MA Scriptwriting

• Scriptwriting Principles: Develop the knowledge and skills both theoretical and practical to craft compelling and distinct narratives. You will progress your work through workshops and seminars shaping your creative voice and vision. You'll develop short films, for collaborative production in the second semester supported by storytelling principles. You'll also develop critical and constructive approaches to feedback in order to advance your own work and the work of your peers.

• Storytelling: This unit aims to examine concepts of storytelling across audio visual formats, cultures and production industries. You’ll engage with practice research methodologies to critically engage with a diverse range of narrative forms and approaches.

• Story Development: This unit focuses on the scriptwriting development process, in terms of the writer’s role and the skills required for supporting and taking part in creative collaboration. You'll choose a substantial scripted project to craft and shape into a range of industry development documents. These documents will then form the basis of your Media Production Master's Project.
• Approaches to Industry: An introduction to key skills and knowledge you'll need for employment in the media industries. An opportunity to develop your ambitions and strategies for entering the creative industries wherever you choose. 
• Media Production Masters Project: This unit allows you to utilise the scriptwriting skills, knowledge and professional competence you’ve gained on this course to produce either a major scriptwriting project of your choice that is original and emerges from a development process, or you can produce a practice-based research artefact supported by a written analysis, or an individually or collaboratively written thesis.

Programme specifications provide definitive records of the university’s taught degrees in line with Quality Assurance Agency requirements. Every taught course leading to a BU Award has a programme specification which describes its aims, structure, content and learning outcomes, plus the teaching, learning and assessment methods used.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the programme specification, the information is liable to change to take advantage of exciting new approaches to teaching and learning as well as developments in industry. If you have been unable to locate the programme specification for the course you are interested in, it will be available as soon as the latest version is ready.

The admissions team will look at your online application including your qualifications, personal statement and any work experience. Please make sure your application stands out from the crowd and leaves us in no doubt that you want to study at Bournemouth University.

Please see our website for the application deadlines. You should apply as early as possible to be considered for your course of choice. If you require a student visa, apply for the visa as soon as you have an unconditional offer and receive your CAS. There may be delays in visa processing in your country and you need to be in Bournemouth ready to study for the start of term.

Click the green ‘Apply now’ button to submit your application free of charge online through myHub, our application portal. You will create your own myHub account so that you can track the progress of your application. Don’t forget to save your application as you go; you can return to it at as many times as you want before you submit it. For more information visit our How to apply section.

The normal requirements for embarking upon a postgraduate taught degree are:

• A Bachelors Honours degree with 2:2 in any subject

If you lack the formal academic qualifications needed to enter a postgraduate or post-experience degree, there are several alternative routes to follow - some based on experience. Contact the Future Students Enquiry team for more information.

You can find details of the international qualifications we accept, and what level of study they apply to, on our entry requirements for non-UK students' page.

Please see below some examples of the qualifications for entry:

• India: Bachelor’s degree (four years) from a recognised HE institution with a minimum overall result of 55%  
• Nigeria: Bachelor's degree from a recognised institution with a minimum classification of 2:4  
• China: Chinese Bachelor's (Honours) degree from a recognised higher education institution with 65% or above  
• Turkey: Bachelor’s degree (Lisans Diplomasi - four years) with a minimum overall GPA of 2.3/4.0  
• Ghana: Bachelor's degrees from University of Ghana or Legon with a grade of 2.00 or above, or from Cape Coast with a grade 2.5 or above  
• USA: US Bachelor’s degree (four years), with a 2.5 GPA or above  

All applications will be subject to a minimum grade and your degree may need to be in a relevant subject area.

English language requirements

If English is not your first language, you will need to provide evidence that you understand English to a satisfactory level. English language requirements for this course are normally:

IELTS (Academic) 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in writing, speaking, listening and reading, or equivalent.

View further information about our English language requirements.

Bournemouth University International College offers a number of pre-sessional English and preparatory programmes to prepare international students for postgraduate study at BU. Admission to the degree is guaranteed on successful completion of your course to the required level. 

• Film 
• TV 
• Games 
• Theatre 
• Media 
• Production

If you want to continue your studies after achieving your Master’s, you can look into our range of doctoral programmes.

What’s included in your tuition fee?

Your tuition fee covers expenses associated with your course including tuition materials, access to facilities, mandatory field trips and the following:

• Our fees commitment means your tuition fees are fixed at the price quoted.
• Materials for laboratory and field-based teaching activity.
• Support for finding placements (UK or abroad) and fieldwork, and non-financial support whilst on placement if this is part of your course of study.
• A range of student services – advisors, help desks, counsellors, placement support and careers service.
• The Library – access to a wide range of electronic resources (databases, e-journals and e-books), print and multimedia collections, subject librarians and study spaces.
• Access to Brightspace, our virtual learning environment, which offers a responsive and personalised learning experience with powerful learning analytics capabilities, integrated social media and advanced video features.
• Free software download to your personal device of Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus while you are studying, as well as access to applications provided on AppsAnywhere, subject to licensing and compatibility restrictions.
• IT labs (some open 24/7), wireless network, AV equipment to borrow.
• Disability and additional learning support, according to individual circumstances.
• The BU Language Centre to help you develop/improve foreign or English language skills.
• 24 hours a day, 365 days a year security team.

Additional costs

We are committed to offering you value for money and ensuring there are no hidden costs while you are studying with us, therefore we have listed below any additional costs you may incur that are not covered by your tuition fee:

• Laptops, tablets and mobile devices and any software used on personal devices. Access to a personal computer is strongly recommended for your study. If you are experiencing financial difficulty, visit our website for information regarding hardship funds.
• Textbooks, general stationery and other supplies. Our award-winning library is stocked with a large range of text books and online resources, free of charge. The Students’ Union shop stocks a wide range of stationery supplies.
• Accommodation and living costs. Please visit our website for more information.
• ​Travel costs for optional field trips, outdoor wear and footwear for mandatory and optional field trips (if applicable).
• Travel costs to and from the University campus. An annual bus pass can be purchased alongside your rent if you are living in halls of residence/Unilet accommodation or may be purchased separately.
• ​Travel costs to and from your placement (both in the UK and overseas) if this is part of your course of study. Placement year funding information can be found on our website.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.
• Clothing or equipment costs required for your placement if this is part of your course of study. 
• SportBU membership.
• You will need to meet the cost of any Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if required by your placement setting, including any Post Office or Digital ID verification charges.

While all aspects of the programme, including required field trips, are included in the fee, additional, optional or extra curricula activities may be available for which a student contribution is required.

If you need to repeat one or more units during the course of your studies (with or without attendance) the pricing will be pro-rata of the full time fee.

International (not Rep. of Ireland) students need to pay a non-refundable deposit to secure their place on a postgraduate course. For January 2025 entry, a £5,000 deposit is required. You will need to pay your deposit by the date stated in your offer letter. The remainder of your fee will be payable on registration/enrolment. There are two exceptions to the non-refundable rule on the deposit:

• You fail to meet the academic or English requirements of your offer
• You are refused a visa to enter the UK, provided the reason for the refusal is not a fraudulent application.

We offer a range of scholarships to eligible students who are beginning their studies at BU. Please visit our funding pages for details on living costs, budgeting and paying your tuition fees.

Phil Mathews is a BAFTA nominated screenwriter who has written for film and television and has taught screenwriting for twenty years.  His research interests are in narrative theory, the character arc and the romance genre. Phil began his career in special effects make-up working on everything from Saving Private Ryan to Judge Dredd, then directed pop promos before moving into screenwriting.

Resh is a Lecturer in Screenwriting at Bournemouth University’s Faculty of Media and Communication, has a PG Cert in Education Practice, is a Fellow of the HEA (Higher Education Academy) and is an active, full-voting member of B.A.F.T.A.  His practice-based doctoral research focuses on storytelling, industry practices and ethics in relation to storytelling to children, and other research includes application of industry story/script development practices within Higher Education via the internationally recognised and highly successful ‘Deep Dive’ initiative.  Career highlights: BBC (Education Dept.), Channel Four Television (Programme Commissioning, helping oversee the development and production of over 30 programmes a year, and responsible for the department’s drama development slate), UK Film Council (freelance Script-Editor) and LEGO (International Head of Development for LEGO’s Character & Story division charged with the development and implementation of original stories and characters for use with play-materials, international marketing campaigns and multi-media activities, helping win numerous international awards).