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Posted

Yeah, he responded to me too - offers have gone out to finalists and I'm not one of them : (   I really like Ohio's program, so I feel sad, but I expected it. Hope everyone else had better results! 

Posted (edited)

Two questions:

1) Has anyone on this forum interviewed with or attended Catholic University? Or know someone who's attended? I would love to hear anything anyone has to share. I have a phone interview with them tomorrow...

2) Did Indiana ever send out rejections? I haven't heard from them and was assuming that meant they weren't interested but just wanted to see if anyone else had officially received anything. I got my rejection from Iowa sometime last month. 

Edited by emmadlemma
Posted
12 hours ago, emmadlemma said:

@Zebras4Ever Thank you! It went well. Currently trying to decide whether to accept their offer or go through another round of applications this year.

Congrats on getting in! Have you spoken to alumni of the program? If not, I'm sure someone there could put you in touch with a few. Good luck!

Posted (edited)

Hi all, hope everyone is doing okay and got into a program they want to go to. For anyone who's applying next year, I thought my research notes from this past application season might be useful. I researched every program listed on https://pwcenter.org/playwriting-toolkit/graduate-programs-playwriting-dramaturgy

Some of the info below is ONLY good for this application season - the due dates may be very different for the 2019-2018 - but I figured it might help future applicants get an idea of each program.

Playwriting Programs Research

  1. Arizona State University (Tempe)
    • MFA in Theatre with a Concentration in Dramatic Writing
    • $70 application fee
    • Application due by February 1st
    • 1 full length play or multiple one acts
    • “you should have an undergraduate major in Theatre or in Creative Writing, with a GPA of 3.00 or above. An applicant may have an undergraduate degree outside of theatre or film and may be admitted on the basis of excellent creative writing and academic work.”
    • https://filmdancetheatre.asu.edu

 

  1. Augsburg College (Minneapolis)
    • low-residency MFA in Creative Writing with a Playwriting & Screenwriting Track
    • 3 summer residencies and online courses during semesters
    • 1 letter or recommendation
    • Application due February 1st
    • http://www.augsburg.edu/mfa/admissions-process/
    • Official transcripts required
    • Will cost about $30-35K, doesn’t look like there are any school-awarded scholarships, not sure

 

  1. Boston University

 

  1. Brooklyn College

 

  1. Brown University
    • MFA in Playwriting
    • NOT accepting applications for 2018-2019 school year

 

  1. California Institute of the Arts 

 

  1. California State University – Los Angeles

 

  1. Carnegie Mellon University
    • MFA in Dramatic Writing (TV and film too)
    • Application due January 1st
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • $100 application fee
    • 1 full length play
    • Some of the tuition will be remitted, some scholarship and teaching opportunities
    • Your personal statement should address your educational and professional goals. You are also asked to articulate what drives you as an artist and what drives you as a citizen. Discuss the next play you want to write.
    • http://drama.cmu.edu/admissions/graduate/#dramatic-writing

 

  1. Catholic University of America

 

  1. Columbia University
    • MFA in Theatre Arts with a Playwriting Concentration
    • Application due January 4th
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • 1 full length play or 2 one-acts
    • $110 application fee
    • Potentially no financial aid
    • https://arts.columbia.edu/admissions/graduate

 

  1. Florida State University
    • MFA in screenwriting
    • Website changed: https://film.fsu.edu/programs/mfa/writing/
    • Has semester abroad in London and week intensive in LA
    • Applicants are not required to have previous experience in film production or film-related coursework. However, strong candidates should be able to demonstrate an active interest in visual and/or narrative storytelling through coursework, internships, creative works, job experience, and/or compelling life experiences, and how that experience will help make them strong filmmakers.
    • Application due December 1st
    • $30 application fee
    • Requires official GRE and official transcripts
    • Specific writing samples
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • https://film.fsu.edu/admissions/

 

  1. Fordham University

 

  1. Goddard College
    • low-residency MFA in Creative Writing in which you can study all forms of Dramatic Writing including Television Writing, Screenwriting, and Playwriting
    • $65 application fee
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Official transcripts needed
    • Special writing statement questions
    • Didn't have deadline for application for fall 2018 posted when I checked - for spring 2018 is Dec. 15th
    • https://www.goddard.edu/admissions/graduate-admissions/

 

  1. Hollins University
    • summer intensive MFA in playwriting (3-5 six week summer sessions)
    • $40 application fee
    • Official transcripts - electronic or paper - required
    • Application due February 15th for summer 2018 intensive
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Says “manuscripts” required - not sure what that means
    • https://www.hollins.edu/academics/graduate-degrees/playwriting/

 

  1. Hunter College
    • MFA in Playwriting
    • 2 letters of recommendation
    • 1 full length play or one act
    • Application due March 1st
    • GRE is no longer required! It used to be
    • 2 year program
    • A statement of purpose of approximately 500-750 words answering the following questions: Why do you choose playwriting as a literary form? Discuss your background in the theatre, the playwrights and productions that have influenced you, and what you hope to bring to the stage.
    • http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/theatre/graduate-program/m.f.a.-in-playwriting

 

  1. Indiana University– Bloomington

 

  1. Julliard

 

  1. Lesley University

 

  1. Loyola Marymount University in LA
    • MFA in Creating, Writing, & Producing for TV as well as an MFA in Feature Film Screenwriting
    • Screenwriting application due January 10th
    • $50 application fee
    • Write a creative essay or short story that expresses an understanding of how you became the writer you are today. This piece should reflect your unique perspective on life and the world (less than 1000 words).
    • Special writing scene assignment of 2-5 pages
    • One feature length screenplay or teleplay AND a short story or one-act play
    • 2 letters of recommendation
    • Official transcripts required
    • GRE required only if undergraduate GPA is below 3.0
    • http://sftv.lmu.edu/academics/graduateprograms/writingforthescreen/mfaapplicationrequirements/

 

  1. Louisiana State University

 

  1. New Hampshire Institute of Art
    • low-residency MFA in Writing for Stage and Screen - didn't have much info about how many residences you have to do and what happens in the program
    • Application deadline is May 1st for June 22, 2018 start date
    • $75 application fee
    • Official transcripts required
    • A written personal statement. This should be a 3-5 page double spaced statement that describes your current work, what your biggest artistic influences are, where you situate your own work in the contemporary artistic scene and your goals for graduate study.
    • 2 letters of recommendation
    • 2 writing samples of at least 10 pages but not more than 20 pages each. These may be from plays or screenplays (one-act, short, or full-length), poetry, narrative fiction, non-fiction essay or article. It is not critical that script pages be submitted if theatre or film has not been an applicant’s area of concentration - we’re interested in evaluating your voice.
    • http://www.nhia.edu/graduate-studies/graduate-programs/mfa-in-writing-for-stage-and-screen

 

  1. New School

 

  1. Northwestern

 

  1. Ohio University
  1. Pace University

 

  1. Pepperdine University

 

  1. Queens College, CUNY

 

  1. Regent University

 

  1. Rutgers

 

  1. San Francisco State University

 

  1. Savannah College of Art and Design

 

  1. School of the Arts Institute of Chicago

 

  1. Smith College

 

  1. Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

 

  1. Spalding University
    • low-residency MFA in Writing with Playwriting concentration (Kentucky)
    • Application due August 1st for fall semester
    • $30 application fee
    • Official transcripts required
    • 2 letters of recommendation
    • Full program will cost about $40,000
    • Very few scholarships available but some graduate assistantships
    • Has international intensive destinations as well
    • http://spalding.edu/master-of-fine-arts-in-writing/writing-admission-requirements/

 

  1. Temple University
    • MFA in Theater/Playwriting
    • Application due January 12th
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Official transcripts required
    • $60 application fee
    • Full length play or two one-act plays
    • Tuition remission and assistantships given to some
    • https://tfma.temple.edu/node/671

 

  1. Texas State University - San Marcos (30 miles from Austin)
    • MFA in Dramatic Writing
    • If interested in applying, should send writing samples BEFORE applying to Jim Price, Head of Dramatic Writing at jp72@txstate.edu
    • Application due March 15th but needed earlier for funding considerations
    • $40 application fee
    • Official transcripts required
    • At least 24 credits in theater from BA required
    • 2 letters of recommendation
    • Dramatic Writing applicants: sample of creative writing
    • http://www.theatreanddance.txstate.edu/Graduate-Degrees/MFA-Dramatic-Writing.html

 

  1. Texas Tech University
    • MFA in Playwriting
    • Requires GRE

 

  1. Tisch School of the Arts, NYU

 

  1. U of Hawaii
    • MFA in Theatre with a Concentration in Playwriting
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Application due December 15th
    • Official transcripts required
    • A bunch of special forms for scholarships, etc. need to be filled out and 1 form also by recommenders
    • resume plus one-act play or other script (pdf preferred)
    • The department expects that all incoming graduate students will have taken at least two courses in dramatic literature or theatre history, and one course in each of the following three areas: acting, directing, and design or technical theatre. If such courses have not been taken, they will be made up as undergraduate deficiencies while in residence for the master’s program and will not count toward the credit accumulation for the master’s degree.
    • http://www.catalog.hawaii.edu/schoolscolleges/arts-sciences/departments/thea.htm
    • http://manoa.hawaii.edu/liveonstage/theatre/graduate-admissions/

 

  1. UC Riverside - Palm Desert
    • low residency MFA in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts
    • seven quarters of online study and five concentrated 10-day residencies at Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, near Palm Springs, CA
    • Application due August 1st for fall admission
    • Application fee not specified
    • first 25 pages of a screenplay
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Official transcripts required
    • Full program will cost about $55,000 including airfares
    • Some awards and fellowships might exist
    • http://palmdesertmfa.ucr.edu/application-info/

 

 

  1. University of Arkansas

 

  1. University of California – San Diego

 

  1. University of California – Los Angeles ALSO has separate screenwriting program
    • MFA in Playwriting
    • Application due December 1st
    • Why are you interested in the program? What life experiences have contributed to you applying to TFT? What do you hope to achieve by participating in the program? What are your professional goals and how do you plan to achieve them?
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • TWO SAMPLES OF CREATIVE WRITING: At least one sample must be a full-length stage play.
    • http://www.tft.ucla.edu/programs/theater-department/graduate-degrees/playwriting-mfa/

 

  1. University of Idaho

How To Apply

1. Schedule an initial phone interview with Robert Caisley, Head of the Dramatic Writing area. To schedule your phone interview, please email rcaisley@uidaho.edu or call (208) 885-7399.
2. Apply to the University of Idaho’s College of Graduate Studies.
3. Submit an electronic version of a current writing sample to rcaisley@uidaho.edu

4. Arrange for three (3) current letters of reference sent on your behalf to Robert Caisley. (Note: These letters can be sent by mail, but the preferred method is a scanned copy of the original signed letter.)

 

  1. University of Iowa
    • MFA in Theatre with a specialty in Playwriting
    • two full-length scripts - one full-length and one one-act play also accepted
    • a resume of relevant academic, theatrical, and work experience
    • three letters of recommendation attesting to your experience as a writer and theatre artist, and potential for future growth
    • short personal statement (1-2 pages) outlining your objectives in applying to the Playwrights Workshop and after completing the MFA in Playwriting at Iowa
    • Application due January 15th
    • $60 application fee
    • Partial tuition remission and teaching fellowships available
    • https://theatre.uiowa.edu/graduate-programs/playwrights-workshop#ar
    • https://grad.admissions.uiowa.edu/academics/playwriting-mfa-theatre-arts

 

  1. University of Missouri – Kansas City

 

  1. University of Nebraska

 

  1. University of New Mexico

 

  1. University of New Orleans - 2 programs
    • low-residency MFA in Creative Writing with a Drama Emphasis
    • Fall / Summer Application Deadline is March 15
    • 2 plays of any length
    • 3 letters of recommendation
    • Your Statement of Purpose should detail your reasons for applying to our M.F.A. program. Generally, statements are one to two pages DOUBLE SPACED and should give us a sense of who you are beyond what you can tell us by filling in blanks on a form. We understand you may feel desperate or intimidated, but the best approach is just to be honest. We read a LOT of these. We know you've always been a writer. We know you love to read and that stories mean everything to you. Tell us what we don't know.
    • ALSO: residential UNO Creative Writing Workshop (CWW) resident graduate program in fiction writing, nonfiction writing, poetry writing, play writing and screen writing
    • Application due January 15th
    • Other requirements seem the same
    • http://www.uno.edu/creative-writing-low-residency-mfa/
    • http://www.uno.edu/creative-writing-mfa/apply.aspx
    • http://www.uno.edu/writing/

 

  1. University of Southern California

 

  1. University of Texas – Austin

 

ALSO - University of Texas - Michener Center for Writers - not listed on PWC webpage

 

 

  1. Villanova University

 

  1. Wilkes University

 

  1. Yale
Edited by Zebras4Ever
Posted

Anyone need GRE Prep books?! I bought these and did a course at Manhattan Prep some years ago when I was on a completely different path. They are minimally used and good! While it was a few years ago and I'm sure the parameters of the test might have changed information is still very much the same... If you're thinking about applying to Austin #getonit! I bought them for something like $150-200 but I would take MUCH much less cause they're older and have some use.... Let me know.  Must be NYC based... I don't want to ship them. 

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...
Posted

Hi there -- I'm applying this year for the first time. Re: Brown University above, they ARE accepting applications this year.

I'm applying to:
Juilliard
Yale
Brown
UTA
UCSD

Fingers crossed. Very nervous...
Also, I'm sure it's because it's a state school, but out of all these schools, UTA is the one that requires the most hoops to jump through... and it's lowest on my list... WHY 

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Hey everyone! I never thought I'd be the type of person to create an account on one of these types of forums, yet here I am! I guess my application anxiety got the best of me haha.

Where is everyone applying?

I'm applying to:

NYU

UT Austin - Michener

UT Austin - Theatre & Dance

Brown

Brooklyn 

Hunter

Rutgers

Posted (edited)

So like, have you guys had any plays produced? I've looked at some of the profiles of current playwriting students at yale and brown and they seem to already have quite a bit of success in the field. Is it standard to have had a play produced before applying? Poetry and Fiction MFAs don't look at your publication history at all. This is the case for most of them at least. I'm getting my MA in poetry right now and I was thinking about getting an MFA in playwriting thereafter. I've had some publications in poetry. Do you think I should include that in my playwriting app? Considering I have nothing to say about my plays other than the work itself.  

Edited by LordQuas
Posted (edited)

@LordQuasI haven't had any Equity productions, but I've had non-professional productions of 6 of my full-length plays (2 of which I produced myself). I've also had some residencies, workshops, awards, and such. I don't really know the answer... For the directing tracks I know they generally want people that have shown dedication to the craft to some extent, but I would think with playwriting, the work itself becomes more important.

But I would say definitely include poetry publications into your resume. It certainly sets you apart.

But I don't really know... I guess we'll find out! *screams*

Edited by captbaka
Posted

@RoryGilmore I didn't realize the UT Austin program was broken up like that -- is only one of them fully-funded? I vaguely remember hearing something like that. Now I'm wondering if I applied for the right program lol.

Posted

@captbaka I am applying to the directing program at UT Austin, but reading about the playwriting: it sounds like both of UT's playwriting programs are funded; however, the Michener Center gives students a check for $27,500 in addition to covering tuition each year. https://michener.utexas.edu/our-mfa/ . https://theatredance.utexas.edu/graduate-programs/mfa-playwriting . 

Posted
On 12/30/2018 at 6:57 AM, 36Biscotti said:

@captbaka I am applying to the directing program at UT Austin, but reading about the playwriting: it sounds like both of UT's playwriting programs are funded; however, the Michener Center gives students a check for $27,500 in addition to covering tuition each year. https://michener.utexas.edu/our-mfa/ . https://theatredance.utexas.edu/graduate-programs/mfa-playwriting . 

Ah thanks! $27,500... Well that isn't insignificant.

On another note: Do people know how interview scheduling works? I work as a theatre actor, so most weeks I only have Mondays (sometimes an additional Tuesday) off. Do they usually give you a specific day/time or are they able to work with you a bit if they want to interview? Once we get into performances, I have an understudy, but I worry about getting a call during the rehearsal process...

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

Crashed and burned back in 2012 (5 rejections, 2 interviews to wait list) but I'm back! With a different resume, new writing samples, and new recommenders!

 

I am just applying to Juilliard this year (planning to apply to at least 4-5 schools for Fall 2020 - probably Yale, Iowa, a few schools in CA and maybe something abroad for the wild card option). Which yes - is nuts - but the last time I applied was right out of undergrad . . . and I still have their rejection letter (it was THAT nice). 

This forum was such a great space to relieve/vent some anxiety, keep up on the interview notifications, and prepare for the inevitable rejections. I also some met awesome playwrights who I still keep in touch with via social media (and are out doing amazing things) so I'm excited to try this grad school/fellowship game one last time. I'm also in a place where if it doesn't happen for me . . . it doesn't happen and I'll find another way to teach, network and create community in larger "theatre" cities.

 

 

 

 

Edited by heckleher
Posted (edited)

Got this from Juilliard today: "We are pleased that you are moving forward in our application and audition process. We would appreciate your feedback on the experience so far." and a link to a form.
 

Is this just an automated thing, or am I supposed to gather that I am actually "moving forward" in some way? Wishful thinking...? ? Did y'all get this?

Edited by captbaka
Posted
20 hours ago, LordQuas said:

Which plays are you guys reading right now?

I'm not a Playwrighting student (Acting) but reading The Wolves by Sarah Delappe.

Posted

Just finished Brandon Jacob Jenkins' "Everybody."

Side note: I hear he's going to be at UTA this coming year -- not to completely take over the program or anything, but I'd be curious what the plan is, as far as how frequently he'll be teaching. Anyone else heard about this? I got word from a literary director who seemed to know what she was talking about.

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