Graduate Programs

The MFA in Playwriting is a three-year funded program. We are looking for students who define themselves as writers, and whose writing resists definition—but involves a keen, tireless attention to live performance. 

This program is a place to study what writing for theater has been, while honing a creative practice that also feeds voraciously on the nontheatrical: all kinds of literature, art, rebellion, and thought. Above all it is a place—and time—to write like you've never written before.

Application Information

Application Requirements

GRE Subject:

Not required

GRE General:

Not required

TOEFL/IELTS:

Required for applicants from non-English speaking countries only; see the Graduate School website for details.

Letters of Recommendations:

Three Recommendations: At least one must speak directly to your work as a theater artist.

Writing Sample:

(2) The first should be a complete full-length script for live performance (a.k.a. a play). The second may be a part of a whole, and in any medium; if writing, no more than 15 pages, if visual no more than 15 images, if sound/video, no more than 15 minutes.

Personal Statement:

What are your writing goals over the next few years, and how can Brown's program serve them?

Dates/Deadlines

Application Deadline

Tuition and Funding

The program provides a financial aid package that covers tuition, health fee and health insurance for three years of full-time enrollment. In addition, the program provides stipends for fall and spring semesters for each year of full-time enrollment as well as a stipend for two summers (following first and second years). Funding is contingent on students remaining in good standing.

Alumni Careers

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Leadership

Department Chair
Jayna Brown
Director of Graduate Studies
Patricia Ybarra
Head of Playwriting
Julia Jarcho

Contact and Location

Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

Mailing Address

Brown University
Box 1897
Visit the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies

Resources