Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) (B-FASCWRI)

Overview

Award title	Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)
Year & campus	2025 — Southbank
CRICOS code	093587J
Fees information	Subject EFTSL, level, discipline and census date
Study level & type	Undergraduate Coursework
AQF level	7
Credit points	300 credit points
Duration	36 months full-time

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) provides an immersive and experiential studio-based education, focusing on the origination and development of stories for the screen. There is a strong emphasis on developing the student's individual creative voice, while underlining the need to speak effectively and freshly to an audience.

The course provides training in writing for different screen-based mediums and genres, as well as the creative adaptation of work originated in other mediums. Focus is placed upon writing to a high professional standard with a view to industry standards and markets, while developing the student as a unique, resilient individual, both creatively, and professionally.

Housed in the Film and Television department, this degree complements and collaborates with the department's other undergraduate degrees Bachelor of Fine Arts (Film and Television) and the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Animation). This provides screenwriting students with the unique opportunity to develop collaboration skills and creative partnerships.

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) students complete a personal, artistically transformational, and highly professional course of development, culminating in a capstone experience in third year.

The course design actively encourages personal courage and resilience through enabling students to gradually build collaboration and networking skills, at first with other students and later with industry practitioners. With their creative, collaborative and technical skills they are optimally placed to make significant impact in the national and international creative industries.

Graduates may be eligible to apply progress to an additional year to qualify for a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Degree with Honours), or the Master of Film and Television by coursework.

Links to further information

This course is available in My Course Planner

My Course Planner is an interactive web application that allows you to explore your study options and decide which subjects and major(s), minors and/or specialisations are right for you.

Entry requirements

1. In order to be considered for entry, applicants must have completed one of:

(a) the Victorian Certificate of Education including VCE Units 3 and 4 either a study score of at least 25 in English/English Language/Literature or a study score of at least 30 in English as an Additional Language;

(b) the International Baccalaureate Diploma including at least Grade 4 in English or English B (Standard Level or Higher Level);

(c) a senior secondary program, foundation studies program or equivalent approved by Academic Board including appropriate English language studies.

Applicants are also required to complete as prescribed by the Academic Board:

a set creative task; and
an interview (shortlisted applicants only).

Meeting these requirements does not guarantee selection.

2. In ranking applications, the Selection Committee will consider:

the set creative task; and
performance in an interview (shortlisted applicants only); and
prior academic achievement.

3. The Selection Committee may seek further information to clarify any aspect of an application in accordance with the Academic Board rules on the use of selection instruments.

4. For applicants who have not completed the Victorian Certificate of Education or the International Baccalaureate Diploma, the undergraduate English language requirements must be met.

Notes:

For applicants through the Victorian Tertiary Admission Centre, “middle-band” selection adjustments are made only on the basis of eligibility for Access Melbourne
Details for the set creative task and interview (shortlisted applicants only) can be found on the Fine Arts and Music Study website https://finearts-music.unimelb.edu.au/study-with-us
Successful applicants will be required to hold a current Working with Children Check and this must remain valid for the duration of the course

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

Communication Skills: Students require effective and efficient communication skills about their knowledge and application of practicing arts disciplines.

Creative, Intellectual and Organisational Abilities: Students require the capacity for high-level creative performance or production, and are expected to have the ability to develop problem-solving skills and to comprehend disciplinary and cross-disciplinary information.

Behavioural and Social Attributes: Students participate in a complex learning environment and must take responsibility for their own participation and learning. Collaborative learning environments require students to demonstrate a wide range of interpersonal skills which contributes to and considers the needs of other students. Assessment may include the outcomes of tasks completed in collaboration with other students.

Students who have a disability which may prevent them from participating in tasks involving these inherent academic requirements are encouraged to contact Student Equity and Disability Services: https://students.unimelb.edu.au/student-support/student-equity-and-disability-support

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this course, graduates should be able to:

write an engaging, audience focused screenplay to high professional standard;
write scripts using current professional format, style and language;
write compelling work for different platforms and markets including film, television, web-series and the youth market;
write engaging scripts using knowledge of different genres;
work in a self directed manner;
critically analyse and redraft their screenplay to an advanced draft;
work collaboratively within a creative filmmaking team;
give and receive script feedback in a professional manner;
approach industry practitioners in a professional way, with a focus on building networks and finding work.

Generic skills

On completion of this course, graduates should be able to:

work autonomously, employing judgement and responsibility as both practitioners and learners;
show initiative and openness in new situations;
work collaboratively, responsibly, and flexibly across disciplines;
effectively communicate, interpret and analyse with a capacity for critical thinking;
determine clear and attainable project goals;
network, mentor and lead others in problem solving;
facilitate effective collaboration through self awareness and successfully navigate challenges and manage conflict;
demonstrate resilience (working under pressure).

Graduate attributes

Graduates of the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) will have developed the following skills and attributes that allow them to be:

Artistically excellent:

demonstrate a flexible and innovative approach to the national and international challenges for the professional artist/practitioner in the 21 Century;
have a strong sense of intellectual integrity and of the ethics of artistic practices and scholarship;
have in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline(s);
reach a high level of achievement in artistic practice, writing, generic research activities, problem-solving and communication;
be critical and creative thinkers, with an aptitude for continued self-directed learning;
be adept at learning in a range of ways, including through information and communication technologies.

Knowledgeable across disciplines:

critically examine, synthesise and evaluate knowledge across a range of disciplines;
expand their analytical and cognitive skills through learning experiences in diverse subjects;
have the capacity to participate fully in collaborative learning and to confront unfamiliar problems;
have a set of flexible and transferable skills for different types of employment.

Leaders in communities:

initiate and implement constructive change in their communities, including professions and workplaces;
have excellent interpersonal and decision-making skills, including an awareness of personal strengths and limitations;
mentor future generations of learners;
engage in meaningful public discourse, with a profound awareness of community needs.

Attuned to cultural diversity:

value different cultures and their cultural forms of practice;
be well-informed citizens able to contribute to their communities wherever they choose to live and work;
have an understanding of the social and cultural diversity in our community
respect Indigenous knowledge, cultures and values.

Active global citizens:

understand their relationship with and responsibility to their cultural environment and society;
accept social and civic responsibilities;
be advocates for improving the sustainability of the environment;
have a broad global understanding, with a high regard for human rights, equity and ethics.

Course structure

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting) requires the successful completion of 300 credit points.

Compulsory subjects

250 credit points of Compulsory subjects
- 75 credit points of Level 1 Compulsory subjects
- 87.5 credit points of Level 2 Compulsory subjects
- 87.5 credit points of Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Breadth

50 credit points of Breadth subjects
- A minimum of 12.5 credit points of Level 2 or Level 3 breadth subjects

Progression Rules

Completion of CREA10002 Stories of Place in the first semester of study
Completion of all Level 1 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Completion of all Level 2 Compulsory subjects before proceeding to the next year level's Compulsory subjects
Note: Compulsory subjects in this program have prerequisites. Refer to individual subject entries.

For students who commenced prior to 2021

For students who commenced the Bachelor of Fine Arts prior to 2021, please click the link below to view your course structure and subject options:

Link

Subject Options

Level 1 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
CREA10002	Stories of Place	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank) Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	6.25

All students must take Stories of Place in their first semester of commencement in this course

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FLTV10012	Screenwriting Practices 1A	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	18.75
FLTV10009	Screen Culture	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FLTV10015	Screenwriting Practices 1B	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FLTV10025	Introduction to Screenwriting	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Level 2 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FLTV20012	Screenwriting Practices 2A	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FLTV20018	Writing for the Youth Screen Market	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FLTV20011	Gaming and the Writer	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FLTV20017	Screenwriting Practices 2B	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FLTV20023	Creating Sustainable Screen Productions	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5

Level 3 Compulsory subjects

Code	Name	Study period	Credit Points
FLTV30028	Screen Industry Focus	Year Long (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FLTV30029	Screenwriting Practices 3A	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	25
FLTV30015	Screen Adaptation	Semester 1 (On Campus - Southbank)	12.5
FLTV30030	Screenwriting Practices 3B	Semester 2 (On Campus - Southbank)	25

Breadth requirements

50 points of breadth subjects including at least 12.5 points at Level 2 or Level 3.

Find breadth subjects

Use the Handbook Search function to find subjects that can be used as breadth studies in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Screenwriting)

Reassessment is available in this course

Reassessment is a second attempt at passing a compulsory subject if a borderline failure in a single subject has a significant impact on the student's progression through their course. A borderline failure is usually a mark of 45% or more. Reassessment is not available if failure in the subject is a result of a finding of student academic misconduct; or a student was awarded a NH grade due to failure to participate in a component of assessment that was a hurdle requirement or failure to attend or participate in the subject as required.

Refer to Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326): https://policy.unimelb.edu.au/MPF1326

Last updated: 21 February 2025