The Graduate Program in Dramatic Writing is a two-year sequence of full-time study with concentrations in Playwriting, Screenwriting, or Television writing designed for men and women with proven writing ability and a record of academic excellence.
All Faculty at the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing are working professionals at the top of their fields, from experimental theatre to Broadway, from independent films to major Hollywood movies, and from HBO to all three major networks. The faculty, under the chairmanship of Richard Wesley (Mandela and de Klerk, Uptown Saturday Night), includes Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding), Mark Dickerman (No Immediate Danger), Liz Diggs (Goodbye Freddy), Martin Epstein (The Man Who Killed the Buddha), James Felder (Generator Rex), Daniel Goldfarb (Cradle and All), Len Jenkin (Five of Us), Janet Neipris (A Small Delegation), Charlie Rubin (Law & Order), Paul Selig (Mystery School), Joe Vinciguerra (Don't Go in the Woods), Cheri Magid (The Ghost of Enoch Charlton), Jessie Keyt (Skin), and Eduardo Machado (Havana is Waiting). Guest Faculty has included John Guare (Six Degrees of Separation), Tony Kushner (Angels in America), Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men), Marsha Norman (‘Night Mother), David Grimm (Measure for Pleasure) , Christopher Shinn (Where Do We Live), Diana Son (Law & Order), Young Jean Lee (The Shipment), Suzan-Lori Parks (Porgy and Bess adaptation) and Doug Wright (I Am My Own Wife).
For a full list of current faculty, please visit our Faculty Directory.
Acceptance into the Department enrolls all students in the Division of Playwriting, Screenwriting, or TV Writing. Students take courses in all divisions, concentrating in at least one medium as their studies advance. All applicants who completed their undergraduate degree in the Department of Dramatic Writing must wait three years before applying to the graduate program.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the program depends primarily on the quality of the writing that an applicant submits – a full-length play, screenplay or teleplay. All submitted work must be original and written solely by the applicant. Applicants should not send videotapes or audiotapes of their work. The GRE is not required for admission. The TOEFL test is required for all non-native English speakers. Because this is a writing program that operates in English, non-native English speakers must have excellent, nearly flawless English speaking and writing ability.
For more details on the Dramatic Writing Portfolio Submission Packet please visit Graduate Portfolio Requirements.
Applicants will also submit the following using the online application:
- Resume - Please list any published or produced work, and any work experience that is relevant to a writing career.
- Personal Statement of Intent - In 750 words or less, describe your personal and professional interest in the program. What will you bring to the Dramatic Writing Department? How will you benefit from studying here? Please include what you are interested in writing, why you are interested in studying with us, and any writing aspirations you might have.
- Three letters of recommendation.
Transcripts from the applicant's undergraduate and graduate schools and letters of recommendation are seriously considered in the application process.
Transcripts and letters of recommendation that are not submitted using the Online Application should be mailed to:
Graduate Admissions
Tisch School of the Arts, New York University
726 Broadway, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003
Online Application Deadline
December 1, 2012
Notification begins in mid-March.
