The Rita and Burton Goldberg MFA Playwriting Program at Hunter College is a highly selective, rigorous, and affordable two-year playwriting program located in the heart of New York City. We seek writers eager to develop their craft and challenge assumptions about what theatre is and will become. 

The Program

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The program at Hunter is focused on helping writers hone their voice and aesthetic while taking risks and experimenting with form. Students study with award-winning writers, working theatre professionals, and esteemed guest artists in a program that offers intensive, hands-on writing workshops and fosters a collaborative, close-knit artistic community.

The program provides free or affordable tickets to a wide range of New York City productions. During their time at Hunter, students receive a roundtable workshop reading with a professional director and actors, as well as regular workshop opportunities with student actors in the department as part of the Play Labs series. Teaching Assistantships are available to students in their second year. The capstone project of the program is the Hunter College MFA Playwrights Festival, a week-long play development workshop with a professional director and actors which culminates in a public reading attended by agents, producers, and industry professionals.

Instructors

Current and Recent Playwriting Faculty include:

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Clare Barron (Dance Nation, You Got Older)

Oliver Butler (What the Constitution Means to Me, The Debate Society)

Lisa D’Amour (Detroit, Airline Highway)

Karen Hartman (Roz and Ray, Project Dawn)

Tina Satter (This is a Room, Half Straddle)

Lloyd Suh (The Chinese Lady, American Hwangap)

Maria Striar (Clubbed Thumb)

Anne Washburn (Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play, The Internationalist)

Visiting Artists

The 2020 Visiting Artists include:

Mia Chung, Will Davis, Michael R. Jackson,

Charly Evon Simpson, Jen Silverman, and Whitney White.

Student & Alumni News

Leadership

Admission  Requirements

You must meet the following minimum requirements in order to be considered for admission. Meeting these minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance to the program.​

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Interviews will be conducted with a select group of candidates after the initial review of application is completed. (Only matriculated students are eligible to take MFA courses.)

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• A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution comparable in standard and content to a bachelor’s degree from Hunter College.

• Play Manuscript - Submit a full length play at least 45 pages as a PDF. A digital copy of the manuscript needs to be uploaded in the online applications system before submitting the application

• Two letters of recommendation from appropriate academic or professional references.

• A statement of purpose of approximately 500-750 words answering the following questions: Why do you choose playwriting as a literary form? Discuss your background in the theatre, the playwrights and productions that have influenced you, and what you hope to bring to the stage.

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Applicants whose native language is not English and who have taken all or part of their undergraduate education in a country where English is not the native language are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The following minimum scores must be obtained:

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• Paper Based Test: 550

• Computer Administered Test: 213

• Internet Based Test: 60 (less speaking component)

Degree Requirements

This two-year program encourages playwrights to discover and develop their unique voices.  Students should expect a thorough grounding in theatre history, dramatic literature and theory, and the craft of playwriting. They will also have the opportunity to take electives and learn from well-known guest artists. The program culminates in a public, staged reading of the students' work.

Required Courses

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• MFA Playwriting I: Developing Your Voice
  THC 73100

• MFA Playwriting II: Workshop
  THC 73200

• MFA Playwriting III: Workshop
  THC 73300

• MFA Playwriting IV: Thesis Project
  THC 73400

• MFA Production Workshop I: Adaptation
  THC 73500

• MFA Production Workshop II: The Playwright Prepares
  THC 73600

• History of Theatre I
  THC 75100

• History of Theatre II
  THC 75200

• Play Analysis
  THC 79000

• Electives (9 credits)

Sample Program of Study
 

First Semester

• History of Theatre I

• MFA Playwriting I: Developing Your Voice

• MFA Production Workshop I: Adaptation

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Second Semester

• History of Theatre II

• MFA Playwriting II: Workshop

• Play Analysis

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Third Semester

• MFA Playwriting III: Workshop

• Elective

• Elective

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Fourth Semester

• MFA Production Workshop II: The Playwright Prepares

• MFA Playwriting IV: Thesis Project

• Elective

SPRING 2021 COURSES

MFA IN PLAYWRITING

Click here for course descriptions.

Learning Outcomes

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Graduates of our MFA Playwriting Program will be able to:

• Write dramatic works which express their own aesthetic

• Incorporate their knowledge of American and world theater history and practice into their creative work

• Collaborate with directors, designers and other theater collaborators

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