Program Overview

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Comedy Writing MA (Online)

Course Overview

Gain the skills, tools, and industry insights to push your projects to the top of the commissioning editor's pile and get your comedy script green-lit. Who knows, you could be on the way to the BAFTAs or Emmys, writing the next Ghosts, Motherland, Fleabag or Succession.

Why Study This Course at Falmouth?

• Study the work of renowned comedy writers, reflect on professional trends, and learn how to seize market opportunities
• Learn how to write sketches, sitcoms, and comedy dramas, developing a body of work for multiple platforms including television, audio, and online
• Develop a portfolio of scripts, treatments, and responses to professional briefs, which can be used to gain agent representation and producer interest
• Understand the role of a commissioner and what it takes to create a sellable project

Course Details

• Location: Online
• Course duration: 2 years
• Attendance: Part-time

Modules

• Comic Storytelling for Screen and Audio (30 credits)
• Screen Industries: Professional Development in Comedy (30 credits)
• Individual Comedy Script Development (30 credits)
• Comedy Writers' Room: Collaborative Script Development (30 credits)
• Final Major Project (MA only) (60 credits)

Module Details

Comic Storytelling for Screen and Audio

You'll begin your studies by exploring fundamental questions such as, what is comedy? Why do we tell funny stories? How do we tell funny stories? You'll then develop your sketch and long-form comedy writing skills and tackle a set of writing briefs, which will become part of your final portfolio of work.

Screen Industries: Professional Development in Comedy

In this module, you'll gain a range of technical writing and project development skills as you work to produce industry-standard comedy writing with real commercial and creative potential. You'll undertake research into a comedic area of interest and produce a case study that evaluates current comedy industry markets and opportunities.

Individual Comedy Script Development

Here, you'll hone your ability to generate comedy script ideas. You'll explore the art of combining comedy with drama and sustaining a comic narrative and theme in a feature film, television, or online/audio comedy series.

Comedy Writers' Room: Collaborative Script Development

This module is divided into two parts, giving students the unique opportunity to work collaboratively on a professional TV comedy brief within a commercial setting.

Final Major Project (MA only)

This Comedy Writing course culminates in a major script development project for a platform/medium of your choosing. You'll have the option to further develop work that you've produced on other modules or work on a completely new concept.

Learning and Support

• How online study works: You'll learn through a blend of lectures, webinars, guest talks, tasks, and discussion forums, which you'll access via our dedicated virtual learning environment.
• You'll be supported academically by Online Tutors, who will also deliver weekly webinars and facilitate the online forums.
• If you need assistance with anything that isn't directly related to course material, a dedicated Student Advisor team will be on hand to help.

Assessment Methods

Assessments are 100% coursework, submitted in an electronic format to the virtual learning environment, and designed to reflect professional practice. Assessment methods could include visual, verbal, and written works, tailored specifically to each module.

Resources and Support

• Dedicated easy-to-use virtual learning environment (VLE)
• Accessible online audio/visual content
• A Student Advisor to support you throughout your studies and access to our Student Support Services
• Access to our Employability Service
• 24/7 access to Falmouth's extensive online library of contextual books, journals, and resources
• Access to online software tutorials at LinkedIn Learning
• Students' Union community
• Optional in-person events
• Invitation to attend alumni events

Meet the Team

You'll be taught by prolific and award-winning industry professionals who are passionate about nurturing new talent. You'll also have opportunities to access their extensive network and benefit from their experience producing high-profile comedy shows.

Careers

Graduates of the Comedy Writing MA will be well-positioned to work professionally as comedy writers across a range of different arenas, including writing for television, film, theatre, online, and audio; TV and audio production; script editing; and advertising and publishing.

How to Apply

• An honours degree or Level 6 equivalent qualification is desirable. However, candidates without a degree or formal qualification are still encouraged to apply.
• You'll need to submit up to five pages of a script for either radio, TV, or film. It's your choice, but it must be a comedy script, not any other genre, that best shows off your comedy writing.
• Please also submit a 300-word piece of writing considering an old sitcom, which is no longer running. The piece of writing should clearly tell us why you've picked this show for reinvention now. Please describe how you'll modernise and reinvent the show to be a relevant must-watch for today's audience.

Entry Requirements

• An honours degree or Level 6 equivalent qualification is desirable.
• If English is not your first language, you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.5 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, and Listening, and a minimum of 6.0 in speaking.

Deadlines

• This course has three intakes per year: January, May, and September.
• Application deadlines are as follows:
  • Academic start date: 22 September 2025, Application deadline: 1 September 2025
  • Academic start date: 19 January 2026, Application deadline: 9 January 2026
  • Academic start date: 26 May 2026, Application deadline: 6 May 2026

Early Bird Discount

• An Early Bird discount is available for early applications. Currently, the scheme offers up to £600 off MA tuition fees: £300 if you apply by the Early Bird discount submission deadline, and a further £300 off your tuition fees if you receive an offer and within two weeks you accept the place and pay the acceptance fee.

Fees, Costs & Funding

• Tuition fees for September 2024, January 2025, and May 2025 entry: £12,150 total fee (incl. acceptance fee) - 2 years part-time - MA/MSc course
• Tuition fees for September 2025, January 2026, and May 2026 entry: £12,150 total fee (incl. acceptance fee) - 2 years part-time - MA/MSc course
• Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy.

Postgraduate Funding

• There are loans, awards, graduate discounts, and alternative funding sources for postgraduate studies. Read about them on our Postgraduate Funding page.