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What makes Screenwriting at Worcester special?

Screenwriting at Worcester emphasises learning through practice, giving you the opportunity to nurture your love of story and refine your skills as a writer and media practitioner for the 21st century.

You'll develop your own voice by learning a variety of scriptwriting techniques, building industry awareness and engaging with prospective employers. You'll have opportunities to see your work in production through the University's Digital Arts Centre, Journalism Labs and Drama Studios.

Our lecturers have both academic and professional expertise, with strong industry backgrounds, so they are well placed to challenge your writing abilities and help you create professional networks.

Overview

Overview

Key features

  • Study Screenwriting from your first year; many other universities only offer this level of specialisation through postgraduate qualifications
  • Tailor your degree to your interests by studying Screenwriting in combination with another subject
  • Benefit from regular visits, guest lectures and script feedback from top industry experts
  • Develop a solid portfolio of work, which can act as your springboard for a career in the creative and media industries
  • Gain exposure for your work through national competitions and local arts events
a group of students are sitting and chatting

It’s not too late to apply!

You can still apply to study with us after the January UCAS deadline. Don’t be tempted to rush an application together as fast as you can, you still want to make sure your application and personal statement are as good as possible.

Your teachers can still write you a reference after the January deadline so make sure to let them know you’re applying to university

Register your interest

Enter your details below and we will keep you up to date with useful information about studying at the University of Worcester.


Screenwriting Student Views

Entry requirements

What qualifications will you need?

104
UCAS tariff points

Entry requirements

104 UCAS Tariff points (for example, BCC at A Level)

Other information

In second year, you can choose to increase your Screenwriting studies to follow a Major pathway.

We also encourage mature applicants to apply with relevant qualifications or experience.

If you have any questions about entry requirements, please contact the Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk for advice.

Further information about the UCAS Tariff can be obtained from the UCAS website.

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The Screenwriting Festival at Worcester

Course content

What will you study

Our courses are informed by research and current developments in the discipline and feedback from students, external examiners and employers. Modules do therefore change periodically in the interests of keeping the course relevant and reflecting best practice. The most up-to-date information will be available to you once you have accepted a place and registered for the course. If there are insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, this might not be offered, but we will advise you as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative. 

Year 1

Two year-long, mandatory modules provide a strong foundation in creating ideas, formatting scripts and analysing story design and structure:

  • Scriptwriting: Ideas and Development
  • Story Design and Analysis

Year 2

Mandatory

  • TV Scriptwriting: Concept and Development

Optional

  • Developing the Feature Film
  • Writing for Radio
  • Writing for Interactive Media
  • Script Editing
  • Screen Adaption: Texts and Platforms
  • Playwriting

Year 3

Mandatory

  • Industry, Practices and Applications

Optional

  • Scriptwriting Final Project
  • Dissertation
  • Screenwriting Extension Module
  • Radio and Television Comedy
  • Career Portfolio
  • Writing for Performance

"I had always pictured myself as a writer of short stories and novels I can hardly wait to see a story of mine being made into a film."

Andrew Owens, Creative Writing and Screenwriting student whose short story is to be made into a feature-length film by an independent production company.

Teaching and assessment

How will you be taught?

The University places emphasis on enabling students to develop the independent learning capabilities that will equip you for lifelong learning and future employment, as well as academic achievement. A mixture of independent study, teaching and academic support through the personal academic tutoring system enables you to reflect on progress and build up a profile of skills, achievements and experiences that will enable you to flourish and be successful.

Teaching

You are taught through a combination of lectures, seminars, practical group work, peer review sessions and individual development tutorials.

In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.

You have an opportunity to undertake a work-based module and industry standard projects in the third year of the course, supervised by an appropriate industry mentor and University tutor.

Contact time

In a typical week you will have around 10 contact hours of teaching. The precise contact hours will depend on the optional modules selected and in the final year you will normally have slightly less contact time in order to do more independent study.

Typically class contact time will be structured around:

  • 3 hours of practical workshop and group discussion
  • 1 hour of lecture or group seminar

Independent self-study

In addition to the contact time, you are expected to undertake around 16 hours of personal self-study per week. Typically, this will involve reading journal articles and books, working on practical individual and group projects, undertaking research in the library and online and preparing coursework assignments and presentations.

Independent learning is supported by a range of excellent learning facilities, including the Hive and library resources, the virtual learning environment, and extensive electronic learning resources.

Teaching staff

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course. The team includes senior academics, professional practitioners with industry experience and script development assistants.

Teaching is informed by the research and consultancy, and 75 per cent of course lecturers have a higher education teaching qualification or are Fellows of the Higher Education Academy. You can learn more about the staff by visiting our staff profiles.

Assessment

As with other courses in the University, Screenwriting has a variety of assessment types which are both formative and summative. Formative assessments normally carry no weighting but are critical for the students’ development and preparation for the related summative assessment. Formative assessment can take the form of learning team or peer review or presentations and rehearsed readings. In addition, formative assessment can be a part of the individual tutorial system. Each assessment is aligned with its intended learning outcomes and learning activities so it is clear what is being assessed.

Feedback

You will receive feedback on practice assessments and on formal assessments undertaken by coursework. Feedback is intended to support learning and you are encouraged to discuss it with personal academic tutors and module tutors as appropriate.

We aim to provide you with feedback on formal course work assessments within 20 working days of hand-in.

Programme specification

For comprehensive details on the aims and intended learning outcomes of the course, and the means by which these are achieved through learning, teaching and assessment, please download the latest programme specification document.

Meet The team

You will be taught by a teaching team whose expertise and knowledge are closely matched to the content of the modules on the course.

Mark Holloway

Mark Holloway is an experienced screenwriter for TV, having worked on a wide variety of programmes including Hollyoaks, Grange Hill, Neighbours and Emmerdale. He has written numerous television scripts, played a pivotal role in storylining various television series and worked with a large number of producers, script editors and directors.

He has a strong track record in mentoring new writers, and has introduced TV awards and industry development opportunities for students at the University of Worcester.

Mark has also completed two Young Adult books; The Project and The Lost Planet, and his stage play, Women of Steel, was part of a successful research and community project which celebrated the role women played in the steel industry during World War Two. He continues to work with two other screenwriters developing new TV series ideas, treatments and scripts.

Careers

Where could it take you?

Employability

Screenwriting develops student skills in the practice of writing for a variety of formats, helping graduates to enter the media industry with a substantial portfolio of original scripts. The course also introduces the writer to the many possible areas of employment within the TV, film and radio industries, as well as opportunities within web-based narrative production and gaming. This course also provides a strong basis for further postgraduate study and academic research.

Screenwriting graduates enter careers in:

  • Television and Film Production
  • Script Development
  • Script Editing
  • Directing
  • Arts organisation
  • Publishing
  • Media and journalism
  • Education
  • Media research
  • Advertising
  • Marketing and public relations
  • Film Festival Organisation
  • Business and industry.

Look at some of the examples of skills developed by Screenwriting students in addition to their portfolio of original writing. You will be able to use them on your CV to demonstrate a range of qualities you can offer:

  • Practical skills and experience
  • Working in a team
  • Working independently
  • Writing effectively
  • Communication with others
  • Clear and logical thinking
  • Finding information
  • Evaluating ideas
  • Showing initiative
  • Advance planning and working to deadlines
  • Organising yourself
Two students are walking next to each other and smiling

Careers and Employability

Our Graduates pursue exciting and diverse careers in a wide variety of employment sectors.

Find out how we can support you to achieve your potential.
Costs

How much will it cost?

Full-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2023/24 academic year is £9,250 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

International students

The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2023/24 academic year is £14,700 per year.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Part-time tuition fees

UK and EU students

The standard tuition fees for part-time UK and EU students registering on this course in the academic year 2023/24 are £1,156 per 15-credit module, £1,542 per 20-credit module, £2,312 per 30-credit module, £3,083 per 40-credit module, £3,469 per 45-credit module and £4,625 per 60 credit module.

For more details, please visit our course fees page.

Additional costs

Every course has day-to-day costs for basic books, stationery, printing and photocopying. The amounts vary between courses.

If your course offers a placement opportunity, you may need to pay for an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check.

Accommodation

Finding the right accommodation is paramount to your university experience. Our halls of residence are home to friendly student communities, making them great places to live and study.

We have over 1,000 rooms across our range of student halls. With rooms to suit every budget and need, from our 'Traditional Hall' at £122 per week to 'En-suite Premium' at £207 per week (2023/24 prices).

For full details visit our accommodation page.
How to apply

How do you apply?

Applying through UCAS

Screenwriting is currently studied as part of a joint degree with another subject. Studying a joint degree allows you to interact with experts in related areas, as well as form creative working relationships across different media. In second year, you can choose to increase your Screenwriting studies to follow a Major pathway.

Visit the individual course pages for links to apply via UCAS:

UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for entry onto full-time undergraduate courses in Higher Education in the UK.

Read our How to apply pages for more information on applying and to find out what happens to your application. 

Get in touch

If you have any questions, please get in touch. We're here to help you every step of the way.

Admissions office

admissions@worc.ac.uk
01905 855111

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