Dramatic Writing

Undergraduate Application Requirements

The Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing is highly selective and provides an academically and creatively demanding curriculum.

How To Apply

Applications and portfolios are both due on the stated deadlines. We strongly advise submitting your application in advance of the listed deadline to avoid any delays in submitting the portfolio.

First Year Applicants And External Transfer Applicants

  • Early Decision I: November 1, 2024
  • Early Decision II: January 1, 2025
  • Regular Decision: January 5, 2025
  • External Transfer: March 15, 2025

To apply, please follow these two steps:

  1. Complete your Common Application, select Dramatic Writing as your major of interest, and submit it in advance of the deadline listed above.
  2. Submit your creative portfolio. About 2-4 business days after you submit the Common App, you will receive an email with instructions for uploading your portfolio into the Artistic Review Portal.

You will not be able to submit the portfolio until after you have submitted the Common App -- typically a few days after! 

Applicants should refer to NYU's Office of Undergraduate Admissions for additional information.

External transfer applicants can find more specific information about applying as a transfer student here. Students who transfer from outside of NYU must complete a minimum of five semesters within the dramatic writing major before they can graduate.

INTERNAL TRANSFER, CHANGE OF MAJOR, AND DOUBLE MAJOR APPLICANTS

Deadline: March 1, 2025

Internal Transfer applicants (from NYU applying into Tisch) can find more information and the application here. After you submit your application, you will be able to upload your portfolio into the Artistic Portal within 2-4 business days. So that you can submit your portfolio by the deadline, please submit your internal transfer application as early as possible.

Change of Major applicants (from within Tisch) should complete the Tisch Change of Major form.  Please contact the department at least one week prior to submitting your application so that we can request your account in the Artistic Portal.

Double Major applicants within Tisch should complete the Double Major application form.  Please contact the department at least one week prior to submitting your application so that we can request your account in the Artistic Portal.

Students who transfer from within NYU or who change their major to Dramatic Writing from another Tisch major or add Dramatic Writing as a double major within Tisch must complete a minimum of five semesters in the department before they can graduate. Please do not apply after your sophmore year unless you are willing to stay for additional semesters.

Portfolio Requirements

Your creative portfolio should include the following components, which should be uploaded as one document:

1. Cover Sheet

  • Name (Last, First, MI)
  • Deadline (ED, Regular, Transfer*)
  • Program (Undergraduate)
  • List each writing sample, and include the type of writing sample (e.g.. a play, an excerpt from a screenplay, a short story, etc.).

*If you are a transfer applicant, please include the name of your current college or university, or the name of your current college or department at NYU or Tisch.

2. Statement of Purpose - 2 Questions

Tell us something about yourself or your life experience that has helped shape your decision to pursue a BFA in Dramatic Writing at Tisch. (500 words)

Identify a work of theater, film, or episodic/television you’ve read or seen in the past year, which has had an impact on your identity as a dramatic writer. Tell us why. (500 words)

3. Writing Portfolio

Submit up to 4 separate writing samples that together total at least 15 pages and that do not exceed 25 pages.  At least one of these samples MUST be a sample of dramatic writing (a play, screenplay, or television/episodic script).  Excerpts from larger works are welcome, as long as the excerpt has a clear beginning, middle, and end within itself. The other 2-3 samples may be, but are not limited to, additional dramatic writing samples, memoirs, short stories, fictional material, and adaptation based on a true story.  Choose material that is dramatic and self-contained, with an inherent conflict, a strong protagonist, and a beginning, middle, and end. 

Unacceptable Submissions:

Do not submit co-written material (the work must be yours and yours alone), poetry, elevator pieces (i.e., two people, total opposites, get stuck in an elevator), journalism, or “writing prompts” from other colleges or universities.  Do not submit digital media of any kind.  Do not include URLs to your work.