Find answers to common questions about the program below.
If you have any other questions or want to speak with someone about the MFA in Writing for Screen and Stage, please email write@northwestern.edu. We look forward to speaking to you!
Yes! We are thrilled to offer full tuition remission as well as a generous stipend for each quarter of the two-year program. We are able to extend this opportunity to all of our admitted students, including international applicants. This means our program not only allows you to earn an MFA without having to worry about tuition, it also pays you so that you can focus more fully on your artistic growth.
In the 2026 application cycle for Fall 2026 matriculation, the application will open on September 29th, 2025.
In the 2026 application cycle for Fall 2026 matriculation, the Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM PST on December 2nd, 2025.
Your storytelling abilities. The ability to surprise. To engage. To enrage. To shock. We are looking for maturity of topic, understanding of character, playfulness with genre. Ambition, scope, passion. In short: Potential. You may submit a play, screenplay or teleplay. No journalism, prose or poetry please.
Most importantly, we are looking for a deeper understanding of your background and goals as a writer. You may also address what you hope to learn in this Program and/or what you will bring to your peer group. When pitching projects for tv/film executives and theater producers, writers are often asked to answer two questions: Why you and why now? As we build our cohort, we would love to hear why your writing matters right now and why you are the only person that can write it.
Yes. One of the reasons this MFA program is so unique is that it allows the student to focus on and/or discover other interests. As a graduate student, you will be able to (and are encouraged to) take advanced classes in departments such as Performance Studies, Radio-TV-Film, Theatre and more. Some examples of such classes are Studies in Film Noir & Neo Noir, Adaptation and Stage of Texts, a seminar on Media and Performance, Computer Animation, Dramatic Directing, Studies in American Theatre and Drama.
Yes, a variety of "topics" courses are usually offered. Some examples of past courses are: Writing The Comedy, Writing Character, Writing Fantasy/Horror/Supernatural, Writing Video Games, Writing Complex Women, Writing Late Night, and Writing the LGBTQIA+ Pilot/Web Series.
Depending on the classes you elect to take, your instructors will most likely vary each quarter. Northwestern instructors are working writers with a wealth of experience (see faculty). They understand the Art of Writing, the Business of Writing, and the Life of a Writer.
We do not require the GRE — your writing sample and artistic voice are the primary considerations for admission.