Scriptwriting
Author your own career - study writing for film, television, stage, streaming and digital media.
- Regular guest speakers who provide tips and career advice
- Participate in the Hothouse Reading Series, which showcases your short plays read by professional actors and Performing Arts students
- Students take part in the Toronto Pitch Trip where they pitch ideas to major production studios in the city.
Program Availability and Schedule
Availability
Open
Closed
Waitlisted
Start Term
Availability
International
Availability
Competitive?
Fall 2025
No
Schedule
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Program Summary
Credential
Program Delivery
Program Code
Area of Interest
School
Campus
Work Integrated Learning
The one-year Scriptwriting Ontario College Graduate Certificate program provides you with the knowledge, writing experience and hands-on skills necessary to become a writer in the ever-expanding fields of film, television, theatre, streaming and digital media content.
Discover your style and voice, as well as how to develop characters and write stories for any audience. By the end of the program, you possess an extensive professional-quality portfolio of work....(read more)
Overview
Author your own career - study writing for film, television, stage, streaming and digital media.
The one-year Scriptwriting Ontario College Graduate Certificate program provides you with the knowledge, writing experience and hands-on skills necessary to become a writer in the ever-expanding fields of film, television, theatre, streaming and digital media content.
Discover your style and voice, as well as how to develop characters and write stories for any audience. By the end of the program, you possess an extensive professional-quality portfolio of work.
By analyzing issues and trends in film and media, you learn how to market your skills effectively and work professionally in our industries. Faculty are up-to-date, experienced professionals who help guide your projects. Guest speakers are regular visitors to your class and provide tips and advice on your potential career paths.
At the end of the program, you have the opportunity to pitch your film or TV/Streamed series ideas to local producers and writers, and later to major broadcasting and production companies based in Toronto both in person and virtually. You will also meet agents and successful graduates of the program as part of this pitch experience. It is a great opportunity to connect with important players in the industry and get their feedback on your projects.
You also expand your real-world experience with a 40-hour work placement. These placements can be online, writing based, or non-writing positions that allow you to learn more about how the production process works, make industry contacts and broaden your skill set.
Another opportunity that you will participate in is the Hothouse Reading Series, which showcases your short plays read by professional actors and Performing Arts students. You receive feedback from the audience that provides you with invaluable insight to strengthen your writing.
After graduation, you may have career opportunities as a writer for:
- feature length or short films
- broadcast, streamed and digital media
- theatre
- gaming and animation
- production environments performing other writing-related tasks
SUCCESS FACTORS
This program is well-suited for students who:
- Have superior oral and written communication skills.
- Are self-motivated and well-organized.
- Can work independently and meet deadlines.
- Are creative thinkers.
- Can work in collaborative settings with appropriate guidance.
Courses
Programs at Algonquin College are delivered using a variety of instruction modes. Courses may be offered in the classroom or lab, entirely online, or in a hybrid mode which combines classroom sessions with virtual learning activities. Upon registration, each full-time student is provided an Algonquin email account which is used to communicate important information about program or course events.
Code:
SCR1516
Course Name:
Film and Media in Canada
Course Description:
Students study Canada's film, television, radio and digital media industries. The class analyzes trends, genres, the challenges of different... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1518
Course Name:
Writing for Live Performance 1
Course Description:
Students are introduced to the fundamental elements of writing for actors, focusing on dialogue, plot and conflict. Through exercises, discu... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1519
Course Name:
Writing for Digital Media I
Course Description:
Students are introduced to writing scripts for short videos for a variety of client-based communications and other content for digital media... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1529
Course Name:
Introduction to Media Production
Course Description:
Via in-class demonstrations, supervised laboratory and individual conference time, students learn the essentials of pre-production, producti... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1530
Course Name:
Screenwriting 1
Course Description:
Focus is placed on the fundamental principles of screenwriting, including story structure, creating dimensionalized characters and worlds, s... + Read More
Hours:
70.0
Code:
SCR1533
Course Name:
Content Creation for Series and Streaming I
Course Description:
Students are introduced to writing for a marketplace that increasingly demands serialized storytelling for streaming, VOD and standard broad... + Read More
Hours:
56.0
Code:
SCR1500
Course Name:
Writers' Workshops
Course Description:
Students are introduced to useful skills that will increase their employability in film and media in areas such as writing for games, comic ... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1517
Course Name:
Business Practices
Course Description:
Focus is placed on the understanding of the scriptwriting industry as a whole, from licensing deals to taxes, from collaboration to copyrigh... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1540
Course Name:
Screenwriting 2
Course Description:
Students continue to hone their craft and understanding of the technical and stylistic demands of this medium and to enhance their visual st... + Read More
Hours:
56.0
Code:
SCR1543
Course Name:
Content Creation for Series and Streaming II
Course Description:
Students expand knowledge writing for a variety of television genres. Students have the opportunity to add to their portfolios by developing... + Read More
Hours:
56.0
Code:
SCR1544
Course Name:
Writing for Live Performance 2
Course Description:
Students see their work evolve from the page to the stage, learning how to edit and rewrite scripts using standard theatre formats. They con... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1547
Course Name:
Writing for Digital Media 2
Course Description:
Students put a greater emphasis on effective writing for interactive media for education, podcasting, government and corporate markets, and ... + Read More
Hours:
42.0
Code:
SCR1549
Course Name:
Field Placement
Course Description:
To make an efficient transition from college to freelance writing, students complete a minimum of 40 hours in a media, production, film, the... + Read More
Hours:
40.0
Careers & Pathways
Careers
Graduates may have career opportunities as writers for feature length or short films, broadcast, streamed and digital media, online video, theatre and video games. They may also find work in production environments performing other writing and writing-related tasks. Graduates are knowledgeable about their industries and markets, and know how to further their careers in pre-production, production and other creative environments. They also have basic production skills which enable them to work effectively in and with production crews. Graduates possess an extensive professional-quality portfolio.
Pathways
Please use our Pathways tool to search for pathway options.
Learning Outcomes
The graduate has reliably demonstrated the ability to:
- Conceive, write, edit, revise and rewrite scripts using industry-standard formats and technology.
- Function effectively as part of a writing and/or production team in the delivery of scripts.
- Apply production and business management skills to complete tasks efficiently and meet deadlines in the workplace.
- Critically evaluate the quality of product being presented for production.
- Develop strategies for personal and professional development by analyzing issues and trends in target industries.
- Ensure that all work is completed in compliance with applicable laws, statutory obligations, regulations, and industry principles and practices.
- Apply creative techniques for writing for a variety of media and styles.
- Work in a professional and ethical manner, maintain professional relationships, and communicate effectively with clients, co-workers, supervisors and others.
- Identify and apply discipline-specific practices that contribute to the local and global community through social responsibility, economic commitment and environmental stewardship.
Tuition & Fees
Get an idea of how much each semester will cost with our Tuition and Fee Estimator.
2024/2025 Academic Year
Tuition and related ancillary fees for this program can be viewed by using the Tuition and Fees Estimator tool at www.algonquincollege.com/fee-estimator.
Further information on fees can be found by visiting the Registrar`s Office website at www.algonquincollege.com/ro.
Fees are subject to change.
Additional program-related expenses include:
- Books and supplies cost approximately $300 per year.
- Students must purchase their own laptop computer. Computers and supplies can be purchased directly from Algonquin`s Connections Store.
Admissions Requirements
Program Eligibility
- Ontario College Diploma, Advanced Diploma, degree or equivalent or partially-completed degree, or two or more years of appropriate post-secondary experience; AND
- Submission of a 500-word written piece identifying the applicant`s suitability for a profession in scriptwriting as well as describing the film, media, theatre, writing or other writing-related experience qualifying you for this program. Submission details can be found on the Algonquin College Additional Admission Requirements website: www.algonquincollege.com/admissionspackages .
- The written piece is required of ALL applicants. We cannot finish your application process until this has been completed. We encourage you to submit this promptly. NOTE: Please send an electronic copy of your written piece to: media@algonquincollege.com .
- The following information must be included in the email subject line: Scriptwriting, Written Piece, your name, and Algonquin student number
- Applicants with international transcripts must provide proof of the subject-specific requirements noted above and may be required to provide proof of language proficiency. Domestic applicants with international transcripts must be evaluated through the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada (ICAS) or World Education Services (WES).
- IELTS-International English Language Testing Service (Academic) Overall band of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 in each band; OR TOEFL-Internet-based (iBT)-overall 88, with a minimum of 22 in each component: Reading 22; Listening 22; Speaking 22; Writing 22; OR Duolingo English Test (DET) Overall 120, minimum of 120 in Literacy and no score below 105.
Application Information
SCRIPTWRITING
Program Code 0382X01FWO
Applications to full-time day programs must be submitted with official transcripts showing completion of the academic admission requirements through:
ontariocolleges.ca
60 Corporate Court
Guelph, Ontario N1G 5J3
1-888-892-2228
Students currently enrolled in an Ontario secondary school should notify their Guidance Office prior to their online application at www.ontariocolleges.ca.
Applications for Fall Term and Winter Term admission received by February 1 will be given equal consideration. Applications received after February 1 will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis as long as places are available.International applicants please visit this link for application process information: https://algonquincollege.force.com/myACint/.
or further information on the admissions process, contact:
Registrar`s Office
Algonquin College
1385 Woodroffe Ave
Ottawa, ON K2G 1V8
Telephone: 613-727-0002
Toll-free: 1-800-565-4723
TTY: 613-727-7766
Fax: 613-727-7632
Contact: https://www.algonquincollege.com/ro
Additional Information
Program Resources
This program has a field work component that must be completed in order to graduate. Finding and securing an approved fieldwork opportunity is a shared responsibility. Your faculty and field work supervisor/coordinator has contacts in industry, and where feasible will assist you in finding an approved field placement.
Contact
Teri Loretto
Program Coordinator
Teri holds a Bachelor’s of Arts and a Master’s Degree from the University of Ottawa. She is an award-winning actress, writer and director with a background in stage and production management. She has written for magazines, newspapers, online formats, theatre and film. She works regularly for CBC Ottawa in both radio and television as producer, writer and host. She has appeared in feature films, worked as a professional musician and toured as a children’s entertainer. Her voice can be heard in cartoons, commercials and in various documentaries. Theatre directing credits include Phil Porter’s Blink, Zastrozzi and Theatre of the Film Noir by George F. Walker, for which she also did the set design. Onstage roles include the title role in the one-woman show Shirley Valentine, Masha in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and she has written or adapted and directed over a dozen radio shows for live performance (War of the Worlds, Voices From the Front). She has been the artist in residence for the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity and serves as Vice President on the ACTRA Ottawa board. She also teaches in Television Broadcasting and Scriptwriting programs at the college. She is a member of EQUITY, the Canadian Media Guild and The Playwrights Guild of Canada.
Rick Kaulbars
Professor
Rick has been working as a writer for film and television for over twenty years. As co-writer on the Comedy Network’s cult TV series, Kevin Spencer (1997-2005), he wrote over 40 half-hours of the (at that time) longest running situation-based comedy in Canadian television. Rick was also a voice on most episodes. Rick’s written for such internationally respected series as For Better or for Worse, White Fang and Toad Patrol. In digital media, Rick wrote for and appeared in the Macromedia Award winning interactive digital drama Midnight Stranger for Animatics Corp. and in the summer of 2013 was the voice of Fred Flintstone for a game app produced by Wave Generation of Montreal.
Rick’s strength is his humour and he worked for several years as a stand-up comic for Yuk Yuks. In 2014 he performed stand-up with Kids in the Hall’s Kevin McDonald and also performs with his improv comedy team, Stairlift to Heaven. Onscreen, Rick has appeared with Colin Mochrie in the CBC series Getting Along Famously, playing the tyrannical head of the CBC. Onstage, he starred in the 2011 Fringe Festival production Satanic Panic (a play written by one of his student graduates) and, more recently, played an 1800s pimp in the 2014 Fringe production Finished Girls, which he also wrote.
He wrote his first feature film Two’s A Mob for award-winning director Derek Diorio and self-produced a feature film, Hell Gig about life on the road as a stand-up comic. Presently he continues to generate projects, having a television series under option with TSB Productions, a popular ad campaign for Dymon Storage screening in theatres across Ontario, and is co-producing a radio-drama with CKCU based on his Fringe Show.
Laurie Fyffe
Professor
Laurie Fyffe is a playwright, dramaturg, and actor. Throughout the summer of 2022, Laurie has been a dramaturg and writing mentor with Ottawa Youth Infringement Festival and her short play The Ring was produced by PlanB Productions (paired with Chekhov’s The Proposal) at the 2022 Ottawa Fringe. Laurie’s most recent play; Beowulf In Afghanistan was presented online at the 2021 Ottawa Fringe Festival and is scheduled for a workshop with the Great Canadian Theatre Company in the fall of 2022. Her play, Exciting Cause, will premiere in collaboration with TACTICS in the spring of 2023. Other plays have been produced at the Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, Blyth Festival, and Theatre Kingston. From 2014 to 2017, Laurie was Managing Artistic Director of Ottawa StoryTellers (OST), where she adapted James Bartleman’s Raisin Wine (2014), and co-wrote A Winter Tale: The Journey of the Blind Harper (2015). In March of 2018, Laurie’s play Mirage: The Arabian Adventure of Gertrude Bell received a reading as part of Alumnae Theatre’s New Ideas Festival, and Being Helen received a workshop and public reading courtesy of the Ergo Pink Arts Festival. Laurie’s short play In Kabul premiered at New Theatre of Ottawa’s 2012 Short Play Festival and was subsequently produced at InspiraTo in Toronto, and the Short & Sweet Festival in Sydney, Australia. In 2010, Laurie received her MA in Theatre from the University of Ottawa, where she subsequently taught the Principles of Play Analysis. Since the fall of 2017, Laurie has taught Scriptwriting for Actors at Algonquin College, School of Media Design. Laurie is a member of Canadian Actors’ Equity (CAEA) and the Playwrights Guild of Canada (PG).