Playwriting and Screenwriting Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Playwriting and Screenwriting — headline outcomes are in the stats below. Median in-state published tuition is about $8,586.
Key Statistics
Playwriting and Screenwriting: what the data shows
Common questions about playwriting and screenwriting degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a playwriting and screenwriting degree?
A Playwriting and Screenwriting program is classified under NCES CIP 50.0504 in the Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft field family (50.05).
A program that focuses on the principles and techniques for communicating dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the composition of creative written works for the theatre, film, and/or television. Includes instruction in creative writing craft, scene writing, script development, stage and/or camera instructions, line and moment analysis, script reading, script editing, and the creation of full productions
IPEDS counted 474 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of playwriting and screenwriting degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 50.05 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Acting (CIP 50.0506)
- Comedy Writing and Performance (CIP 50.0511)
- Costume Design (CIP 50.0510)
- Directing and Theatrical Production (CIP 50.0507)
- Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General (CIP 50.0501)
- Musical Theatre (CIP 50.0509)
- Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology (CIP 50.0502)
- Theatre Literature, History and Criticism (CIP 50.0505)
- Theatre and Dance (CIP 50.0512)
How long does it take to get a playwriting and screenwriting degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 50.0504 in our file:
- 2 Associate (0.3% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 474 Bachelor's (60.5% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 304 Master's (38.8% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 4 Doctorate (0.5% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
Is a playwriting and screenwriting degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft bachelor's program family: median debt $51,525, median earnings $39,775 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 2.48.
About 3.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $8,586 and median net price is $17,354.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Playwriting and Screenwriting and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$8,586 Median In-State Public
$42,432 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Playwriting and Screenwriting majors are, on average, $8,586 for in-state public colleges, and $42,432 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Playwriting and Screenwriting programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Playwriting and Screenwriting from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Playwriting and Screenwriting.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon University | AZ | 73,371 |
| 2 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,615 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Playwriting and Screenwriting programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haskell Indian Nations University | KS | $600 |
| 2 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
| 3 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 4 | Lake Tahoe Community College | CA | $1,131 |
| 5 | El Camino Community College District | CA | $1,144 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Playwriting and Screenwriting programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 3 | Henry Ford College | MI | $660 |
| 4 | Chipola College | FL | $1,133 |
| 5 | College of the Mainland | TX | $1,342 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Playwriting and Screenwriting programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Playwriting and Screenwriting programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Playwriting and Screenwriting is in CA (256 completions). That state represents about 54.0% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is IA (0.06% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA | 256 | 54.0% | 0.06% |
| NY | 110 | 23.2% | 0.04% |
| GA | 39 | 8.2% | 0.03% |
| IA | 29 | 6.1% | 0.06% |
| PA | 22 | 4.6% | 0.01% |
| TN | 6 | 1.3% | 0.01% |
| OH | 5 | 1.1% | 0.00% |
| IL | 4 | 0.8% | 0.00% |
| MN | 2 | 0.4% | 0.00% |
| MA | 1 | 0.2% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 50.05 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Acting CIP 50.0506
- Comedy Writing and Performance CIP 50.0511
- Costume Design CIP 50.0510
- Directing and Theatrical Production CIP 50.0507
- Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts, General CIP 50.0501
- Musical Theatre CIP 50.0509
- Technical Theatre/Theatre Design and Technology CIP 50.0502
- Theatre Literature, History and Criticism CIP 50.0505
- Theatre and Dance CIP 50.0512
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 50.0504 in the survey year used in our extract (784 total across levels below).
- 2 Associate (0.3% of IPEDS total)
- 474 Bachelor's (60.5% of IPEDS total)
- 304 Master's (38.8% of IPEDS total)
- 4 Doctorate (0.5% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft CIP family (58 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Playwriting and Screenwriting graduate.
- $51,525 median federal loan debt among completers
- $39,775 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 2.48 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 3.6% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$N/A Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Playwriting and Screenwriting majors is $N/A.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Playwriting and Screenwriting majors.
Occupations by Share
N/A 2023 Workforce
The number of Playwriting and Screenwriting graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Playwriting and Screenwriting by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Playwriting and Screenwriting in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Playwriting and Screenwriting.
Age distribution for Playwriting and Screenwriting degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
474 Total Degrees Awarded
223 Male (47.05%)
251 Female (52.95%)
Gender distribution of Playwriting and Screenwriting degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
264 White (55.70%)
67 Hispanic or Latino (14.14%)
57 Black or African American (12.03%)
29 Asian (6.12%)
25 Two or More Races (5.27%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Playwriting and Screenwriting degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Playwriting and Screenwriting are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Playwriting and Screenwriting.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Playwriting and Screenwriting field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Playwriting and Screenwriting majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Playwriting and Screenwriting majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Playwriting and Screenwriting majors.
About
A program that focuses on the principles and techniques for communicating dramatic information, ideas, moods, and feelings through the composition of creative written works for the theatre, film, and/or television. Includes instruction in creative writing craft, scene writing, script development, stage and/or camera instructions, line and moment analysis, script reading, script editing, and the creation of full productions
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Playwriting and Screenwriting.
CIP Code
50.0504 - Playwriting and Screenwriting
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $51,525 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $39,775, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 2.48. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Playwriting and Screenwriting graduate.
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $8,586 in-state at public colleges and $42,432 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.