- 12 Month Course
Screenwriting For Film & TV Diploma
- Domestic: $14,900
- International: $14,900
- Materials Cost: $1,000
Knowing how to turn that great story idea into a script that sells is equal parts art, science, and business. Screenwriters are the architects of a film, writing and designing the blueprint that every other part of the filmmaking process is built upon.
Screenwriting for Film and TV Course Outline
At Vancouver Acting School our instructors are award-winning industry professionals who currently work at the top of their field while guiding and mentoring students to the highest standards of professional excellence. Graduates of this program will have the ability to define the components and structures common to a variety of script format and be able to develop a writing schedule and work within it to create measured content within specific deadlines and timeframes. They will be able to construct work schedules to ensure deliverables and timelines are met and acquire skills that permit them to generate creative ideas on a daily basis, navigating and overcoming “writer’s block” and similar creative obstacles. Most importantly, they will graduate having written a series of spec scripts for film, television, and movies of the week.
The 12-month Screenwriting for Film & TV diploma program empowers students to take their ideas from concept to fleshed-out reality, harness their creative abilities, write at a professional level, and know how to effectively market their scripts. Taught fully online through live instruction, in a virtual classroom setting, this program will have you interacting with classmates and instructors on a daily basis from anywhere in the world to get your scripts to levels you never dreamt possible. But becoming a great writer is only half the battle. We’ll also provide you with the essential business know-how required to write for a living. Through practical hands-on work, deadline-driven projects, and regular critique from fellow screenwriters, graduates of this program will leave with both experience writing in a variety of formats and the business savvy required to make a living in the screenwriting industry.
Online requirements:
Our online classes are held over Zoom meetings. Students will be required to download the application or access Zoom through the web. Further instructions for accessing the classes will be shared with registered students before the first class.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT: Applicants with mature students status, and/or students whose first language is not English, below are the minimum scores required from any one of the following tests in English proficiency: IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC or Cambridge. If necessary, we may also require a telephone or in-person interview.
- International English Language Testing Service (IELTS): minimum score required is overall 6.0
- Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL): minimum score required is 68 for the internet-based exam, 190 for the computer-based exam and 520 for the paper-based exam
- Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC): minimum score required is 700
- Cambridge First Certificate in English (FCE): minimum level achieved B1
Full Time Classes
Screenwriting Classes
Part Time Classes
NEXT START DATE: September 29, 2025
Course Schedule
Our Screenwriting program consists of a total of twenty courses running over 12 months within a dynamic 960 hour program of live, online instruction in a virtual classroom setting.
WRI-100
Fundamentals of Story & Structure
This course explores and imparts both the creative and technical processes required by professional screenwriters to find their own voice, generate strong story ideas, construct stories, and write scripts formatted to industry standards.
TERM 1
3 CREDITS
WRI-110
Intro to the History of Film
Students will explore the story development and filmmaking process from script to screen through film viewings, critical analysis, historical contextual reflection, and relationship to modern audiences.
TERM 1
3 CREDITS
WRI-120
Exploring Digital Content: Web Series & Shorts
Web Series: Students will learn the elements of a successful web series. As they explore the broad possibilities of the form, they will create an original sketch and longer form series, developing concepts from idea, to script, to revision. Short Film: Students will learn the elements of successful short film through the development of short screenplays, active storytelling workshops, and a collaborative writing project.
TERM 1
3 CREDITS
WRI-130
Creating the Half-Hour TV Show
Students will construct a spec script for a half-hour comedy series. They will learn how to professionally format their scripts and incorporate the elements required of this format.
TERM 1
3 CREDITS
WRI-190
Intro to the Entertainment Industry
Students will learn the ins and outs of the entertainment business from understanding the roots of how Hollywood began to how they can craft a career for themselves in the business today. They will also learn how goal set, time manage and create positive habits required to have a successful writing career.
TERM 1
3 CREDITS
WRI-111
History of Film: Genre Studies
Students will continue to explore the story development and filmmaking process from script to screen through film viewings and critical analysis in the context of specific genres and genre conventions.
TERM 2
3 CREDITS
WRI-121
Developing Digital Content: Web& Shorts
Web Series: Students will continue to develop their working knowledge of key web series elements through the ongoing development of their original sketch and longer form series. Short Film: Students will continue to develop their working knowledge of key elements of successful short film through the ongoing development of short screenplays, active storytelling workshops, and a collaborative writing project. “
TERM 2
3 CREDITS
WRI-131
Workshopping the Half-Hour TV Show
Students will continue to develop their spec script for a half-hour comedy series.
TERM 2
3 CREDITS
WRI-131
Preparing for Feature Film
Students will learn how to structure, outline, and write their own original feature length screenplay, with a final length of 90-110 pages.
TERM 2
3 CREDITS
WRI-150
Creating the MOW
Students will learn the ins and outs of the entertainment business from understanding the roots of how Hollywood began to how they can craft a career for themselves in the business today. They will also learn how goal set, time manage and create positive habits required to have a successful writing career.
TERM 2
3 CREDITS
WRI-200
Exploring Story & Creativity
An investigation of the meaning and importance of story in which students will take a variety of approaches to self-expression through story and the cinematic form.
TERM 3
3 CREDITS
WRI-210
History of Film: Canadian & Indie
Students will continue to explore the story development and filmmaking process from script to screen through film viewings and critical analysis in the context of Canadian and Indie films and story conventions.
TERM 3
3 CREDITS
WRI-230
Creating the One-Hour TV Show
Students will construct a spec script for a one-hour dramatic series and format it to industry standards.
TERM 3
3 CREDITS
WRI-240
Writing the Feature Film
Students continue to structure, outline, and write their own original feature length screenplay, with a final length of 90-110 pages.
TERM 3
3 CREDITS
WRI-250
Crafting the Pitch
An introduction to the various types of professional pitches and pitch opportunities students will encounter in their lives as professional writers.
TERM 3
3 CREDITS
WRI-201
Expanding Story & Creativity
An investigation of the meaning and importance of story in which students will take a variety of approaches to self-expression through story and the cinematic form.
TERM 4
3 CREDITS
WRI-211
History of Film: Outliers
Students will continue to explore the story development and filmmaking process from script to screen through film viewings and critical analysis in the context of non-traditional films and filmmakers.
TERM 4
3 CREDITS
WRI-231
Workshopping the One-Hour TV Show
Students will continue to develop their spec script for a one-hour dramatic series.
TERM 4
3 CREDITS
WRI-241
Workshopping the Feature Film
Workshopping the Feature Film WRI-241 3 Students workshop their feature scripts in a writer’s room setting, giving and receiving professional notes designed to help them improve and polish their stories to a professional standard.
TERM 4
3 CREDITS
WRI-290
The Business of Screenwriting
This final course of the business component of screenwriting prepares students to navigate the film industry after they graduate.
TERM 4
3 CREDITS
