Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting

The MFA program is offered as an accelerated, low-residency model or a distance learning format designed to meet the needs of today’s students, while emphasizing a strong commitment to excellence in craft, analysis, and creativity. Three times per year, students and faculty gather for writers’ residencies and events on HCU’s campus or at destination retreats, including at the annual South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference in Austin, TX. Each residency features workshops and extensive interaction with professional writers and filmmakers serving as guest instructors, as well as ongoing mentorship from HCU’s exceptional full-time faculty.

Between residencies, students work from home, maintaining connections with their cohort through online workshops and ongoing coursework. These long-distance classes preserve HCU’s apprenticeship model, providing frequent feedback and personalized direction from each student’s writing mentors and peers. While the low-residency model allows writers to continue to live and work in their home cities, students should expect to commit considerable time every week to practicing their craft in order to successfully develop and hone their creative skills.

The accelerated schedule allows students to complete the MFA degree in about two years. For professional screenwriters, the Master of Fine Arts serves as a terminally qualifying degree, allowing successful graduates to teach at the university level. However, the program’s primary goal is to nurture students’ creative potential, ensuring that their artistic craft is sharpened and developed.

Most importantly, the core of this degree is HCU’s steadfast commitment to providing a learning experience that instills in students a passion for academic, spiritual, and professional excellence as a result of our Christian convictions. Students learn how this faith has guided storytellers, filmmakers, and artists throughout history and will be inspired by this rich heritage as together we seek to craft new cinematic works reflecting our Creator’s goodness, truth, and beauty.

Review degree plan

Workshop-Based Mentoring

The MFA in Screenwriting places a strong emphasis on practice and feedback, using rigorous faculty-led workshops throughout the program. Students will work closely with writing mentors and receive valuable critiques from their cohort of peers.

Study from Anywhere

The MFA in Screenwriting is offered as a low-residency program, requiring around two weeks of in-person, Texas-based instruction each year, supplemented by year-round online workshops that can be completed from anywhere in the world. (Learn more…)

Accelerated, Terminal Degree

The Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting is a terminal degree, qualifying graduates to teach at the university-level. With intense, focused classroom instruction during the residencies and year-round online workshops, students earn the 48-credit-hour degree in about two years. (Learn more…)

South by Southwest Film Festival

The MFA tuition includes registration and lodging at the annual South by Southwest Film Festival and Conference in Austin, Texas—the largest media gathering in the state, packed with incredible films, world-class speakers, and dynamic networking opportunities.

Learn from the Best

Each residency features professional filmmakers and writers from a variety of disciplines. The focused retreat structure means students have extensive face-to-face interaction with visiting screenwriters, authors, and poets, while year-round online workshops also facilitate feedback from HCU’s exceptional faculty and distinguished adjunct instructors. (Learn more…)

Strong Christian Foundation

HCU is committed to providing a learning experience that instills a passion for academic, spiritual and professional excellence as a result of our Christian convictions. MFA students explore the rich heritage of our faith, which has guided storytellers, filmmakers, and artists throughout history.

World-Renowned Guest Speakers

We are pleased to host a wide array of experienced, industry veterans as guest speakers and instructors at each of our residencies, as well as through virtual discussions throughout the year. Our recent guests have included:

HCU’s cross-disciplinary writing MFAs bring together screenwriters, novelists, and poets at multiple retreats throughout the year, providing unique opportunities for experienced writers to inspire and challenge a new generation of storytellers.

Our unique model is tailored to fit the active schedules of today’s writers, allowing students to study from anywhere in the world through online workshops, while not sacrificing invaluable face-to-face instruction with faculty, guest instructors, and peers facilitated through Texas-based writers retreats.

With our accelerated, low-residency model, students earn a 48-credit-hour terminal degree in screenwriting in about two years.

For additional information on MFA courses and for the current official degree plan, see the HCU Course Catalog for more details.

MFA in Screenwriting — Sample Schedule

What to expect at the residencies…
Each writing residency is carefully planned to provide an ideal, concentrated creative environment for learning and lasting growth. Bond with peers in small, focused workshops and learn directly from seasoned professional writers and filmmakers through extended conversations in-class and over meals.

The residencies also provide an opportunity to be inspired and challenged by a wide variety of writers, as we bring together poets, fiction authors, creative non-fiction writers, screenwriters, and playwrights in cross-disciplinary discussions.

Summer Destination Retreat
For seven days in mid-August, students travel to a Texas-based retreat location. Be inspired by a fresh locale and the beauty of God’s natural world, as we take a break from our busy lives and gather together to focus on artistry and creativity. With special visiting instructors, the Summer Residency dives into special topics and provides opportunities to explore how artists of faith can create in ways that reflect the goodness, truth, and beauty of our Creator.

Winter On-Campus Residency
For four days in mid-January, students gather on HCU’s campus for classes, workshops, and a conference with special industry guests. Working with HCU equipment and facilities, students may also take part in production workshops with faculty, staging scenes they’ve written.

South by Southwest Film Festival & Conference
During spring break each year, we travel to Austin for the largest media conference in Texas. Watch the latest in independent and studio films, network with fellow filmmakers, and learn from a wide array of industry experts. South by Southwest is a jam-packed, unbeatable experience for every student.

Meals and lodging for the August and January residencies are included in tuition, as well as registration and lodging for South by Southwest. Students are responsible for their own travel arrangements.