Chapman MFA Screenwriting 2023

[Bunnysadie]

Wishing everyone luck as we head into the final weeks approaching the deadline! Creating this thread for community/questions/moral support as we move forward with our applications and interview processes!

 

[Chris W]

Here's our stats for the program:

Chapman University - Dodge College of Film and Media Arts Acceptance Rate (All Programs/All Years)

66.7%

Admitted

281 out of 421

13.5%

Waitlisted

57 out of 421

19.7%

Not Admitted

83 out of 421

Awaiting Results Admitted Waitlisted Denied

Click here for our full Admission Statistics for this program including interview and acceptance notification dates, accepted GPAs, waitlist acceptance rate, demographics of accepted applicants, $ amount of scholarship awarded, and more...

Be sure to log your application with our database when you submit it to the school.

Deadline is December 1, 2022​

Here's our interview with Chapman admissions:

How to get into Chapman's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts: Tips from the Department of Admissions (Part 1)

Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts offers top-notch filmmaking courses in a welcoming and close-knit environment. Notable alumni include the Duffer brothers (Writers-Directors-Producers, "Stranger Things"), Justin Simien (Writer-Director-Producer, "Dear White People"), and...

• Alexa P.
• Nov 4, 2021
• 5.00 star(s) 1 reviews
• Category: Admissions Interviews

Good luck!!!

 

[alanray]

Hello prospective future Chapman students! I graduated from the screenwriting MFA program at Chapman in 2021, and you can ask me anything. I'll try my best to be of some help! And good luck to all of you.

 

[Wridir2186]

Thank you for doing this @alanray. I'm waiting to hear back from a few schools but i had a few questions to ask someone who went through the program. (still not accepted)

Do they interview in the application process?
Do you know if the offer teacher assistantships while attending grad school?
Did you work with other film departments and write anything for them to make?
How do you feel about the program? Did it offer any special opportunities? Would you recommend it?

 

[alanray]

Thank you for doing this @alanray. I'm waiting to hear back from a few schools but i had a few questions to ask someone who went through the program. (still not accepted)

Do they interview in the application process?
Do you know if the offer teacher assistantships while attending grad school?
Did you work with other film departments and write anything for them to make?
How do you feel about the program? Did it offer any special opportunities? Would you recommend it?

Yeah of course! I wish you all the luck in your grad school process!

1. They didn't interview me for the screenwriting program at the time when I applied, but I heard that have started interviewing candidates now. And I believe they do for the production departments as well.
2. I'm not aware of any official teacher assistantships that are available -- that was not something that was advertised to us while we were students there. But I did hear of one example of a student that was basically a TA to one professor and the school even counted that as an internship towards graduation, so I would ask around some professors if any one of them would like an assistant.
3. The writers did work with other departments! The first year of the grad program the writers work with directors and producers to make multiple short films for their production thesis -- if they like you, you can develop an official working partnership down the line as well. You are also free to volunteer to help out on sets, but unfortunately COVID hit early into my time at grad school and I wasn't able to help on shoots.
4. I enjoyed my time there generally. Just wish the pandemic hadn't happened of course. The instructors are really smart and helpful and the area is really nice. Downtown Orange is the best. I learned a lot at Chapman. They had all the writers at the end of the year pitch scripts to a bunch of producers and agents which was a lot of fun, but nothing comes of it most of the time. But its good experience. I do wish the school resources helped graduated alumni more on finding jobs, but overall I would recommend Chapman. I don't think I would be where I am without it.

 

[Wridir2186]

Yeah of course! I wish you all the luck in your grad school process!

1. They didn't interview me for the screenwriting program at the time when I applied, but I heard that have started interviewing candidates now. And I believe they do for the production departments as well.
2. I'm not aware of any official teacher assistantships that are available -- that was not something that was advertised to us while we were students there. But I did hear of one example of a student that was basically a TA to one professor and the school even counted that as an internship towards graduation, so I would ask around some professors if any one of them would like an assistant.
3. The writers did work with other departments! The first year of the grad program the writers work with directors and producers to make multiple short films for their production thesis -- if they like you, you can develop an official working partnership down the line as well. You are also free to volunteer to help out on sets, but unfortunately COVID hit early into my time at grad school and I wasn't able to help on shoots.
4. I enjoyed my time there generally. Just wish the pandemic hadn't happened of course. The instructors are really smart and helpful and the area is really nice. Downtown Orange is the best. I learned a lot at Chapman. They had all the writers at the end of the year pitch scripts to a bunch of producers and agents which was a lot of fun, but nothing comes of it most of the time. But its good experience. I do wish the school resources helped graduated alumni more on finding jobs, but overall I would recommend Chapman. I don't think I would be where I am without it.

Thank you for the response! It was very beneficial. I'm sure I'll come back here if I luck out with my application.

 

[alanray]

Thank you for the response! It was very beneficial. I'm sure I'll come back here if I luck out with my application.

I'm glad to help! Best of luck to you!

 

[Bunnysadie]

Just got an admissions interview request over email! Everyone check spam!

 

[Sleepingbruce]

Just got an admissions interview request over email! Everyone check spam!

Congrats! It seems that interview requests were sent out for screenwriting and film production on the same day last year. But I haven’t got it yet.

 

[Wridir2186]

I have not gotten an interview request yet.

 

[Chris W]

Everyone, please be sure to edit or log your application with our site with your final decision info. It is a HUGE help to future applicants and allows our site to calculate extremely useful admissions statistics and information.

If you have any questions on how to log or edit your application or if you have any suggestions on how we can improve our application database please let me know.

Application Database

A database of thousands of film school applications to calculate acceptance rates to film programs and the minimum GPAs, minimum SAT and GRE scores, experience of accepted applicants, and much more....

www.filmschool.org

Log application to…

www.filmschool.org

Congrats to everyone who has been accepted and don't give up if you haven't. Sometimes it takes MULTIPLE attempts.

 

[justanotherwriter]

Hello prospective future Chapman students! I graduated from the screenwriting MFA program at Chapman in 2021, and you can ask me anything. I'll try my best to be of some help! And good luck to all of you.

I'm not sure if you're still answering but if you are, did they ask you what other schools you're applying to? I didn't know how to answer that and would prefer not to.

 

[Mavenmavennot]

Hello prospective future Chapman students! I graduated from the screenwriting MFA program at Chapman in 2021, and you can ask me anything. I'll try my best to be of some help! And good luck to all of you.

Are you employed now? Was it worth it?!

 

[Mavenmavennot]

Hello! Are you employed? How is life post-graduation?