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Screenwriting BA(Hons)

2024-25 (also available for 2025-26)

It’s not too late to apply for September.
It’s not too late to apply for September.

Start date

16 September 2024

Duration

3 years full-time
4 years inc. placement year

Entry requirements

A Level - BBB-BCC

BTEC - DMM-MMM

See full entry requirements

About the course

Reasons to study

  1. You can collaborate with other writers and screen production practitioners, as well as actors, composers, directors, and filmmakers.
  2. You’ll gain real-world skills, and you’ll pitch your own projects, polishing your work to a professional standard.
  3. You could get involved in the award-winning Huddersfield Literature Festival; past students have gained experience this way, in festival planning, programming, curating, and stewarding. 

Love films and books? Keen to develop skills in writing for the screen? If so, this Screenwriting BA(Hons) degree course is for you.

During your studies, you’ll get to grips with screenwriting methods and techniques, while gaining a solid grounding in the fundamentals of creative writing across a range of genres.

Alongside your own creative practice, you’ll deepen your understanding of the film and screen production industries, and your appreciation of excellence in writing.

You’ll also develop skills in research, analysis and debate, critical thinking and problem solving, and you’ll get the chance to collaborate with other writers and screen production practitioners. The course will also equip you with the practical skills required to pitch your own projects and to polish original work to a professional standard.

Why study Screenwriting BA(Hons)

Choose our Screenwriting BA(Hons) and you could get involved in the award-winning Huddersfield Literature Festival; past students have gained experience this way, in festival planning, programming, curating, and stewarding.

On this course, you’ll also:

  • Benefit from being a member of our English and Creative Writing community, where you’ll work supportively alongside other developing writers.
  • Collaborate with actors, composers, directors and filmmakers within the Yorkshire Film and Television School here at Huddersfield.
  • Choose from a range of module options, benefit from diverse and engaging forms of assessment and make the most of excellent employment prospects.
  • Learn to navigate industry-standard digital resources.
  • Present your ideas using the latest media.

Gaining a host of transferrable skills, you could pursue a career within screenwriting itself, in English literature and related areas, in creative writing, publishing, film, or drama-related opportunities.

Course detail

Core Modules

Introduction to Screenwriting

On this module, you will be introduced to the basic skills and fundamental principles of screenwriting. You will undertake a survey of key forms and genres of writing for the screen. You will learn the conventions of the screenplay format, as well as the fundamental techniques and devices used in screenwriting. You will also gain experience using industry-standard software for producing scripts. Through a combination of tutor-led workshops and independent study you will write an original screenplay for a short film, and will begin the process of critical reflection on your growth and development as a screenwriter.

Introduction to Creative Writing

This module aims to develop creative thinking alongside Creative Writing skills. It also aims to clarify the principles of good writing and to enable you to reflect upon and improve your own abilities. It will also cover a variety of related academic skills in organisation of research, revising drafts and preparation of the final copy.

Creating Screen Fiction

This module takes a collaborative approach to help you hone your abilities as filmmakers and storytellers. Building on skills already emerging in both the Film Making and Screenwriting degrees, students work together on the development, preproduction, production and postproduction of a fiction film. This aims to professionalise your creative and collaborative approaches to your work, refining your narrative discipline as screen storytellers and providing a dynamic, preparation-rich environment in which you can improve your grasp of possible moving image specialisms for further exploration later in the degree.

Analysing Content

Analysing Content introduces you to the analysis of fiction and non-fiction visual media, from Hollywood films and television series to news and advertising. You will learn how to conduct more complex analysis of the meaning conveyed through media texts as well as their connection to cultural ideology.

Entry requirements

BBB-BCCat A Level .

120-104 UCAS tariff points from a combination of Level 3 qualifications.

Merit at T Level.

DMM-MMM in BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma.

  • Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits at Merit or above.
  • 120-104 UCAS tariff points from International Baccalaureate qualifications.

If your first language is not English, you will need to meet the minimum requirements of an English Language qualification. The minimum for IELTS is 6.0 overall with no element lower than 5.5, or equivalent. Read more about the University’s entry requirements for students outside of the UK on our Where are you from information pages.

For further information please see the University's minimum entry requirements.

Placements


The course offers a compulsory 5 week work placement in Year 2. If you’re studying full-time, this course also offers an optional one-year (48 weeks) work placement after the second year, in the UK or abroad. This will give you the opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience, insight into your chosen career and open up your graduate employment prospects. Our Placement Unit and academic staff have excellent industry links and can support you in applying for and finding your placement(s), as well as during your placement year.

Recent graduates have taken placements at Pen and Sword Books, Kirklees TV, Numberworks & Words and a range of primary and secondary schools.

A placement is a great opportunity to explore your chosen industry, to understand the sector, network and make valuable contacts, whilst developing your skills, knowledge and experience. A placement is a chance to get involved, to put theory into practice and to work alongside professionals.

Photo of Steph Bower, Placements officer for SAH

Stephanie Bower, Placements Officer

Your Career


As an English Literature graduate, you are valued for the advanced skills you have developed in critical thinking, researching, independent study, communicating and arguing persuasively. Depending on your specialism, your career choices are as varied and exciting as your degree course.

Our graduates have gone on to work in teaching, PR, social media, script writing and law. Others have opted for PGCE study and have become teachers, or continued their studies at Master's level.

*Percentage of our undergraduate students from this subject area go on to work and/or further study within fifteen months of graduating (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2019/20, UK domiciled, other activities excluded).

85% Graduates employed*

Student support

At the University of Huddersfield, you'll find support networks and services to help you get ahead in your studies and social life. Whether you study at undergraduate or postgraduate level, you'll soon discover that you're never far away from our dedicated staff and resources to help you to navigate through your personal student journey. Find out more about all our support services.

Research excellence

Research plays an important role in informing all our teaching and learning activities. Through research our staff remain up-to-date with the latest developments in their field, which means you develop knowledge and skills that are current and highly relevant to industry.

86.9% of our research is ranked as world-leading or internationally excellent and our combined total of publications places us 4th in the country for research outputs (REF 2014). Our work in English specifically is recognised by the University having been listed in the 2018 QS World University Rankings by subject for 'English Language and Literature'.

Important information

We will always try to deliver your course as described on this web page. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below.

Changes to a course you have applied for

If we propose to make a major change to a course that you are holding an offer for, then we will tell you as soon as possible so that you can decide whether to withdraw your application prior to enrolment.

Cancellation of a course you have applied for

Although we always try and run all of the course we offer, we may occasionally have to withdraw a course you have applied for or combine your programme with another programme if we consider this reasonably necessary to ensure a good student experience, for example if there are not enough applicants to ensure you have a good learning experience. Where this is the case we will notify you as soon as reasonably possible and we will contact you to discuss other suitable courses with us we can transfer your application to. If we notify you that the course you have applied to has been withdrawn or combined, and you do not wish to transfer to another course with us, you may cancel your application and we will refund you any deposits or fees you have paid to us.

Changes to your course after you enrol as a student

We will always try to deliver your course and other services as described. However, sometimes we may have to make changes as set out below:

Changes to option modules

Where your course allows you to choose modules from a range of options, we will review these each year and change them to reflect the expertise of our staff, current trends in research and as a result of student feedback or demand for certain modules. We will always ensure that you have a range of options to choose from and we will let you know in good time the options available for you to choose for the following year.

Major changes

We will only make major changes to the core curriculum of a course or to our services if it is necessary for us to do so and provided such changes are reasonable. A major change in this context is a change that materially changes the services available to you; or the outcomes, or a significant part, of your course, such as the nature of the award or a substantial change to module content, teaching days (part time provision), classes, type of delivery or assessment of the core curriculum.

For example, it may be necessary to make a major change to reflect changes in the law or the requirements of the University’s regulators; to meet the latest requirements of a commissioning or accrediting body; to improve the quality of educational provision; in response to student, examiners’ or other course evaluators’ feedback; and/or to reflect academic or professional changes within subject areas. Major changes may also be necessary because of circumstances outside our reasonable control, such as a key member of staff leaving the University or being unable to teach, where they have a particular specialism that can’t be adequately covered by other members of staff; or due to damage or interruption to buildings, facilities or equipment.

Major changes would usually be made with effect from the next academic year, but this may not always be the case. We will notify you as soon as possible should we need to make a major change and will carry out suitable consultation with affected students. If you reasonably believe that the proposed change will cause you detriment or hardship we will, if appropriate, work with you to try to reduce the adverse effect on you or find an appropriate solution. Where an appropriate solution cannot be found and you contact us in writing before the change takes effect you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the University without liability to the University for future tuition fees. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

Termination of course

In exceptional circumstances, we may, for reasons outside of our control, be forced to discontinue or suspend your course. Where this is the case, a formal exit strategy will be followed and we will notify you as soon as possible about what your options are, which may include transferring to a suitable replacement course for which you are qualified, being provided with individual teaching to complete the award for which you were registered, or claiming an interim award and exiting the University. If you do not wish to take up any of the options that are made available to you, then you can cancel your registration and withdraw from the course without liability to the University for future tuition fees and you will be entitled to a refund of all course fees paid to date. We will provide reasonable support to assist you with transferring to another university if you wish to do so.

When you enrol as a student of the University, your study and time with us will be governed by a framework of regulations, policies and procedures, which form the basis of your agreement with us. These include regulations regarding the assessment of your course, academic integrity, your conduct (including attendance) and disciplinary procedure, fees and finance and compliance with visa requirements (where relevant). It is important that you familiarise yourself with these as you will be asked to agree to abide by them when you join us as a student. You will find a guide to the key terms here, along with the Student Protection Plan, where you will also find links to the full text of each of the regulations, policies and procedures referred to. You should read these carefully before you enrol. Please note that this information is subject to change and you are advised to check our website regularly for any changes before you enrol at the University. A person who is not party to this agreement shall not have any rights under or in connection with it. Only you and the University shall have any right to enforce or rely on the agreement.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the principal regulator for the University.

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