The widespread and prevailing belief among the entertainment industry is that USC has the strongest and most diverse Screen and Television writing program.
There was a post by Loop earlier apparently based on some inaccurate information from Film School Confidential and it actually brings up a god point: You can't really trust that, or any, really, book. The slow pace of even "quickie update" publications like that is far too slow to be relevant and is often based on inaccurate information.
The people that now produce that book have no first hand experience with the majority of the Programs they're discussing and, more importantly, they're not industry professional actively earning their living by writing or producing films, television or new media.
Think of it this way: books like that are like travel guides. They're based largely off of scant second hand accounts and the information that RA's can glean off of websites and periodicals.
If you look at the 2007 update of Film School Confidential it's description of the Tish Dramatic Writing Program is inaccurate when compared to the curriculum and course information currently on Tish's own website.
Columbia has an excellent program -- Enough good things can't be said about it and they produce many filmmakers who are very successful in the festival and indie circuit. Columbia is also extremely focused on gearing their student's Thesis films for the Student Academy Awards and they absolutely dominate it. The program is exclusive, they run about a 6-9% acceptance rate -- so you're into rarified territory and the fiction and nonfiction writing program is also renowned in the world of literature, producing many fine authors.
The writing program is generally intimate, and you get a broad core curriculum of directing, producing, critical studies, etc built in to you degree but there's less writing course variety -- particularly in rapidly burgeoning fields of New Media and Game Writing. What goes hand in hand with Columbia's success in the festival and indie critic market can also be a be a drawback in that the school as a whole and the film and creative writing programs in particular have a reputation for being self-satisfied, elitist, and smugly erudite and purposefully derisive of more "populist" entertainment. It's not that you have to be a McSweeny's subscriber, so much as you can't be a McSweeny's subscriber who also watches Heroes and likes Bon Jovi in anything but an ironic way.
NYU is also very good. The only caveat being that their program benefits from the "Halo Effect" of the absolutely fantastic Acting Program and the excellent instruction and study in playwriting. The quality of the specific screen and television writing isn't considered near as strong. Charlie Rubin has had a great career in television, writing for Seinfeld, but the Dept. Chair Richard Wesley had a far better and more extensive career as a playwright and David Ranghelli, their program director has very very limited studio experience. Playwriting courses are built into the curriculum which can be very nice -- especially if you're interested in both, at USC for example you can take playwriting courses but they aren't built in and the Dept. of Theatre at USC isn't as strong as NYU. Though, if you're focused exclusively on Film and TV writing it could also feel like taking up space that you would prefer to be used on additional film and television.
In general, the perception is that it's a top 5 program, but that it gains more of it's prestige and legitimacy by association than necessarily internal merit.
The Screen and Television Writing Program at The USC School of Cinematic Arts (How's that for a pretentiously long-winded program title?) is considered about as close as you can come to a stamped and approved screenwriting pedigree.
Part of this is based solely off of the numbers. Like Harvard Law it's been considered number 1 so widely and so long that everyone with a fighting chance applies for acceptance. So effectively the school gets to cherry pick the cream of the crop. The website says they accept 32 candidates every year, but that's more of a ballpark figure. Similar to some vinyards, They occasionally trumpet that only "qualified candidates" are accepted or wait-listed so if one year they don't find 32 people they like, they don't extend 32 offers. In 2005 they only took 28 candidates. In 2007 31. However in 2008 they took 36. When you consider that the writing division alone gets 1100-1400 yearly applicants, it puts their 2008 acceptance rate in the 2.5-3.5% range -- lower than Harvard Law. Statistically, that makes it one of the most exclusive programs in the world and naturally stacks the deck in their favor.
Also, similar to Tish at NYU they have very deep pockets and top of the line facilities. The close relationship to the Production Program and the "Skull and Bones Society of Film" Peter Stark Program means the Writing Division gets to offer more relationship and production opportunities to its students.
The program's length is stated at 2 years, but like the stated 3 years of most production programs -- USC, NYU -- it can easily be stretched and filled to 3. The instruction quality and diversity is also pretty much a pinnacle. Jack Epps, Jr. teaches as well as being Dept. Chair. Howard Rodman and John Furia are former chairs, full time faculty also hold active position in WGA leadership. David Howard -- who wrote the 'Tools for Screenwriting' books most commonly referred to is faculty and one of the program architects. Danny Bilson -- Rachel Bilson's father -- is on staff, also teaches Game Writing for video games and is the President of THQ. Trey Callaway -- a producer and writer on CSI: NY who's also show-running his 2nd pilot -- teaches the dedicated Pitching class, the list of professional and currently working faculty goes on and on...
The drawback to all this is that the instructor's availability is subject to change. Students can plan on taking an intensive rewrite course with Richard Kletter in their next semester only to find he's writing a feature and reduced his course load.
USC also gives you a more rounded course load -- with more dedicated scene construction classes and intensive classes devoted entirely to rewriting features. There's courses for writing web series, games, adaption and genre specific options like scifi/fantasy, horror, historical adaptation.
Again, the knock here is that not all of them are offered every semester -- so you can wind up having to forgo the Scifi feature class because it conflicts with your Thesis only to find it's not offered the next semester.
The Networking contacts are also something that's always going to be a natural ace in the hole for USC simply by benefit how many successful past alumni they've turned out. Aside from all the relationship opportunities from instructors and classmates, every graduate student gets to name an industry professional EX: (Josh Schwartz, John Singlton, Tara Butters, Steve Zallian, Rob Thomas, etc) and the writing division will contact them and get them to mentor the student for his/her first few years out.
Jayimess, made mention of the "First Pitch" thing, and that's also something that's exclusive to USC. 30-40 reps from the major studios, production companies, the big 5 agencies and others attend a giant pitch event. Every year there's multiple sales, development deals and students who get agents as a result.
Once again, there's drawbacks -- if you want to write a script that will change the function, conventions and expectations of what an audience considers a theatrical experience, the program is rather implicit that this is not really for you. People will often say that the school is very "studio friendly" and that is born out of an educational philosophy -- across all schools -- that focuses more on story craft, character arc, emotional construction, and equipping students with tools to write strong and effectively in the professional world than it does on auteur or indie sensibilities. Your craft and unique narrative voice are paramount -- compared to other programs that favor people wishing to focus more on exploring avant-garde story telling directions or their deeply personal autobiographical story.
The reason USC is number one is that, it's easier for them to stay on top than it is for a growing school, like Chapman, or an also credible stalwart like NYU from ever overtaking them -- they've already got the machinery moving.
And the reason why working professionals in the industry favor USC so strongly is that the school's "pick of the litter" candidate pool, instruction level, and focus on craft, story, and character over art and experimentation creates more successful outgoing alumni. The Writing Program effectively does that same thing as the Football team -- they turn out Pro style quarterbacks ready to easily transition into the NFL. That can come across to some as slightly mercenary and potentially stifling, but it's also the reason the program is so effective and producing writers who go on to earn their living writing.
The fundamental question of "Strongest" program will always get refracted through the lens of "what constitutes strongest to you?" and, like a lot of things, that depends on the user.
In generic terms, Graduate Programs tend to be geared towards either continued study, research and exploration of the subject or preparing students to apply their subject in the professional world.
Since screenwriting more a craft that's practiced and employed amidst and in collaboration with other professionals in an industry dedicated to creating a product to be viewed by an audience and not a subject that's built upon through scientifically controlled experiments and peer-reviewed research I would personally posit that that strongest program is the one that's most effective at consistently turning out graduates who then practice their craft in a successful professional career.
Your milage may vary.
