Screenwriting

COURSE OVERVIEW

Could you write an award-winning film, TV drama or animation? Or devise a multi-layered narrative for a ground-breaking game?

This rigorous, practical course has a long history of producing outstanding writers for film, television, animation and games, and will give you the chance to see your writing tested in production.

In partnership with BBC Drama

"Studying at the NFTS was completely invaluable to starting my career. Not only did I meet wonderful tutors who helped nurture my voice as a screenwriter, it also gave me direct access to the industry which helped get my writing read by agents and led to me being signed."

Laurie Nunn

NFTS graduate - creator of Sex Education

Programme Specification Full Course Outline

The voice of the individual screenwriter is at the heart of our course. You’ll be taught by working screenwriters, producers and script developers, and your voice will be nurtured, developed and challenged to produce work of quality and originality, ready to take out to the industry.

All aspects of professional screenwriting are addressed, with the added benefit that you will also collaborate with other departments – including fiction, animation, producing and games - putting into practice the skills you learn throughout the course.

We are excited to announce this MFA course is part of an innovative slate of new qualifications from 2025/2026. Our A Fresh Take page tells you all you need to know!

This is a hands-on course set in a working film and television studio – something that is unique to studying Screenwriting at the NFTS. You’ll cover all aspects of screenwriting across film, television, games and animation, in different forms and genres, from the development of ideas, treatments and bibles, through the drafting of scripts, into production and post, and you’ll receive comprehensive preparation for the professional world of the screenwriter.

You will also have your writing workshopped by professional directors and actors and, working with student producers and directors, have the chance to see your writing tested in production. Samples of your work will be read by literary agents, broadcasters, commissioners and film and television production companies, in advance of a round of industry meetings in your final term where you can pitch your ideas directly to the industry.

The course is intensive and full-time and requires a high level of dedication, a prolific output, and the ability to meet professional deadlines.
You will need to display a talent and passion for screenwriting, a fund of ideas and the desire to tell stories for the screen. You may have written in other forms - plays, novels, short stories, journalism – or already have a body of work, but whatever your experience, your writing must demonstrate an original voice with something to say.

Professional experience in any field is an advantage, in particular work in film, TV or theatre, or allied creative arts. A sound general knowledge of film, TV and theatre writing is expected, as well as a high level of self-discipline and personal motivation.

While many applicants will have a degree from a British or overseas university, we will consider applicants who do not have a degree if they have an impressive portfolio, a creative track record or an alternative qualification.

International students Visa and English language requirements

If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk

Home Tuition Fees: £14,950 per year

Includes UK/Irish Nationals and EU/EEA Nationals with EU Settlement Status, subject to meeting residency requirements. For more information, please see our FAQs.

International Tuition Fees: £26,500 per year

Includes non-EU/EEA Nationals and EU/EEA Nationals without EU Settlement Status

These are the fees for January 2025 intake, and are updated yearly toward the end of June.

All production costs are included in the course fees, including the use of School facilities and equipment.

Please note, the following application fees apply:

Non-refundable deposit on confirmation of place: £500

The NFTS is committed to ensuring it is open to students of genuine ability, no matter what their background or financial circumstances, which is why we award more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK.

The following item(s) should accompany your online application:

12 pages of an original screenplay, together with a one-page (A4) synopsis. The screenplay should be the first 12 pages of a longer work or a short film script of 12 pages. It should be presented in a standard screenplay format as per Final Draft, Celtx, etc. All work must be original and must not be adapted or co-authored. It should include a one-page synopsis of the entire story, at the beginning of the screenplay. The screenplay and synopsis should be included in one document to upload and include your full name on the first page.

Applications will close at 23:59 on the day of the deadline, shown at the top of this page.

Funding Available

The NFTS awards more scholarships and bursaries to British students, relative to the size of our student body, than almost any other educational institution in the UK. If you’re successful at gaining a place on the course, you will be contacted by our funding team with details on how to apply for one of these scholarships.

Visit our Funding Guide

Tutors

Head of Screenwriting

Brian Ward

The Interpreter / Death Defying Acts

Brian Ward

Main Campus

Course Leader for Screenwriting: Finding Your Voice - London

Tammy Riley-Smith

Credits include Lady M, Delicious and Ain't Misbehavin'

Tammy Riley-Smith

Visiting Tutor

Angeli Macfarlane

Development Producer, writer and founder of Script Cube

Angeli Macfarlane

Student Showcase

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Crab Day (trailer)
2023 graduate animation

Director/Lead Animator - Ross Stringer
Producer - Bartosz Stanislawek
Screenwriter - Aleksandra Sykulak

As part of a fishing community’s annual ritual, a young boy must kill his first crab in order to become a man and gain his father’s approval.

Crab Day won the British Short Animation award at the 2024 EE BAFTAs.

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Terminus (or How Dr. Clark Almost Saved The World) (trailer)
2022 graduate fiction film

Director - Sarah Knar
Producer - Alfred Deragne
Screenwriter - Hipatia Argüero Mendoza

It has been raining for weeks on end. A young woman commits herself to a psychiatric clinic, claiming that she is the cause of the rain, and that she has the power to end the world.

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Harp Song (trailer)
2022 graduate game

Designers/Developers/Story - Stephen Glenister, Ástráður "Ace" Ísak Lárusson
Writer - Paul Carey

Harp Song is a narrative-adventure game set in ancient Ireland. Inspired by Irish mythology, our heroine, Clár, is pulled into an on-going war between the old Gods.

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Other Half (trailer)
2021 graduate animation

Director - Lina Kalcheva
Producer - Michelle Brøndum
Screenwriter - Laura Jayne Tunbridge

As an Individual Being in a world comprised of Merged Couples, Ren embarks on a hero’s quest to find his other half and become complete.

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City of Lost Children (trailer)
2020 graduate fiction film

Director - Misha Vertkin
Producer - Jesse Romain
Screenwriter - Brid Arnstein

City of Lost Children is a near future thriller set in a refugee camp for kids in the UK. We follow Dami and Azra as they negotiate the chaos of the camp, desperately trying to find a home for Dami before Azra is deported the next day.