# USC Screenwriting vs. NYU Dramatic Writing



## dansmind (Mar 22, 2007)

I have been accepted to both the USC Writing for Screen and Television program and NYU's Dramatic Writing program. There's a lot of talk about how NYU has a more artistic/creative/independent filmmaking program, while USC's program is more Hollywood-oriented and by-the-rulebook, but I'm wondering if the same holds true for their writing programs. I think that USC's writing program is much more selective than NYU's, which makes me wonder if USC actually produces more creative, stronger screenwriters than NYU, even though NYU (imo) creates better producers. Does anyone know anything about either of these programs?


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## wing2871x (Mar 23, 2007)

I'm wondering this also. I got into dramatic writing but I'm waiting to hear from USC still. When were you informed?


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## Alex"blakc007" (Mar 23, 2007)

I don't know about this topic...but which program MFA or BFA are you guys talking about? Was it hard to get into ?


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## wing2871x (Mar 23, 2007)

i dunno about the topic creator, but im talking about undergrad BFA


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## dansmind (Mar 24, 2007)

I'm talking about BFA as well. I heard back from usc about a week ago. The programs are both selective, especially USC's, which I think has a 3% acceptance rate.


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## Palm Tree Armada (Mar 24, 2007)

Dan- the 3% number is for production, i believe, but screenwriting is probably very very similar. I think there are 75 people admitted to screenwriting and 50 to production.

As for the screenwriting programs at the two schools, I have no idea which is "better," but they're very very different schools. Go with your gut.


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## wing2871x (Mar 24, 2007)

Screenwriting lets in 26 students a year, that includes transfers, its much smaller than production, which lets in around 50-52, according to what they told me... critical studies takes a decent amount of people as well


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## Palm Tree Armada (Mar 24, 2007)

I stand corrected then. 75 might be critical studies, then.


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## dansmind (Mar 24, 2007)

On the website for USC's writing program it says that 26 undergraduates and 32 graduates are admitted out of thousands of applicants. Even if "thousands" only meant 2,000 applicants, the acceptance rate for the program would be 3%. 

For others who might be interested in the topic of this post, after posting I did further research on the two programs. Compared to USC's program, NYU's Dramatic Writing program has a lot more focus on playwriting and script analysis, and not nearly as much focus on the study of films or introducing students to the craft of production--topics which I am more interested in.

NYU's Film+TV program, on the other hand, is actually flexible enough to allow students to design a program very similar to USC's screenwriting program. Now I really regret not having done this research before; I wish I had applied to NYU's Film+TV program.


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## Brian Burstein (Mar 24, 2007)

Hey guys, I'm actually an undergrad in NYU's dramatic writing program. The biggest difference between the programs is that NYU has you study both playwriting and screenwriting, at least for the first two years. Then you can concentrate in playwriting, screenwriting or tv writing.

As far as a well-rounded, more production oriented program is concerned, don't forget that at NYU you can minor in producing, as well as being able to take some serious film production courses over the summer. I'm doing both, actually. I don't know what USC offers, so I can't compare.


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## wing2871x (Mar 24, 2007)

brian, could you tell us about the classes/teachers, etc? difficulty? where most ppl in tisch live? very curious


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## dansmind (Mar 25, 2007)

Thanks for posting, Brian. I'm wondering, do you have any interest in playwriting? As someone who doesn't, do you think spending my time analyzing and writing plays is not a productive use of time, or is it something that will really benefit my future screenwriting? Also, how optimistic are you of achieving success as a playwright or screenwriter after the program finishes? Again, thanks for taking the time to answer.


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## Brian Burstein (Mar 25, 2007)

wing2871x, all the teachers i've had have been great. Classes aren't difficult, you get out of them what you put in. You take a writing workshop course each semester, along with a text analysis course for 5 semesters, 2 semesters of production courses (1 digital filmmaking, 1 stage production), and an internship for at least a semester. As far as where ppl live, do you mean where they come from or where they dorm? They come from all over, and they dorm with all of the other students at NYU, there's no distinction when in comes to housing. Hope that helps.

dansmind, I had the same question about playwriting when I was applying. In reality, I spent just a semester and a half on playwriting, so it's not something to worry about. The reason why they do that is so if a producer sees your work and thinks you'd be great to write their play, you're experienced in that as well. It's a good background to have, and you get a perpective on your writing from a professor you otherwise would not have had, so I'm glad I had to take a playwriting course. I feel much more confident now that I'd be able to write a screenplay for someone if I were put in a position to, but achieving success really depends on the person. My advice is to do as many internships as you can and to take a bunch of producing/production courses -- being experienced in production really helped get me a great internship and you never know what you might be doing.


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## dansmind (Mar 25, 2007)

I do really want to learn production skills, even though I'm more interested in being a screenwriter, because I think that being skilled in production will open up a lot of career opportunities. When I looked at the Tisch course catalogue, it seemed to me that the production electives for the Dramatic Writing program were there only to provide students with an introduction to production, rather than to develop their skills enough so that they could actually work in production. Can Dramatic Writing students take advanced production courses in the Film+TV department as electives?


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## dansmind (Mar 25, 2007)

Also (sorry to be asking so many questions), are Film+TV students who elect to take screenwriting courses ever mixed with the Dramatic Writing students, or are they always separated by major? Thanks.


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## Brian Burstein (Mar 25, 2007)

You can take advanced production courses offered in the Film/TV major, but typically only over the summer. Film/TV now has several writing courses for its students, but these courses are taught by professors in the film/tv dept., not the dramatic writing dept., and are independent of the dramatic writing courses.


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## wing2871x (Mar 26, 2007)

i just got into chapman screenwriting today. how does that compare to these two programs? also how might LMU compare, i believe i will get in there.


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## dansmind (Mar 27, 2007)

I'd also appreciate if someone who knows something about USC Screenwriting program would post.


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## wing2871x (Mar 29, 2007)

still waiting from usc... and still wondering about this... chapman vs usc vs nyu screenwriting...


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## Leah Cameron (Apr 14, 2007)

I applied to the MFA screenwriting programs at Columbia and Tisch and didn't get into either. WAH! Does anyone know if it's easier to get into the undergrad versions of these programs at these schools and what the age range normally is?

THANKS!


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## Cine (Apr 15, 2007)

> Originally posted by Leah Cameron:
> I applied to the MFA screenwriting programs at Columbia and Tisch and didn't get into either. WAH! Does anyone know if it's easier to get into the undergrad versions of these programs at these schools and what the age range normally is?
> 
> THANKS!



Do you have BA degree? And what are your scores?


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