Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing - Screenwriting MFA

Hi! I’m Bryant Womack, Western Colorado University Class of 2025 and now faculty at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks where I teach undergraduate screenwriting and filmmaking.

There’s not a day that goes by I don’t apply my education from Western be it as a professor in my own classroom, or in my practice of writing screenplays and novels. I consider myself indeed fortunate to have had the screenwriting instructors at Western guide me in my career as both storyteller and educator.

The dedication of the screenwriting instructors at Western focus on craft, mentorship, and a collaborative structure that is both fulfilling and challenging.

Let me rephrase that - pursuing my Western MFA kicked me in the butt 17 ways to Sunday! However, the discipline, instruction, guidance, and belief my instructors had in me - and continue to give me - turned me into the best I can be, and it’s simple to understand why - because I was taught by the best.

Sure, you can say this review is coerced and/or staged. I get it. I thought similar when I applied at Western and read similar posts to other schools I’d been accepted into for screenwriting that boasted their programs. But, I committed to Western.

The reason? Simple.

Because the instructors at Western offer in-person classroom and mentorship interaction. Others schools offering online course work end up being asynchronous and detached from the student. That might work well for some, but the collaboration and personalized dedication to you and your work often gets lost. As an educator I see that all too often in asynchronous programs.

So, let me shout out to you the names, James, Mita, Kim, Liz, and Amy. Come to Western, and they’ll shout out a list of names in the industry to you, and when that happens, you’ll understand why Western is one of the best possible choices for your career in screenwriting.

Finally, aside from screenwriting, the personalized attention I received from my Western instructors and cohort made me want to be not just a better writer - but a better person.

Apply. Write. Be the best.

Go Mad Jack.

Bryant Womack
MFA Screenwriting
Class of 2025

I am honored to be writing this review for Western’s graduate program in Screenwriting, but I am really writing a review for the Graduate Program in Creative Writing as a whole.

I cannot recommend this program enough, truly. It’s hard to describe just how much I learned and am still learning! I graduated with my MFA just this past July (2025) and am already seeing my hard work pay off. Let me repeat an important part of that sentence once more… “hard work”.

This program is not for someone looking for an easy way to “get their masters degree online”. This program is for writers, artists who are looking to master their craft and build an understanding of how to navigate the even harder reali-life industries. This program is for folks who take writing seriously and look forward to nerding out each week. This program is for the voices that don’t feel like they belong anywhere else. And, yes, this program is for those who looking for hard, but oh so rewarding, work. Who said getting your masters was supposed to be easy?

Let me tell you, sewing these seeds will lead to a bountiful harvest. I graduated just over 6 months ago and have already been selected in three screenplay completions, I have a reading planned for my thesis script, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet with some producers. Me and some other alumni have even started our own weekly writing group to continue sharpening the tools we learned at the GPCW!

The faculty are experienced, knowledgeable, and superb writers themselves. The leadership are gracious, supportive, and open to your feedback. The curriculum is fast-paced, challenging, and worth every stressed out second you give it.

I graduated from WSCU's MFA program in 2015 and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think not enough people know about the program, so I wanted to share some information about it. I chose the school because it was low-residency so I could keep working without having to move for classes, and because the screenwriting professors all were industry professionals working in Los Angeles. I got a dual MFA in both Fiction Writing and Screenwriting, so it really mattered to me that the people teaching have experience publishing and selling work as I didn't want to be a teacher like a lot of MFA Writing Programs guide you into being.

The other portion of the program that I thought was great for me was that each track of the MFA program has a course on the business side of things and how to get into the industry. Your thesis advisor and professors work with you to come up with your own plan of contests you should enter and managers/agents you should consider based on your writing style. They really mentor you to try and help you find your own path into the industry based on your goals.

During the summers you have a two-week on-campus intensive where you workshop new writing, have seminars on the industry, and attend a writer's conference with the option to see guest speakers from each of the industries in the MFA Program (screenwriting, fiction, poetry, publishing). It was a nice perk to have the in-person segment so we could meet the people we'd been talking to all year and you pretty much talk writing and film non-stop which is always awesome. Plus, two weeks in the mountains in Colorado was like a vacation every year and you have a few free days to explore.

The only downside I really had in the program was more toward the fiction side of my studies. I had some issues with my fiction thesis advisor, but she's no longer a professor at the school and that doesn't apply to the screenwriting program at all. I'm still in touch with both of my screenwriting professors on a regular basis.

The downside I've heard other screenwriting students talk about was that there's an out of concentration course you have to take in either fiction or poetry, but the majority took the fiction course and found it helped them with the adaptation class later. Since I had a double major anyway, it didn't bother me.

I would definitely recommend anyone who is interested in a screenwriting degree but isn't quite ready to move to LA or NYC where some of the major schools are to consider WSCU's program. Being able to do it low-residency let me keep my job and my expenses lower during the years I was in school, which let me save up for classes and so I could follow through on my plan to move to Los Angeles after I graduated.

The main downside to the program is the same with any sort of writing program really -- it's expensive and there's never a guarantee you're going to find a job in the industry you're studying. However, I felt like the program was worth the cost because it taught not just the writing but the business, and sort of prepped you the best it could for getting in the industry in some way. The Writing Conference and 2-week summer session always gave you an opportunity to network and practice pitching, and overall I just felt like I at least knew how to approach becoming a professional screenwriting by the time I was done, it was just up to me to pursue it.