beyond those fundamentals to more radical techniques, treating your screenwriting as an artform in its own right.

Student-centered active learning will encourage you to take charge and develop your confidence and leadership skills, preparing you for entry into screen industries. You will be pushed to develop critical thinking and diligent research skills, and encouraged to grow your artistic practice through experimentation.

The programme is committed to creating pathways not just to sustainable professional practice but to innovative and original practice in the screenplay, empowering students to become leading voices in screen industries.

The lead academic for this course is Dr Chris Neilan, an award-winning writer and filmmaker with a PhD in creative writing focused on narrative structure in the screenplay. He is a leading expert on story structure. His groundbreaking book on unconventional story structures, Beyond the Monoplot, is available from Bloomsbury.

 

The modules you will complete over the Master of Screenwriting course are:

Writing & Screen Project Development

20 credits

Script Workshop 1

20 credits

Unconventional Approaches

20 credits

Major Project Research

20 credits

The Business of Screen Project Development

20 credits

Script Workshop 2

20 credits

From Script to Screen

20 credits

Major Project

40 credits

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