Point Park University to Offer New Master's Degree in Screen, Playwriting

Point Park University's Conservatory of Performing Arts will offer a Master of Fine Arts degree in writing for the stage and screen, starting in fall 2014.

Pittsburgh's first low-residency M.F.A. in screenwriting or playwriting, this is a rigorous and challenging program taught by nationally recognized, award-winning screenwriters and playwrights. The program provides flexibility in degree design and completion. The low-residency program requires students to take courses online during the fall and spring semesters, and attend three dynamic residencies of one to two weeks at Point Park's downtown Pittsburgh campus. The program includes temporary housing at no additional cost in close proximity to campus.

In the residencies, students will work with a core of talented faculty writers in an intimate workshop setting, engage in table reads with actors, directors, fellow students and visiting artists, and incorporate and offer feedback in an intensive collaborative environment.

"There is nothing else like this M.F.A. program regionally, specifically the focus on studying both stage and screen, with the ability to tailor your degree depending on your interests," said adjunct faculty member and award-winning playwright Tammy Ryan, who will be one of the program instructors.

"Today's media and stage writing avenues are ever-evolving, and the need to write across multiple visual areas of interest is a must," said Nelson Chipman, chair of the Department of Cinema and Digital Arts and director of the new M.F.A. program. "This program will help students focus on their primary area of interest, while exposing them to many other facets of writing for the screen and stage.

Students enrolled in the low-residency program can earn their M.F.A. degree in two years while balancing full-time employment and family responsibilities. Students interested in teaching will have the opportunity to explore instructional design, course preparation and mentoring during Point Park's playwriting and screenwriting summer camps for high school students.

Applicants are now being accepted for the fall 2014 term.

For additional information on this program, students can contact the Office of Graduate and Adult Enrollment at http://www.pointpark.edu/Admissions/GraduatePrograms, call 412.392.3808, or email ptenroll@pointpark.edu.

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