Television Writing, MFA

Admission Requirements

Application Website

Application Deadlines

The scholarship application deadline is January 1, 2024 for Fall 2024.

This MFA program is intensive, and admission to it is highly selective. Upon review, finalists may be invited for an on-campus interview.

For admission, the following, in addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements, are required:

1. A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
2. Undergraduate grade point average of at least 3.0.
3. Three letters of recommendation.
4. A current resume
5. A statement of purpose. Describe in a page or two why you are interested in this opportunity, how you would benefit, and what makes you a particularly deserving candidate. Upload this to the Additional Supplemental Materials, personal statement section of the application.
6. Video Pitch. (Go to Portfolio Instructions and upload Video Pitch to the Digital Portfolio section of the application.)

• All candidates: This is one of the more important elements to your application. You have probably seen people pitching for donation son a crowd sourcing site. In this case, you should pitch us yourself as a candidate. You can mention a project you want to work on, or something else that is exciting to you but we are interested in who you are as a creative artist/storyteller. The video pitch should be creative, polished, inventive. We want you to win us over here! SUGGESTED LENGTH: 3 MINUTES
• Even though the application will ask for it, you do not need GRE scores.
• Written materials: (All written materials may be uploaded in the Additional Supplemental Materials section)Your written material should include:
  • All Candidates: The Scene. Write a short, 2-3-page scene inspired by one of these words that have no English language translation. We prefer a scene with two characters where one character wants something from the other, and that you do NOT explicitly use the word you have chosen.
  • Glas wen (Welsh) - A smile that is insincere or mocking. Literally, a blue smile.Yuputka• (Ulwa) - The phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.Iktsuarpok
  • (Inuit) - You know that feeling of anticipation when you’re waiting for someone to show up at your house and you keep going outside to see if they’re there yet? This is the word for it.
• All Candidates: The Logline. Write an extended log line or a paragraph describing a project you’d like to realize with us. Attach this logline to the bottom of your scene. Please note here as well: MFA in Television Writing.

Upon Acceptance by the MFA Program in Television Writing

If a student accepted into the M.F.A. program wishes to offer, either for credit toward the degree or for exemption from enrollment in courses required by Stony Brook, analogous courses taken at another university, transcripts and other supporting material must be presented for consideration by the graduate program director before the end of the student’s first semester in the program (see Transfer of Credit from Other Universities).

Robert Sklar Diversity Fellowship

In Fall 2024, we will award a handful of full and partial Graduate and Teaching Assistantships to our incoming students, particularly to those students who can contribute to the diversity of Stony Brook. All applications for full-time study in the Fall term are considered, provided that the application is submitted by January 1, 2024. These GA/TA awards are extremely competitive.

A full TA/GA offer comes with an academic-year stipend of approximately $20,000, a 15-20 hour/week workload, full tuition waiver and subsidized health insurance. A partial TA/GA offer comes with a 50% tuition remission scholarship, and an academic-year stipend of approximately $10,000, as well as subsidized health insurance and an 8-10 hour/week workload; after 8-10 hour/week workload; or with a25% tuition remission scholarship, and an academic-year stipend of approximately $5,000, as well as subsidized health insurance and an 4-6hour/week workload. Students in good standing could expect to have their funding renewed for their second year, when they teach film and screenwriting courses to Stony Brook undergraduates.

Recipients of funding offers who can contribute to the diversity of Stony Brook may be additionally eligible for the Turner Fellowship. Those with outstanding academic promise may be eligible for the Graduate Council Fellowship. These fellowships award an additional $30,000 over the course of three years to their recipients, along with tuition waiver and stipend.

Degree Requirements

The MFA in Television Writing requires a minimum of 45 credits. In addition to the minimum Graduate School requirements, the following are required: