Screenwriting & Narrative Design Program (Online) (Postgraduate) (P410)

Program Description

Program Overview

The three-semester Screenwriting & Narrative Design online graduate certificate program provides students with the knowledge, writing experience and hands-on skills necessary to become screenwriters for the ever-evolving media field, as well as narrative designers for game and interactive storytelling worlds.

PLEASE NOTE: there is no ability to transfer into the in-class Screenwriting & Narrative Design P400 program after the start date.

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS This is a 100 per cent online program, irrespective of the current remote delivery for P400 in light of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. P410 will remain as a permanent online option. Therefore, students in this program do not come to Canada, and are not eligible for a study permit, and graduates will not be eligible for a post-graduation work permit upon completion of this program.

Full Description

The Screenwriting & Narrative Design program educates students on the challenge of writing a well-structured story within linear and non-linear contexts. The elements of character, dialogue, scene, setting, texture, style and tone are rigorously explored. Students master the subtle variances of language employed through structured and open-world storytelling as they create memorable stories and scripts for film, TV, games and interactive media. Opportunities will be provided to work with fellow students (directors, actors and designers) on student-led projects as well as potential research projects.

Program Requirements

The Screenwriting & Narrative Design program requires students to have access to:

  • a laptop capable of running Final Draft and MS Office
  • a Netflix subscription
  • a stable/high bandwidth Internet connection

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

This online program is only available to study while remaining in your home country and does not qualify for study/work permit eligibility in Canada.

Your Field Education Options

Due to the online nature of this program, there will be no field education component attached to this program.

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career Options

Creative writers for entertainment are able to move across multiple platforms, including film, television, interactive storytelling, gaming and animation. Potential job titles include:

  • script writer
  • assistant producer
  • advising writer
  • creative writer
  • content writer
  • interactive media writer
  • staff writer
  • editor
  • story editor
  • showrunner
  • narrative designer
  • creative designer
  • script consultant
  • story consultant
  • freelance writer

Industry

Professional storytelling/writing/content development is a highly competitive yet exceptionally rewarding field. Though concentrated around major cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York, the globalization of the industry has meant that writers for media can work on projects all over the world.

As the television and film industries shift in response to changing trends such as online access to traditionally aired content, the industry supplements its series and films with online and interactive content. As the Internet becomes a major gateway for consumers to access traditional media, the industry is becoming increasingly entrepreneurial with the advent of webisodes and web series. These new avenues have opened up a new area of development for the screenwriting field.

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