USC SCA MFA Screenwriting 2026

[sgreina]

Hey guys, I'm new here but haven't seen many people talking about the screenwriting MFA at USC. I just figured I'd start the conversation!

 

[Chris W]

Thanks for starting this thread!

Here's our stats for the program:

USC School of Cinematic Arts Acceptance Rate (USC - Writing for Screen and TV MFA/All Years)

28.1%

Admitted

75 out of 267

6.7%

Waitlisted

18 out of 267

65.2%

Not Admitted

174 out of 267

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...

Lots of GREAT data in the link above.

And here are our interviews with a USC admissions officer if you haven't seen them yet:

How to get Into USC SCA: Advice from an Admissions Committee Member

Considered by many to be the best film school in the world, it’s no wonder why the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) is so sought after by prospective undergraduate and graduate students alike. However, the film school’s prestige can often make the application process particularly stressful and...

• Svaja Paka
• Mar 5, 2020
• 5.00 star(s) 7 reviews
• Comments: 6
• Reviews: 5
• Category: Admissions Interviews

How to Get Into USC SCA in 2024: More Application Tips from an Admissions Committee Member

As the oldest film school in the U.S., the University of Southern California School of the Arts has helped usher exceptional talent to the forefront of the film industry. In 2023, TheWrap ranked USC SCA the no. 2 best film school in the nation, praising its advanced filmmaking facilities...

• Alexa P.
• Mar 14, 2024
• Comments: 2
• Category: Supporting Member Exclusives

 

[Chris W]

According to our stats from logged applications yes there have been interviews but I don't think everyone is interviewed.

Admission statistics for USC School of Cinematic Arts ()

Acceptance rate, minimum GPA, SAT, GRE, and demographics of admitted applicants for USC School of Cinematic Arts calculated from our database of thousands of film school applications.

www.filmschool.org

Interviews are not required for admission according to our interview with them:

Article 'How to get Into USC SCA: Advice from an Admissions Committee Member'

Considered by many to be the best film school in the world, it’s no wonder why the USC School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) is so sought after by prospective undergraduate and graduate students alike. However, the film school’s prestige can often make the application process particularly stressful and...

• Svaja Paka
• Mar 5, 2020
• Updated Mar 14, 2024
• 33 min read
• 5.00 star(s) 7 reviews
• Reaction score: 20
• Comments: 6
• Reviews: 5
• Category: Admissions Interviews
• application tips how to get into usc film school mfa personal statement tips sca undergraduate usc usc admissions usc film school usc film school acceptance rate usc film school admissions

Be sure to log your own application if you haven't yet:

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

 

[armaan2412]

Has anyone heard back at all? I think decisions should be coming out sometime soon!

 

[graymari]

Does the program have interviews? When will we expect to hear from the school with a decision?

From my understanding the production majors have interviews but I haven’t seen any writing majors this cycle or in past cycles be interviewed.

 

[armaan2412]

I just received notification that I was waitlisted. Has anyone else heard back?

 

[sgreina]

I just received notification that I was waitlisted. Has anyone else heard back?

Nothing yet! Hopefully we should hear back soon

 

[keko]

I just want to know if i've made it in or not, so i can move on and pick the colleges i have made it into.

 

[keko]

Nothing yet! Hopefully we should hear back soon

Have they even looked at your appellation my application still says complete

 

[sgreina]

Have they even looked at your appellation my application still says complete

I don't believe so

 

[KFlowers]

Has anyone heard back yet? This waiting period is stressing me out lol

 

[sgreina]

Nope. Nothing so far. I'm not sure how much longer I can wait for...

 

[keko]

Has anyone heard back yet? This waiting period is stressing me out lol

Same i just need to know so i know to say yes too the back up schools i got accepted too. Out side of Armon no one else has herd back on this site correct?

 

[sgreina]

It's definitely nerve wracking, but no. Nothing yet. The wait is actually terrible but I'm still hopeful! It should be any day now.

 

[coder-writer]

Hi everyone!

Current screenwriting student here. Just wanted to pop in and say I'm happy to try and answer any questions and/or just meet ppl. I'll try to remember to periodically check this thread and my inbox but no guarantees on response times!

Re: the above messages about interviews and response dates. For what it's worth: my application year we didn't have any interviews for the program and I got my application result on Feb 22nd (but I'm pretty sure was a rolling thing).

BIG ASTERISK/DISCLAIMER: Things could be totally different this year. Please take all my info with a grain of salt. I don't represent the school/administration in any way!!

 

[Chris W]

Hi everyone!

Current screenwriting student here. Just wanted to pop in and say I'm happy to try and answer any questions and/or just meet ppl. I'll try to remember to periodically check this thread and my inbox but no guarantees on response times!

Re: the above messages about interviews and response dates. For what it's worth: my application year we didn't have any interviews for the program and I got my application result on Feb 22nd (but I'm pretty sure was a rolling thing).

BIG ASTERISK/DISCLAIMER: Things could be totally different this year. Please take all my info with a grain of salt. I don't represent the school/administration in any way!!

Thanks for returning to the site to help these guys! It's very appreciated.

Do you mind answering some questions about the program?

• How are you enjoying it?
• What have they been having you write?
• How many are in your cohort?
• What's your favorite thing about the program so far?
• Least favorite?
• Anything that you wish you knew before starting?

Write a review when you can... USC is currently at 3.5 stars. (It can be anonymous and you can write one now while you're in the thick of it and one later after you graduate)

USC School of Cinematic Arts

For more than 90 years, the University of Southern California has trained the next generation of prolific filmmakers. As the nation's first institution of higher learning to offer a bachelor's degree in film, the School of Cinematic Arts remains at the forefront of emerging filmmaking trends...

• 3.72 star(s)
• Views: 120,337
• Reviews: 18
• Questions: 16
• Category: California

Thank you!

Really stoked that you came back to say hi

 

[keko]

Hi everyone!

Current screenwriting student here. Just wanted to pop in and say I'm happy to try and answer any questions and/or just meet ppl. I'll try to remember to periodically check this thread and my inbox but no guarantees on response times!

Re: the above messages about interviews and response dates. For what it's worth: my application year we didn't have any interviews for the program and I got my application result on Feb 22nd (but I'm pretty sure was a rolling thing).

BIG ASTERISK/DISCLAIMER: Things could be totally different this year. Please take all my info with a grain of salt. I don't represent the school/administration in any way!!

Did you get an email

Hey guys, I'm new here but haven't seen many people talking about the screenwriting MFA at USC. I just figured I'd start the conversation!

Ahh shoot i didn't make it in ;/ hopefuly NYU aspects me

 

[coder-writer]

Did you get an email

Yes! For anyone who might be coming from Google or skimming the thread, this was a previous application cycle not for this year. My experience was: first got an email to check my results in their online portal, then was just an outright email that just told me in the body that I got it (a week or two later I think?).

Thanks for returning to the site to help these guys! It's very appreciated.

Do you mind answering some questions about the program?

Great questions! I'll keep it brief for now but will most definitely continue to answer any specific questions from current year applicants as they crop up. My overall summary/tl;dr is:

USC is known for being the best film school for a reason. For starters, it's kinda a self-fulfilling prophecy because all the best storytellers want to go to the best program and, because a lot of our core classes are formatted similar to writing workshops (i.e. your professor and peers read your stuff and give you feedback every week), you're not really gonna get a better environment than what we have (feedback quality proportional to the people giving the feedback). The writing professors here are absolutely stacked (I swear every professor I talk to has like won an Emmy, won Cannes, sold dozens of scripts, and/or worked with all your favorite directors, etc.) and they're also amazing at teaching/feedback (usually you only get one or the other in professors, here at USC both are found in spades).

AND, even if you wanted to put all of what I said up to debate, I think USC's ace in the hole is that we undeniably have the best infrastructure to actually get you a job after you graduate. We have a pretty famous event at the end of the program where all the big companies send their agents, managers, and producers to meet with us. It's literally a direct pipeline to get representation (i.e. agents) and launch your career. Our industry relationship office is unparalleled to any other school and as mentioned before, a lot of our professors are really well regarded in the industry (I think it's literally a requirement for tenured professors to be actively working in Hollywood). And, of course, we have the Trojan mafia .

 

[sgreina]

Did you get an email

Ahh shoot i didn't make it in ;/ hopefuly NYU aspects me

I also didn't make it Fingers crossed for NYU. I applied there as well!

 

[soom]

Hi! Hopping in to say I was admitted, but I’ll be declining my offer.
Hope this helps anyone who’s waitlisted or still waiting. Best of luck to everyone!