LMU Pre-College Programs: Beginning Screenwriting Recently Updated

Students will have the chance to discuss the art, craft, and business of being a writer in the film industry. Ideal for the highly motivated, students should enter this program open to meaningful collaboration, a willingness to offer and receive constructive criticism, and the desire to learn.

Applications for Summer 2026 open on November 15, 2025, and close on March 15, 2026. 

Under the guidance of full-time faculty, who are also professional screenwriters, students will broaden their writing skills, develop their unique voices, and learn the basic elements of screenwriting. Structure, character development, dialogue, descriptive action, formatting, and genre will be explored and put into practice in a supportive online workshop environment, coupled with analytical viewings of popular movies, both classic and contemporary, and discussions about the art, craft, and business of being a writer in the motion picture industry. Ideal for the highly motivated, students should enter this program open to honest and meaningful collaboration with peers, a willingness to offer and receive constructive criticism, and the desire to learn while having fun.

Participants will be taken through a full development process, and leave the program with a completed short screenplay and a deepened understanding of cinematic storytelling.

Visit our website for more details.

Two-week, residential, non-credit bearing: 

Session 1 Dates: June 21-July 3, 2026

Session 2 Dates: July 5-July 17, 2026

Two-week, online, non-credit bearing: 

Session Dates: TBD for 2026

The cost for a two-week, residential, non-credit bearing program for summer 2025 is $6,125.

The cost for a two-week, online, non-credit bearing program for summer 2025 is $2,425.

Summer 2026 program costs will be posted in November 2025.