Master of Fine Arts in TV + Screenwriting

 

Why Stephens?

Our program — with its bold, daring mission — has drawn the attention and the support of some of the most successful and well-known writers in Hollywood. Our faculty and mentors include some of the best working writers in the profession, and our curriculum includes an in-depth look at the business side of TV and screenwriting.

• Our community of professors and professional working writers are available to help you develop your vision, your voice and your career. And they’ll do it on your schedule, on your time and between all the other demands of your busy life.  International students pay no extra tuition fees.
• Learning the craft of writing is essential, but so is learning the business of selling what you write. We will provide you with access to prominent showrunners, writers from the film world, development executives, agents and managers.
• Our graduates have a remarkable record of success, having written on shows such as "Ramy," "13 Reasons Why," "Seal Team," "Generations," and "The Equalizer." 

See more alumni accomplishments >

This program changed my life by giving me a real understanding of what it takes to be a writer in this industry. But more importantly, it gave me colleagues to collaborate with. Currently, I am working on four projects with writers I met while getting my MFA. They have become dear friends and excellent partners!"

Featured Panel Discussions

Anatomy of a Meet Cute: Writing Romantic Comedies

During each of our Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting Residency Workshops our Executive Director, Dr. Rosanne Welch, moderates a panel of WGA writers on a topic of interest to our MFA candidates. This January it was: Anatomy of a Meet Cute: Writing Romantic Comedies. Panelists included MFA alum Sahar Jahani (Writer, Hana Khan Carries On, The Bold Type, Ramy), Tracy Andreen (Writer, The Holiday Sitter, All Saints Christmas, Two Tickets to Paradise); Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith (Writer/Producer, Trinkets, Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Ugly Truth); and Nia Vardalos (Writer/Director/Actor, My Big Fat Greek Wedding films, Larry Crowne, I Hate Valentine’s Day).

 Transitioning to TV Writing from Previous Careers

During every workshop intensive, Executive Director Dr. Rosanne Welch moderates a panel of female screenwriters discussing various topics. Our 2021 Writers Guild Foundation panel featured TV writers who transitioned to television from previous careers. Panelists included: an alumna of the Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting, Rashaan Dozier-Escalante (Staff Writer, "SEAL Team"; former career: Senior Physical Security Analyst for federal agencies, U.S. Army Reserve veteran), Calaya Stallworth (a former college English professor who's a writer on "Fear the Walking Dead"), Zoanne Clack (an M.D. who's an executive producer on "Grey's Anatomy"), and Akilah Green (a former lawyer-lobbyist who's a writer on HBO's "A Black Lady Sketch Show" and Showtime's "Black Monday"). 

More than the New 30: Writing Female Characters Over 50

Dr. Rosanne Welch moderated this Writers Guild Foundation panel of female television writers who discuss their experiences developing film and TV characters over the age of 50, how characters have been depicted in the past, and how shows and films are combating ageist stereotypes and subverting expectations. Panelists include:Marta Kauffman -- Creator and Executive Producer of Grace and FrankieLucia Aniello -- Co-Creator, Executive Producer and Director of HacksMeg DeLoatch -- Executive Producer of The Neighborhood and Family ReunionCindy Chupack -- Executive Producer of I'm Dying Up Here, and Co-Writer and Director of Otherhood.

 

Between the Sheets: Writing About Sex on TV

Dr. Rosanne Welch moderated this Writers Guild Foundation panel of female television writers discussing how to write sex scenes with a female focus. Featured panelists are:  Michelle Ashford (Masters of Sex);  Cindy Chupack (Sex and the City);  Dayna Lynne North (Insecure); Gladys Rodriguez (Vida, Sons of Anarchy) and MFA alum Sahar Jahani (Ramy, 13 Reasons Why).<

 

My Stephens MFA made me a better artist-scholar. Its mission for radical inclusivity inspired my stories and shaped my teaching. I am more deeply committed to telling untold stories than ever. I received several job offers and promotion upon graduation. The emphasis on cutting-edge learning techniques has also shaped my teaching. This program took me to the next level in my career, and I’m not done yet."

Faculty + Mentors

• Our faculty and mentors include Writers Guild Award and Oscar and Emmy winners, showrunners, writer-producers from hit one-hour dramas and half-hour shows, and working writers with extensive teaching backgrounds.
• Between residencies, you’ll work online with at least four different mentors.

Meet the MFA faculty + mentors >

Our veteran instructors/mentors and guest speakers were fun to listen to and interact with. Their wealth of first-hand knowledge and generous feedback was truly priceless and a great privilege.

 

Program Structure

The Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting is the first low-residency program of its kind in the country and is the first to focus on the mission of bringing more female writers into mainstream Hollywood, and studying film with a female gaze.

Being a low-residency program means the MFA candidate is responsible for traveling to Hollywood for 10 days at the beginning of each semester (in the first weeks of August and January) for a workshop experience worth 3 credit units. We hold the workshops in the historic heart of Hollywood. Their other courses are taken online across the rest of the semester under the mentorship of instructors chosen because they are all working writers and members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA). From the start we committed to provide high-quality online learning for our MFA candidates by hiring mentors with experience in online teaching and providing them with extra tools and training when needed. 

Each semester, MFA candidates take 3 courses. In their first year they have one mentor for a television script and one mentor for a screenplay. The television mentors change each semester because in fall students write a spec script and in spring a pilot; the screenplay mentor is onboard for the whole year, as the fall semester is all about developing an outline and writing Act One of the screenplay, and then the spring semester is completing and revising the script.

In year two, there's a second screenplay written (with a different mentor) and a Thesis project, which can be anything from a web series to a limited series pilot and bible to a group of short films to a written academic thesis. By the time the MFA candidate graduates, they will have experienced, at minimum, four different mentors. Throughout the two years, they take a History of Screenwriting class. That's the most like an online classroom experience, with selected readings and viewing films each week, and then posting online responses to the material. At the end of each semester, MFA candidates turn in a profile of a screenwriter -- we compiled 22 profiles into the book WHEN WOMEN WROTE HOLLYWOOD, published by McFarlane Press in 2017.

Explore the MFA Curriculum >

 

Beyond acclimating me to the business of film writing and improving my scriptwriting in general, the program has helped me know how to network, jump on opportunities, and search out others in film.

Program Publications

When Women Wrote Hollywood: an award-winning book by the MFA Class of 2017

The inaugural class of the Stephens MFA in TV and Screenwriting collaborated on a collection of essays about the lives of female screenwriters from the Golden Age of Hollywood. These writers helped create unforgettable stories and characters beloved by generations of audiences, but their names have been left out of most film histories. Chapters trace the careers of such writers as Anita Loos, Adela Rogers St. Johns and Lillian Hellman, and explore themes of their writing in classics like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Ben-Hur and It’s a Wonderful Life. Along with bringing more female voices and women-focused stories into mainstream films and television, the Stephens MFA students’ mission is to bring more recognition to the women who came before them. Edited by MFA program director Dr. Rosanne Welch and published in 2018, the book was named runner-up for the Susan Koppelman Award honoring the best anthology, multi-authored, or edited book in feminist studies by the Popular Culture Association.

Read a review by the Columbia Daily Tribune: "Righting History: Book by Stephens students elevates women screenwriters."

I already miss our workshops in L.A. Attending Stephens College was a wonderful experience in my life and I'll miss everyone very much.

 

In the News

• International Screenwriting Conference in Columbia, Missouri | Missouri Film Office
• Phil LaZebnik Keynotes at the Screenwriting Research Network 2023 conference | YouTube
• International Screenwriting Conference coming to COMO | COMO Magazine
• Dr. Rosanne Welch Interview – She Served Too | KOPN FM, Columbia, Missouri [Audio]
• Screenwriters and academics converge on Stephens College for international conference | Columbia Daily Tribune
• MFA Alum writes segment of Sesame Street and receives EMMY Nomination
  
• MFA program receives special commendation from the City of Los Angeles | YouTube
• Read Rosanne Welch's monthly column on Script
• Read the MFA Newsletter for the Latest Information