Screenwriting

Students must fulfill the Oakland University General Education Requirements, the General College of Arts and Sciences requirements, the College of Arts and Sciences Exploratory requirement, and the Major Requirements. Additionally, students must complete a sufficient number of free elective courses to meet the overall credit requirement for their degree. A minimum of 120 credits is required, although some degree programs may require a higher total credit count.

General Education Requirements

In order to graduate on-schedule without taking additional courses, it is highly recommended that students meet with an Undergraduate Academic Adviser concerning the selection of all of their General Education courses.

Each candidate for an Oakland University baccalaureate will need to satisfactorily complete approved courses in each of the following areas: Foundations, Explorations, and Integration. For details, refer to the General Education Requirements section of the catalog.

Requirements for the liberal arts major in Screenwriting, B.A.

The Screenwriting major requires a minimum of 44 credit hours. Students must be juniors or seniors before taking the capstone.

Students must earn a grade of C in each CW, ENG or FLM course to have it count toward the major. Students who don’t earn at least a C in these courses must retake that course to earn that grade minimum before proceeding on to the next course in the sequence. The 44 credits are distributed as follows:

1. Required courses

• course Intro to Screen/TV Writing (4)

• course The Craft of Screenwriting (4)

• course Introduction to Film (4)

  or course Film and Formal Analysis (4)

  • course or course may satisfy the requirement either for the Required courses category or the Film and Literature Electives category but not both.

2. Capstone

• course Advanced Screenwriting (4)

3. Creative Writing Electives

Choose three of the following courses.

• course Introduction to Memoir and Personal Essay (4)

• course The Craft of Fiction (4)

• course The Craft of Poetry (4)

• course The Craft of Screenwriting (4)

• course The Craft of Memoir and Personal Essay (4)

• course Narrative Writing in Video Games (4)

• course Editing and Publishing a Literary Journal (4)

• course Special Topics in Creative Writing (4)

• course Advanced Workshop in Fiction (4)

• course Advanced Workshop in Poetry (4)

• course Advanced Workshop in Memoir and Personal Essay (4)

4. Film and Literature Electives

Choose four of the following courses. At least one must be an ENG course and one must be a FLM course. Two of these courses must be taken at the 3000 level.

• course Shakespeare (4)

• course Drama (4)

• course Adaptation: Fiction, Drama, Film (4)

• course Modern Drama (4)

• course Introduction to Film (4)

  • may satisfy the requirement either for the Film and Literature Electives category or the Required courses category, but not both

• course Film and Formal Analysis (4)

  • may satisfy the requirement either for the Film and Literature Electives category or the Required courses category, but not both

• Any course in the range FLM 3200-3330

• Any course in the range FLM 3900-3905

5. Language and Culture

An introductory two-semester sequence in a foreign language or American Sign Language, or one semester of a foreign language at the 1150 level or higher or American Sign Language at the 1501 level or higher.

Note

1. Students majoring in Screenwriting may not use the FLM prefix to satisfy the College of Arts and Sciences Exploratory Requirement, but are recommended to use the ENG prefix to do so. 

2. Students using this catalog to meet Screenwriting major requirements may also use any course subsequently approved as satisfying requirements under the various workshop and cognate elective course options that is published in a later catalog.

Applicable Minors

All Minors are applicable to this major with the exception of the following Minor(s): Child Welfare, Creative Writing, International Orientation for EGR/CS, and Sustainability Engineering.