BA (Hons)
Scriptwriting
Develop your voice as a writer for stage, screen and new media.
Degree
BA (Hons)
BA (Hons) Scriptwriting
WHY CHOOSE THIS COURSE?
EXPLORE THE FULL BREADTH OF DRAMATIC WRITING.
Learn to write for a wide range of mediums - including film, television, theatre, games and new media. You’ll explore how storytelling works across these different forms, building your skills and discovering where your interests lie.
ONE OF THE FIRST COURSES OF ITS KIND.
Immersed in a drama school, you’ll collaborate closely with students on BSA’s stage and screen acting courses. Working alongside actors and professional directors, you’ll have regular opportunities to refine your writing in practice and hear your dialogue brought to life.
A PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO.
Over three years, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that reflects your interests as a writer. With a piece of your writing produced by BSA in your third year, you’ll graduate with experience of the production process and a body of work to support your next steps into the industry.
CONNECTIONS TO PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE.
Taught by professional writers, you’ll also benefit from working with the film, TV and theatre directors who work at BSA. A placement with a partner organisation and access to the school’s professional network help you understand the industry and your place within it. You’ll also explore literary agents, contracts and career pathways, and practise pitching your ideas to industry panels.
THE SPACE TO FIND YOUR VOICE.
Start by building a grounding in dramatic writing for film, television, theatre and new media. As the course progresses, optional modules allow you to explore interests such as interactive storytelling for games, TV comedy and LGBTQ+ perspectives in dramatic writing. Alongside a choice of third-year pathways, these give you the space to develop your own voice and specialise in the areas you’re most passionate about.
course info
UCAS Code: To be confirmed
Duration: Three years full-time
Start date: September 2027
Location: To be confirmed
Develop your voice as a writer for stage, screen and new media.
This new three-year BA course is one of the first of its kind in a UK drama school, giving you the time, space and support to develop as a professional writer.
The course gives you a grounding in all aspects of dramatic writing for film, TV, theatre and new media. A wide variety of optional modules and third-year pathways allows you to specialise in the areas you’re passionate about, exploring your talent to the full and discovering your unique voice.
Studying within a drama school gives you opportunities to collaborate closely with students on the BA (Hons) Acting for Stage and Screen and BA (Hons) Acting for Film, TV and New Media courses, allowing you to regularly test and develop your work with actors. Alongside workshops, collaborative projects and rehearsed readings, you’ll also have a piece of your writing produced to a professional standard by BSA in your third year.
BA (Hons) Scriptwriting has been developed by Jenny Davis, whose TV credits include EastEnders, Casualty and Holby City; John Retallack, an Olivier Award-winning theatre director and writer who leads the Oxford playwriting programme; and Philippa Lowthorpe, a three-time BAFTA-winning TV and film director.
Throughout the course, you’ll be taught by professional writers and benefit from working with the film, TV and theatre directors who work at BSA. You’ll also be at the heart of BSA’s professional network, from Bristol Old Vic to BFI NETWORK South West.
*Subject to validation.
YEAR ONE
The first year introduces you to the foundations of dramatic writing. It begins with an immersive module that sets out the expectations of undergraduate study and how the programme will work.
You’ll explore your unique perspective as a writer, identifying the themes, stories and styles that interest you. Through character, dramatic structure, visual storytelling and dialogue, you’ll learn how to build tension, capture an audience and develop distinct voices within your scripts.
You’ll also explore where these principles meet and diverge across different media, including how images, action, words and silence can communicate emotion and reveal meaning.
YEAR TWO
The second year examines how these core principles work in writing for theatre, film and television, and how writers must manage the technical frameworks of each medium.
You’ll explore the possibilities of writing for the stage, the structure and visual storytelling of film, and the recurring characters and multiple storylines of continuing television.
A range of optional modules allows you to explore your particular interests. These include interactive storytelling and branching dialogue in Writing for Games, the mechanics of humour in TV Comedy, and the representation of queer narratives in LGTBQ+ Perspectives in Dramatic Writing.
The year ends with a placement in one of BSA’s partner organisations, allowing you to explore an area of special interest, observe professional practice and begin building your industry network.
YEAR THREE
The final year begins with an introduction to career development and opportunities in the creative industries. You’ll explore the practicalities of being a professional writer, including literary agents, contracts, networking and pitching your ideas to industry panels.
You’ll also undertake a collaborative writing project with a professional director, producer or script editor, developing your experience of responding to feedback and working with other creatives.
You’ll then develop three scripts. The first is a short-form commission, agreed with your tutor, responding to a brief for a short film or short play. The second is an independent writing project in which you’re encouraged to write for a medium outside your primary area of interest.You’ll write your final script in your primary area of interest, and it will be produced by BSA to a professional standard for public showing or performance.
The degree is delivered in partnership with Plymouth Marjon University. On UCAS, you’ll need to search for Plymouth Marjon University rather than Bristol School of Acting. To apply, you will need to register and login to the UCAS site by visiting www.ucas.com/apply. Additional information you will need for your application:
UCAS course code: To be confirmed
Institution code: P63
Campus name: Bristol School of Acting
Campus code: AApplicants will be invited to an in-person workshop, where they’ll write a treatment or short scene for their preferred medium, followed by an interview. No written preparation is required in advance.
Applicants are considered on an individual basis, taking into account any skills and experience that may not be reflected in A-Level scores. The most important consideration is that you have the qualities and potential to succeed. However, there are minimum academic entry requirements. We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to the course. The main ones are listed below:
BBC-BCC at A level
DMM at Extended Diploma
Applicants must also have GCSE English Language at grade 4/C or above.
Continuous assessment, practical skills assessment, written assessment and self-assessment.
£10,050 tuition fee per year (subject to annual inflationary increases). For more information, click here.
Student Finance Wales
The guidance around designation within the Welsh government has changed. BSA’s degree courses are not automatically designated by the Welsh Ministers, which means BSA would have to adhere to a fee cap of £6,355 per year for all Welsh students who will be using Student Finance Wales to fund their tuition.
We know we cannot fairly offer the same service at a lower rate for Welsh students and still charge the standard £10,050 for students across other principalities of the UK. Therefore, we have been forced into a difficult position and are unable to accept new applications from Welsh students who intend to use Student Finance Wales to fund their tuition and who are interested in enrolling at BSA from September 2027 onwards.
We understand this is disappointing, and we resonate with that too. If you are Welsh and in a position in which you are able to fund the course tuition through an alternative method, we would warmly welcome an application from you. However, if you would need to use Student Finance Wales to fund your tuition, we would be unable to proceed with your application. Should you want any further information, you can contact Student Finance Wales.
To be announced.
If you’d like to talk to us or ask any questions about the course you can email us at hello@bristolschoolofacting.com
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