Explore. Create. Launch.
Through small collaborative workshops designed to mimic professional writers rooms, intensive one-on-one advisement and supporting classes with industry professionals, Stony Brook's Television Writing MFA prepares you to join the expanding frontier of television storytelling dominating the entertainment landscape in the U.S. and around the world.
Join the most comprehensive graduate TV writing program in the country to find your voice, master your craft, and launch your career. Do it all at our cutting-edge urban arts incubator in the heart of Manhattan.
The Core Television Writing Curriculum
YEAR ONE
Writing the Spec Script
Learn the fundamentals by writing a script for a show that is currently on the air.
Writing the Original TV Pilot
Create an original series and write a pilot script.
Showrunner Workshop
Break stories and write scenes with a working showrunner.
Comedy Workshop
Learn to write sketch, late night and monologues in the style of SNL, John Oliver,
The Daily Show, and Jimmy Kimmel.
Guest Series - From the Writers Room
In-depth discussions with working writers and showrunners about the writing process,
writers rooms, and a specific script or episode they’ve written.
Screenwriting
Learn the fundamentals of long form narrative and develop a script for a feature film.
Acting for Writers
Learning to act and to direct actors makes you a better writer. This is the first
workshop in our four-step content creation ladder.
YEAR TWO
Advanced Pilot
Create the second pilot script for your TV Writing portfolio.
Limited Series
Learn how to work collaboratively in a writers room to construct story arcs for a
limited series based on true events.
Camera Skills
Learn how to work camera, sound and editing gear. This workshop is paired with Directing
the Camera and is the second workshop in our four-step content creation ladder.
Directing the Camera
Directing scenes from your script gives you insight into how your writing is translated
to the screen. This is the third workshop in our content creation ladder.
Web Series
Write, produce, direct and edit a micro-pilot for a web series. This is the capstone
class in the content creation ladder and pulls together writing, acting, skills and
directing the camera.
Business of TV
Learn how to work with agents and managers, how to pitch and strategies to break into
the business.
Pilot Three
The capstone writing class where you develop the third pilot script for your TV writing
portfolio.
Revision
Revise and polish the writing portfolio that can launch your career as a television
writer.
YEAR THREE
Thesis
Work with your thesis advisor to get your best script industry-ready and prepare a
pitch for a new series that you can develop after graduation. Can be in-person or
on Zoom.
Internship
Work on a show or at a production company, network or studio to get real world experience.
(Optional)
ELECTIVES
An array of electives from the MFA in Film and the MFA in Creative Writing are available in all three years of study.
Producing with Christine Vachon
Teaching Practicum with Karen Offitzer.
Learn to teach at the college level, design a syllabus and teach the following semester
at Stony Brook undergraduate
Writing in Multiple Genres with Robert Lopez
Humor on the Page with Patty Marx
Poetry, Writing the Short Film, Writing the Crime Drama, Turn Stand Up into Series, European Cinema and more.
Meet our MFA in TV Writing Students
SBU TV Writing News
MFA in Television Writing Students Win Top Honors at Austin Film Festival
October 28, 2025 — Two talented students from Stony Brook University’s MFA in Television Writing Program have won top prizes at this year’s Austin Film Festival (AFF), one of the most prestigious events celebrating screenwriting and storytelling in film and television: Cynthia He ('27), for the Drama Teleplay Spec Award, and Anna Zabel ('24), for the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award.
In addition, Christine Vachon, artistic director of the MFA Programs in Film and Television Writing and co-founder of Killer Films, was honored with the Polly Platt Award for Producing, recognizing her outstanding career supporting bold voices in cinema and television.
From left: Anna Zabel, Christine Vachon, and Cynthia He.
Anne Hathaway Stars in 'Fear Not' Limited Series Ordered by Paramount+ From Bash Doran & MGM Television
Congrats to Stony Brook’s MFA in television writing alums now working on the new Paramount+ series Fear Not, starring Anne Hathaway and showrun by Bash Doran, a friend of the program. Alum Mallory Baysek will be co-producer and in the writers room, and alum Anna Zabel will be a writers assistant and showrunners assistant.
Anne Hathaway and Bash Doran. Getty Images/Ryan Liebe. 
Stony Brook TV Writers win Best Pilot Award at North Fork TV Fest.
Stony Brook’s MFA in Television Writing Spring Showcase at Caveat NYC. Television Writing: A Word from Alan Kingsberg
A curriculum that is singularly focused on television writing will put our graduates at the forefront of this rapidly growing industry and art form.
The opportunity to build a television writing MFA from the ground up is a chance to do things better – a chance to include only the best practices from the top universities where I've taught for the past 25 years.
This includes the in-depth small-workshop approach I've practiced at some of the country's top MFA programs since 1999 and the unique one-on-one mentoring approach that's been so successful at smaller liberal arts colleges. By adding in the practical wisdom of working showrunners, writers and producers, I believe we have created a unique and unparalleled television writing curriculum at Stony Brook.
Tips from the Writers Room
Writers and showrunners share tips about working in professional writers rooms — from making your script as strong as possible to getting hired on a show.
Television Writing Guest Series
Enjoy this series of short videos featuring Alan Kingsberg, Head of Television Writing for Stony Brook University's MFA in Film Program, in conversation with writers and producers from some of today's top television programs.
