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The MPW Experience
Curriculum
Degree requirements
Complete 30 units, 18 of which will be in your area of concentration. These 18 units include 3 units of MPW 900 Survey of Professional Writing, 3 units of MPW 990 Final Project Preparation, and 3 units of MPW 994 Final Project. Take 12 additional units in MPW courses outside of your area of concentration. You may have more than one area of concentration — many students do.
Courses
Fiction
- novel
- short story
- genre fiction (mystery, comedy, crime, detective)
- literary marketplace
- literature & approaches to writing the novel
- film & approaches to writing the novel
- children and young adult fiction
Literary Non-Fiction
- article writing
- reviews and interviews
- biography
- arts criticism
- autobiography
- memoir
- travel writing
- the ethics of creative non-fiction
- new media
- magazine articles/personal essay
Poetry
- principles of poetic techniques
- advanced poetry workshops
- hybrid poetry
- poetic influences on writing
Drama-TV-Cinema
- playwright's workshop
- master class in playwriting
- full-length play workshop
- sitcom writing
- screenplay development
- screenplay writing
- writing the romantic comedy
- writing the independent film
- motion picture marketplace
Courses applicable to all concentrations include
- "The Business of the Business"
- "Literary Marketplace"
- humor writing
Schedule of classes
View the schedule of classes for the current and upcoming semester at: www.usc.edu/soc
Final project
Under the individual direction of a faculty advisor, students complete a full-length work of publishable or production level quality. Students complete their work in MPW 994 in their final semester.
For fiction: A novel – 200 page minimum
For poetry: A collection of poetry – 60 page minimum
For nonfiction: A book – 200 page minimum
For screenplay: A screenplay – 120 page minimum
For playwright: A stage-play – 80 page minimum