# CSUN Screenwriting MFA



## StarChild (Mar 16, 2019)

I have an odd question I’m hesitant to ask but haven’t found any info on. Do either of you, @micjagguar @Chris W , know anything about CSUN’s Screenwriting MFA- particularly if they have decent internship opportunities, how they teachers and workshops are and if you’ve ever heard anything “in the biz” positive or negative?
There’s a real gap where any of this info would be, at least from what I’ve found.

I’ve read the few threads on here about it and they don’t generally talk about CSUN much. They usually focus on whatever school CSUN is being compared to.


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## micjagguar (Mar 16, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> I have an odd question I’m hesitant to ask but haven’t found any info on. Do either of you, @micjagguar @Chris W , know anything about CSUN’s Screenwriting MFA- particularly if they have decent internship opportunities, how they teachers and workshops are and if you’ve ever heard anything “in the biz” positive or negative?
> There’s a real gap where any of this info would be, at least from what I’ve found.



i do know some great film/tv editors who have come from CSUN... ironically, a couple of them did get their MFA in screenwriting from there! i can ask them what they felt they got out of the program and send you a private message later on. as far as hearing anything positive or negative "in the biz" about this school, can't say i've heard anything. but, again, most people don't care where/if someone went to school


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## StarChild (Mar 16, 2019)

micjagguar said:


> i do know some great film/tv editors who have come from CSUN... ironically, a couple of them did get their MFA in screenwriting from there! i can ask them what they felt they got out of the program and send you a private message later on. as far as hearing anything positive or negative "in the biz" about this school, can't say i've heard anything. but, again, most people don't care where/if someone went to school


That would be amazing! THANKS!


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## alanray (Mar 17, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> I have an odd question I’m hesitant to ask but haven’t found any info on. Do either of you, @micjagguar @Chris W , know anything about CSUN’s Screenwriting MFA- particularly if they have decent internship opportunities, how they teachers and workshops are and if you’ve ever heard anything “in the biz” positive or negative?
> There’s a real gap where any of this info would be, at least from what I’ve found.
> 
> I’ve read the few threads on here about it and they don’t generally talk about CSUN much. They usually focus on whatever school CSUN is being compared to.


That's funny, I'm the only one I've seen apply to CSUN around these forums. It was just my last resort school. It does have a nice bang for your buck reputation, it's super cheap and still very close to LA. I don't know too much about the program in depth, just that I know a guy that teaches there. He said the MFA program has made good strides in recent years apparently. And the guy I know that teaches there is the best damn teacher I've ever had bar none, so there's that. I've seen CSUN creep up on a few film school lists, it could be considered a top 25 school. That's all I really know. I don't really know if they have a good access to networking or internship opportunities really, which is why I wasn't sure about them. Funny you asked though since you were already accepted to AFI lol


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## StarChild (Mar 17, 2019)

alanray said:


> That's funny, I'm the only one I've seen apply to CSUN around these forums. It was just my last resort school. It does have a nice bang for your buck reputation, it's super cheap and still very close to LA. I don't know too much about the program in depth, just that I know a guy that teaches there. He said the MFA program has made good strides in recent years apparently. And the guy I know that teaches there is the best damn teacher I've ever had bar none, so there's that. I've seen CSUN creep up on a few film school lists, it could be considered a top 25 school. That's all I really know. I don't really know if they have a good access to networking or internship opportunities really, which is why I wasn't sure about them. Funny you asked though since you were already accepted to AFI lol


I applied- ? it’s also, sorta my safety, but also sorta so much less money. I’m THRILLED I got into AFI and I’d love to go there but also $$$. And I’ve read more good things about CSUN recently- like the lists you mentioned but not much else. Ironically, yesterday I found an article that said CSUN only accepts 15 ppl, which means my safety may be harder to get into than the bigger schools (assuming everyone applies to it as a safety which hopefully for us isn’t the case). 
Anyway, at this point, I’d love to get in there and have the burden of choice some others have and see what I think I can financially and all do. In any case the more knowledge the better- always- so knowing more about them, whether I get in or not, would be nice. 
Good luck to you!!!


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## alanray (Mar 17, 2019)

Hey new thread! Lol


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## Chris W (Mar 17, 2019)

alanray said:


> Hey new thread! Lol


Broke it off so it wouldn't get lost in the middle of the AFI thread. (Which is already in a million directions!)


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## alanray (Mar 17, 2019)

Also for anyone reading this in the future I've heard CSUN has great facilities  ?


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## Chris W (Mar 17, 2019)

micjagguar said:


> i do know some great film/tv editors who have come from CSUN... ironically, a couple of them did get their MFA in screenwriting from there! i can ask them what they felt they got out of the program and send you a private message later on. as far as hearing anything positive or negative "in the biz" about this school, can't say i've heard anything. but, again, most people don't care where/if someone went to school


Oooh... Please have them review the school on this page:









						Cal State Northridge (CSUN) - MFA in Screenwriting Program
					

The CSUN Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting Program offers an intensive, pragmatic terminal degree experience that prepares career-minded students..



					www.filmschool.org


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## Isabellagrcia (Mar 17, 2019)

Am in 


Cdemon said:


> I applied- ? it’s also, sorta my safety, but also sorta so much less money. I’m THRILLED I got into AFI and I’d love to go there but also $$$. And I’ve read more good things about CSUN recently- like the lists you mentioned but not much else. Ironically, yesterday I found an article that said CSUN only accepts 15 ppl, which means my safety may be harder to get into than the bigger schools (assuming everyone applies to it as a safety which hopefully for us isn’t the case).
> Anyway, at this point, I’d love to get in there and have the burden of choice some others have and see what I think I can financially and all do. In any case the more knowledge the better- always- so knowing more about them, whether I get in or not, would be nice.
> Good luck to you!!!


Am in the exact same position as you! I’d heard from a previous professor that CSUN was a pretty good school.


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## StarChild (Mar 17, 2019)

Yeah, I’m glad to hear there are a few of us. I was kinda waiting for a CSUN thread to bloom, thanks @Chris W, it sounds like it’s a decent program and so affordable. I haven’t heard much about their internships etc, but I want to take a tour and hopefully find out


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## biacelani (Mar 18, 2019)

Hey y'all! I'm applying to CSUN as well. 4 people in total now, this thread is growing by the minute lol. CSUN is also my safety school and I'll probably be going to AFI (I'm on the Fulbright scholarship so luckily $$ isn't a big factor).

But anyways, I'm still curious to know more about CSUN since it was hella hard to find any info on the program when I was researching. What honestly drawed me to the program where all those interviews with Eric Edson on Film Courage <3
He seems so sweet and passionate about screenwriting, I could listen to him talk all day.



alanray said:


> Also for anyone reading this in the future I've heard CSUN has great facilities  ?


Also, this ?
CSUN literally has a spa/wellness center on their campus and I love them for it haha


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## StarChild (Mar 18, 2019)

That’s great about the Fulbright! 

I’ll check out the videos by Eric Edson. I haven’t seen them.


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## biacelani (Mar 19, 2019)

I just received my acceptance letter via email! Anyone else?


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## alanray (Mar 19, 2019)

Yep! I just got accepted too! I have options now lol. Although the fact they only give us a week to accept or deny enrollment is ridiculous


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## Isabellagrcia (Mar 19, 2019)

Me too!


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## Isabellagrcia (Mar 19, 2019)

Wow, we have to let them know by the 26th. That seems so soon.


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## alanray (Mar 19, 2019)

Isabellagrcia said:


> Wow, we have to let them know by the 26th. That seems so soon.


I know that’s crazy!


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## alanray (Mar 19, 2019)

So apparently they only accept 14 students a year? And I heard there was 78 applicants this year so that’s a 18% acceptance rate. Wow didn’t think it was that hard to get in


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## StarChild (Mar 19, 2019)

Yup I got in too. Well, out of 14 we made a good showing!


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## StarChild (Mar 19, 2019)

alanray said:


> So apparently they only accept 14 students a year? And I heard there was 78 applicants this year so that’s a 18% acceptance rate. Wow didn’t think it was that hard to get in


How do you know how many ppl applied?


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## alanray (Mar 19, 2019)

Wow all four of us that applied here all got in as apart of the 14 total. That's impressive guys! 



Cdemon said:


> How do you know how many ppl applied?


My friend that works there told me 78 applied!


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## StarChild (Mar 19, 2019)

With a week to decide, I’m curious people’s thoughts? 
I’m gonna try to get to your CSUN ASAP, but idk if I’ll make it before 26th.


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## alanray (Mar 19, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> With a week to decide, I’m curious people’s thoughts?
> I’m gonna try to get to your CSUN ASAP, but idk if I’ll make it before 26th.


I know one week is so soon... I thought they weren't supposed to notify us till April, seems like they got it done early this year. Yeah there's no way in hell I'll get to tour CSUN before the 26th lol. I'm not gonna flat out say no to CSUN just yet- I'm not going to reject them right now or anything. I'll think about it a bit more. But I am still leaning towards Chapman at the moment  ?


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## alanray (Mar 20, 2019)

@Cdemon 
WBU?


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## StarChild (Mar 20, 2019)

alanray said:


> @Cdemon
> WBU?


Honestly I don’t feel like I have enough info. So I’m gonna try and ask a lot of questions and go see the schools. I’m out of town this week, so that makes it harder but I can at least ask my questions.  I wanna know things like internship opportunities for both places I got in, alumni network, career services after graduating, fellowships allowed while there or no, any chance to produce work with the undergrads at CSUN, all that good stuff.


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## alanray (Mar 20, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> Honestly I don’t feel like I have enough info. So I’m gonna try and ask a lot of questions and go see the schools. I’m out of town this week, so that makes it harder but I can at least ask my questions.  I wanna know things like internship opportunities for both places I got in, alumni network, career services after graduating, fellowships allowed while there or no, any chance to produce work with the undergrads at CSUN, all that good stuff.


Ahhhh that’s smart!


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## StarChild (Mar 22, 2019)

Did any of you get the CSUN welcome packet? I’m curious to look through it if you wouldn’t mind sharing. ?


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## alanray (Mar 22, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> Did any of you get the CSUN welcome packet? I’m curious to look through it if you wouldn’t mind sharing. ?


You mean the packet that comes in the acceptance email?


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## biacelani (Mar 22, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> Did any of you get the CSUN welcome packet? I’m curious to look through it if you wouldn’t mind sharing. ?


I just got a scholarship application form and my acceptance letter (which includes stuff like what classes you'll be taking in the first semester and some financial info). It's only 3 pages long so I'm assuming it's not the welcome packet.


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## wysm (Mar 26, 2019)

Did anyone decide on CSUN?


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## biacelani (Mar 26, 2019)

wysm said:


> Did anyone decide on CSUN?


No, just emailed them declining the offer. (Thanks for the reminder, btw)


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## as123 (Mar 26, 2019)

Just accepted their offer. Did anyone else get an e-mail from them following up about decision?


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## StarChild (Mar 26, 2019)

as123 said:


> Just accepted their offer. Did anyone else get an e-mail from them following up about decision?


Awesome! What information did you get or what do you know about the program and alumni?


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## as123 (Mar 26, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> Awesome! What information did you get or what do you know about the program and alumni?


They didn’t given me any more information yet; they just sent me a reminder e-mail to make sure I got the official offer earlier today.


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## StarChild (Apr 14, 2019)

Hey guys! Some of us in LA are trying to do an LA gathering- not ‘school’ specific just film school peeps. 

Come! 



			https://www.filmschool.org/threads/welcome-los-angeles-peeps.26159/post-169254
		


We’ll do another one at end of summer when everyone is around for school too.


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## Gigawatt (Aug 19, 2019)

Late to the party, but excited to share that I'll be going to CSUN this fall as well! Excited to meet everyone else who accepted their offer.

I won't be able to make orientation but will see everyone on the first day of class!

And look forward to reporting back, on my experience. And will ask about internship opportunities. Something I'm also curious about.


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## hrhblakeknight (Aug 20, 2019)

Cdemon said:


> I have an odd question I’m hesitant to ask but haven’t found any info on. Do either of you, @micjagguar @Chris W , know anything about CSUN’s Screenwriting MFA- particularly if they have decent internship opportunities, how they teachers and workshops are and if you’ve ever heard anything “in the biz” positive or negative?
> There’s a real gap where any of this info would be, at least from what I’ve found.
> 
> I’ve read the few threads on here about it and they don’t generally talk about CSUN much. They usually focus on whatever school CSUN is being compared to.



Hello! I see many of you have gotten in to this program by the time I'm posting this, so best of luck to you all. But I wanted to give my input because I was accepted to the CSUN MFA program in 2018 and took part in it for a full year; however, I recently decided not to go back and complete the program's second and final year... for a number of reasons.

1) *LACK OF NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES*. This was my main peeve with the program. Networking opportunities were non-existent, unfortunately. I asked a few of the professors and the head of the program about this aspect of the MFA many times - as it is crucial to a career in screenwriting - and I was never given a solid answer. I happen to know a few people/execs in the industry as well, who asked me to reach out to CSUN on their behalf because they had internship/job opportunities that they wanted to share with the school. When I gave them the dept. head's contact info, two of them told me they reached out to him and never received a response whatsoever. I followed up with the dept. head and he simply said, "Oh, yes, I do remember seeing that name... Please have them email me again." But by that time, the opportunities were long gone. This is key because not only are you required to find an internship and take an internship course during your last semester of the MFA, but it's also a very important part of the job and working in Hollywood. I know the UCLA and USC have amazing opportunities in this regard; but, alas, I applied to each of those schools and couldn't get in.

2) *STRICTLY PEDAGOGIC*. The program is much more tailored to those who want to teach screenwriting at the college level than it does for those who actually want to be screenwriters. I say this not only because of my previous reason - lack of networking - but also because I spoke to one of the profs who's been there since the inception of the program who told me as much outright. Additionally, there was a lot of repetition in many of the lessons we learned.

3) *VERY STRUCTURE-BASED COURSEWORK*. I'm all for studying structure and form, but I also think that people entering a screenwriting Master's program should have a fairly good handle on that before joining. One of the professors who taught two of our courses over the first year taught his very-specific, step-by-step breakdown of how to break a story using his unique concept. It was very specific and odd, and we spent a LOT of time focusing on only his method, when there are dozens out there, many of which have proven to be great! I actually really liked this prof on a personal level, but I do not like that 2 of the 7 course I paid for dealt entirely with his methods and didn't allow for exploration of the many other forms.

4) *LOOSE SYLLABI*. Unfortunately, about 2 of the 7 courses that were taught didn't have syllabi at all, or really seem to have much of a purpose. In our teaching for screenwriting course, there were 14 of us. Basically, two of us came in each class and gave a lesson each week, and the prof provided very minimal feedback at the end of each lesson. It was like we weren't being taught anything at all. The lessons were all lead by other students in my peer group, and while some of them were great, I didn't expect to have to pay for and take valuable time (driving and attending) out of my nights to listen to other students speculate on what the best way to do _____ might be.

*TAKE AWAY*: If you don't know anything about screenwriting at all at this point in your life, OR if you're set on _teaching_ screenwriting someday, this might be a good program for you. But if you're looking for industry connections and opportunities, save your money and look elsewhere (unless they revamp the program sometime in the next few years). The best part of the first year of the program, in my opinion, happened to be the two courses we took with adjunct professors who had real-life experience working in writers rooms. They were able to provide excellent feedback and guidance while we were working on our one-hour spec and half-hour original comedy pilots, and I feel that I can take those samples away and actually put them to use.

When I joined this program, I'd already studied screenwriting as an undergrad a bit, and worked some in the industry. I'd written a few episodes for an Emmy-nominated show and sold three concepts to a streaming network as well. I got a tip from a working writer that CSUN's film dept. had just gotten some kind of $8m influx via donations or something, but that wasn't evident in any part of the program, which was fine. That said, I was really hoping that the CSUN program would provide the networking opportunities and the chances to collaborate with other talented student directors, actors, producers, etc.--and it did not.


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## alanray (Aug 21, 2019)

hrhblakeknight said:


> Hello! I see many of you have gotten in to this program by the time I'm posting this, so best of luck to you all. But I wanted to give my input because I was accepted to the CSUN MFA program in 2018 and took part in it for a full year; however, I recently decided not to go back and complete the program's second and final year... for a number of reasons.
> 
> 1) *LACK OF NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES*. This was my main peeve with the program. Networking opportunities were non-existent, unfortunately. I asked a few of the professors and the head of the program about this aspect of the MFA many times - as it is crucial to a career in screenwriting - and I was never given a solid answer. I happen to know a few people/execs in the industry as well, who asked me to reach out to CSUN on their behalf because they had internship/job opportunities that they wanted to share with the school. When I gave them the dept. head's contact info, two of them told me they reached out to him and never received a response whatsoever. I followed up with the dept. head and he simply said, "Oh, yes, I do remember seeing that name... Please have them email me again." But by that time, the opportunities were long gone. This is key because not only are you required to find an internship and take an internship course during your last semester of the MFA, but it's also a very important part of the job and working in Hollywood. I know the UCLA and USC have amazing opportunities in this regard; but, alas, I applied to each of those schools and couldn't get in.
> 
> ...


Really insightful and useful input! Thanks for the well-articulated review. I wish all the CSUN students luck, hopefully it is able to benefit them more  I heard the program is making changes, hopefully it continues to improve! I'm literally just curious, what made you decide to go back to grad school after writing tv episodes and having already sold three concepts? It sounds like you were already pretty successful and well connected (at least to my plebeian ears). I'm not in the industry yet so I was just wondering about the current landscape from someone who's already been involved in the industry.


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## hrhblakeknight (Aug 22, 2019)

alanray said:


> Really insightful and useful input! Thanks for the well-articulated review. I wish all the CSUN students luck, hopefully it is able to benefit them more  I heard the program is making changes, hopefully it continues to improve! I'm literally just curious, what made you decide to go back to grad school after writing tv episodes and having already sold three concepts? It sounds like you were already pretty successful and well connected (at least to my plebeian ears). I'm not in the industry yet so I was just wondering about the current landscape from someone who's already been involved in the industry.



The main reason I applied to grad schools in the first place was for the networking. While I have had some writing success and currently have about 36 episodes of 4 different shows being produced or in pre- or post-production, all of the work I've done so far has been for non-union projects. That's all good and well, and I'm thankful for those opportunities, but I'm trying to make the leap into the big leagues now (and I want to make that real $$$!). CSUN didn't see to have an alumni network set up whatsoever for people working in entertainment, which is a huge mistake given their undergrad/grad degree tracts and their proximity to Hollywood and all the studios. A handful of people in my cohort tried to set up a monthly meeting to get something like this going, but we didn't have access to all of the alumni and it ended up being people from our MFA meeting up and chatting. I almost feel like I could've saved a ton of money and joined a handful of rigorous, independent writer's workshops in the city, or taken classes with consultants like Jen Grisanti, to get the same results. However, as I mentioned, if you want to TEACH writing, I think the CSUN MFA would be a good choice.


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