Develop Your Artistic Skills as a Screenwriter or Playwright
Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts offers a fully online certificate in either screenwriting or playwriting taught by nationally recognized, award-winning screenwriters and playwrights.
The certificate in screenwriting and playwriting program will introduce you to the art of dramatic writing, which is like no other literary form. Like Pittsburgh's three rivers, the confluence of craft, hard work and imagination is the source of all successful storytelling in film, theater, television and the evolving multiplatform storytelling world.
Certificate Program At a Glance
- Class sizes are small and led by faculty with real-world experience.
- Choose to study screenwriting or playwriting.
- Complete the certificate in as little as one year.
Program Goals, Features and Highlights
Program Goals
The graduate certificate in fundamentals of screenwriting or playwriting will give you the time, focus and support needed to create professional quality work to apply yourself in the field of your choice.
As part of a community of writers, you can expect to be challenged and meet the following goals:
- Begin a portfolio of film, theatre, and/or television scripts, along with outlines, treatments, bibles and pitches in the genres of your choice.
- Grow in the ability to develop stories from your own dramatic point of view through the exploration of personal experiences, values and skills.
- Immerse in the collaborative nature of writing for the screen and stage through critical exchanges with mentors, co-writers, directors and actors.
Degree Requirements
Students may select to focus their studies on:
- Screenwriting (film, television, digital, web): plunge into the arduous work of developing scripts
- Playwriting: dive into creating plays
Regardless of focus, the rubrics of storytelling are the same: structure, characterization and story development. As you move through the program, progress in the following will be expected:
- Plot, structure and theme
- Story development
- Collaboration and rewrites
- Dialogue
- Format
- Premise
- Character
The balanced interplay of these fundamentals is essential to producing successful work.
How long will it take to complete?
The 12-credit certificate program can be completed in one year.
How much is tuition?
Tuition is calculated on a per-credit basis. See our tuition and fees chart to calculate the total program cost (multiply the graduate cost per credit by the total number of program credits, which is 12 credits).
Do I need to have written professionally or extensively in order to be qualified for this program?
While admission to the program is selective, we accept applicants with a varying degree of experience writing for the screen or stage.
What is the application deadline?
Applications and portfolios are accepted on a rolling basis. Students may begin in either the fall or spring semester.
What does the application process entail?
- Complete Point Park's graduate application for admission and submit official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended to the Office of Graduate and Online Admissions.
- Submit an artistic portfolio through Acceptd via Point Park University's Acceptd home page.
- Participate in an in-person or distance interview with a faculty member.
Who can I contact for more information?
- Lynn Ribar, director, Graduate and Online Admissions
- Matt Pelfrey, associate professor
Want to go further in your studies? Consider our M.F.A.
Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts offers Downtown Pittsburgh's first low-residency Master of Fine Arts in writing for the screen and stage, a rigorous and challenging program taught by nationally recognized, award-winning screenwriters and playwrights.
Acceptance to the certificate program does not guarantee acceptance to the M.F.A. program.