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Top Colleges for Screenwriting

Breaking in to the highly competitive field of screenwriting can be incredibly difficult. However, with the proper training and connections, selling your first screenplay can become a reality. The best way to learn how to write a compelling screenplay is to enroll in a degree program. There are several such programs around the county, and a few have been lauded as the cream of the crop.

  1. University of Southern California

    • If you are going to attend a screenwriting program, it makes sense to attend one that's situated near Hollywood. The University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts offers a bachelor's degree program in Writing for Screen & Television, as well as a minor in screenwriting. The school was named College of the Year in 2000 by the Princeton Review, and often is listed among the most competitive programs in the country.

      University of Southern California
      School of Cinematic Arts
      University Park, SCA 465
      Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211
      213-740-2804
      http://cinema.usc.edu/prospective/undergraduate/writing/

    Bennington College

    • Bennington College has a unique approach to education. Rather than following a set path, each student, in effect, designs his own major, making it easy to design a screenwriting program in concert with a faculty mentor. Bennington was named one of the top Masters of Fine Arts writing programs in the country by the Atlantic magazine in 2007. Famous screenwriters who attended Bennington include Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter/adaptor of the Twilight series) and Isabel Rose (Screenwriter of the film, "Anything But Love").

      Bennington College
      1 College Drive
      Bennington, Vermont 05201-6003
      802-442-5401
      http://www.bennington.edu/

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    • The prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Department of Communication Studies offers a minor in Writing for the Stage and Screen, which can complement a degree in film, theater, or the written arts. Getting accepted to this program is difficult: applicants must be recommended by a faculty member, and also must submit a writing sample for consideration. The college was ranked fifth best public school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report in 2009.

      University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
      Department of Communication Studies
      CB# 3285, 115 Bingham Hall
      Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3285
      919-962-2311
      http://comm.unc.edu/undergraduate/minor

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