2023 Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Schools in New York

159 Playwriting and Screenwriting Degrees Awarded

If you plan on majoring in playwriting and screenwriting, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #521 in the country in terms of popularity. As a result, there are many college that offer the degree, making your choice of school a hard one.

College Factual looked at 5 colleges and universities when compiling its 2023 Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Schools in New York ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 159 degrees in playwriting and screenwriting to qualified students.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

  • Best Overall Playwriting & Screenwriting Schools List

Choosing a Great Playwriting & Screenwriting School

Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Schools in New York Your choice of playwriting and screenwriting school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for playwriting and screenwriting schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Playwriting & Screenwriting Rankings by Degree Level

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Schools in New York list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.

Featured Playwriting & Screenwriting Programs

Learn about start dates, transferring credits, availability of financial aid, and more by contacting the universities below.

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Best Schools for Playwriting & Screenwriting in New York

The schools below may not offer all types of playwriting and screenwriting degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

Top New York Schools in Playwriting and Screenwriting

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

98 Playwriting and Screenwriting Degrees Awarded

New York University is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in playwriting and screenwriting. NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,241 colleges nationwide means NYU is a great university overall.

There were about 98 playwriting and screenwriting students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in playwriting and screenwriting from New York University

Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

38 Playwriting and Screenwriting Degrees Awarded

Purchase College is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in playwriting and screenwriting. Located in the suburb of Purchase, Purchase College is a public college with a small student population. This college ranks 52nd out of 143 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were about 38 playwriting and screenwriting students who graduated with this degree at Purchase College in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in playwriting and screenwriting from Purchase College

Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type

Every student pursuing a degree in playwriting and screenwriting needs to take a look at Marymount Manhattan College. Located in the city of New York, MMC is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population. This college ranks 40th out of 143 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were approximately 7 playwriting and screenwriting students who graduated with this degree at MMC in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in playwriting and screenwriting from Marymount Manhattan College

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

Hunter College is one of the best schools in the country for getting a degree in playwriting and screenwriting. Hunter is a very large public college located in the large city of New York. This college ranks 33rd out of 143 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.

There were roughly 5 playwriting and screenwriting students who graduated with this degree at Hunter in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in playwriting and screenwriting from Hunter College

Master's Degree Highest Degree Type

SUNY Stony Brook is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Stony Brook. A Best Colleges rank of #206 out of 2,241 schools nationwide means SUNY Stony Brook is a great university overall.

There were roughly 5 playwriting and screenwriting students who graduated with this degree at SUNY Stony Brook in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in playwriting and screenwriting from Stony Brook University

Related Programs

Learn about other programs related to Playwriting & Screenwriting that might interest you.

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Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Playwriting & Screenwriting Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Pennsylvania 978 20
District of Columbia 441 0

Other Rankings

View All Rankings >

One of 9 majors within the Drama & Theater Arts area of study, Playwriting & Screenwriting has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Theater Arts 1,304
Other Dramatic/Theatre Arts & Stagecraft 515
Acting 419
Musical Theater 248
Theater Design & Technology 134
Directing & Theatrical Production 58
Theatre Literature, History & Criticism 3
Costume Design 2

View All Playwriting and Screenwriting Related Majors >

Notes and References

  • The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education's (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Donald Judge.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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