Required Coursework

(10/7/07)

This is a general overview of the classes required for the Screenwriting & Playwriting major. Click here for a list of specific courses (the "Major Sheet") and click here for a year-by-year breakdown showing when each course is usually taken (the "Sequence Sheet").

The four-year Bachelor's Degree program in Screenwriting & Playwriting provides a strong base in the Liberal Arts. This is in keeping with the philosophy of the College of Design Arts - that of a broad education in partnership with professional studies.

Additionally, in order to provide a grounding in the disciplines a scriptwriter needs to understand, the program requires foundation studies in four areas:

Literature
Visual Arts/Arts
Cinema Studies/Theater Studies
Methods (production)

These course are taken concurrently with professional seminar courses in writing for film, television and theater. The coursework culminates with a six-month-long senior project, a full-length feature screen- or stage play.

Sample Program of Study

The following lists demonstrate the wide variety of courses included in the program:

Liberal Arts Requirements:

ENGL 101	Expository Reading & Writing
ENGL 102	Persuasive Reading & Writing
ENGL 103	Analytical Reading & Writing
MATH 119	Math Foundations for Design
PHYS 121 &122	Physical Science for Design I & II
UNIV 101	Drexel Experience (two terms)
Arts & Humanities Electives (nine credits)
Social Science Electives (nine credits)
Free Electives (32 credits)

(There is no Foreign Language requirement)

Literature Requirements:

This group provides a perspective on the literary and aesthetic concerns which underlie all work in script writing.

ENGL 200, 201 or 202	Masterworks of Western Literature I, II or III
ENGL 203 or 204	Post-Colonial Literature I or II
ENGL 315	Shakespeare
Literature Electives (six credits)	Any ENGL course not listed elsewhere on the major sheet

Cinema Studies / Theater Studies Requirements:

This group provides an intellectual framework through which the writing student begins to understand the range, achievements and possibilities of the medium in which he expects to work:

ENGL 216	Readings in Drama
FMVD 150	American Classic Cinema
FMVD 160	European Cinema
FMVD ___	Cinema Studies Elective
THTR 115	Theatrical Experience
THTR 121	Dramatic Analysis
THTR ___	Theatre Elective

Visual Arts / Arts Requirements:

This group is designed to introduce students to the larger context of the visual arts: their histories, intellectual concerns, theoretical frameworks and aesthetic underpinnings.

ARTH 101 & 102	History of Art I & II
MUSC 130	Introduction to Music
PHTO 110 or PHTO 115	Photographt or Photographic Principles
VSST 101	Design I

Methods (production) Requirements:

This enables the writing student to gain experience and insight (as well as practical skills) into a specific discipline. It offers the writer a deeper background and richer understanding of methods and practices.

FMVD 110	Shooting & Lighting
FMVD 115	Editing
FMVD 120	Sound
THTR 210	Acting I
THTR 240	Theatre Production I
THTR 320	Play Direction I

Writing Requirements:

SCRP 220 & 225	Playwriting I & II
SCRP 270 & 275	Screenwriting I & II
SCRP 285	Writing for Nonfiction. Film & Video
SCRP 310	Literature for Screenwriters
SCRP 370	Story Development
SCRP 495	Senior Project in Screenwriting or Plywriting I & II
WRIT 225	Creative Writing

Writing Electives:

One of the following:

COM 260	Fundamentals of Journalism
COM 280	Public Relations
PRFA 310	Performing Arts Evaluation & Criticism
WRIT 220	Advanced Expository Writing

Major Sheet, Class of 2011 (and the reverse side)

Sequence Sheet, Class of 2011: Cycle A

Sequence Sheet, Class of 2011: Cycle B

Explanatory Notes:

Free Electives:

Free electives can be any courses that you want to take-- as long as they aren't courses specifically listed on the major sheet. As a writer, you'll want to take classes that expand your understanding of the world into new and different directions. Apart from everything else, this is part of the fun of going to college. If you want course recommendations, talk to me.

Arts and Humanities Electives:

You'll need at least nine credits (usually three courses) in Arts and Humanities classes. Here are the programs whose courses qualify as Arts and Humanities:

• African-American Studies (AFAM)
• Communications (COM)
• History-Politics (HIST)
• Humanities (HUM)
• Linguistics (LING)
• English (ENGL)
• Philosophy (PHIL)
• Political Science (PSCI)
• Women's Studies (WMST)
• Writing (WRIT)

History and Theory Courses:

• Architecture (ARCH)
• Art History (ARTH)
• Dance (DANC)
• Film & Video (FMVD)
• Music (MUSC)
• Photography (PHOT)
• Theater (THTR)
• Visual Studies (VSST)

Languages:

• Chinese (CHIN)
• French (FREN)
• German (GER)
• Italian (ITAL)
• Japanese (JAPN)
• Russian (RUSS)
• Spanish (SPAN)

Theatre Choice:

Any 3-credit Theatre course not otherwise required, including, but not limited to:

THTR 211	Acting II
THTR 221	Theatre History I
THTR 222	Theatre History II
THTR 241	Theatre Production II
THTR 260	Production Design
THTR 380	Special Topics in Theatre
THTR 495	Directed Studies in Theatre

Social Sciences Electives:

You'll need at least nine credits (usually three courses) in Social Sciences classes to graduate. These courses may be drawn from any of the following programs:

• Anthropology (ANTH)
• Psychology (PSY)
• Sociology (SOC)

Cinema Studies Elective:

The Film & Video department includes a number of Cinema Studies courses on a regular basis-- and others on an occasional or one-time basis. The following fulfill the Cinema Studies elective requirement; if you want to know whether any given course qualifies, ask Ian Abrams or Karin Kelly

FMVD 245	Non-Western Cinema
FMVD 250	The Documentary Tradition
FMVD 255	Hitchcock
FMVD 260	The Western
FMVD 262	Film Comedy
FMVD 265	Special Topics in Cinema Studies
FMVD 352	The Horror Film
FMVD 355	Contemporary Cinema
FMVD 360	The Art of Television