Is Grad School Beneficial to Scriptwriters?

I received the following question from a blog reader:

Do you have an opinion one way or the other about the value of getting a graduate degree in writing for film and tv? It seems like there's quite a few good quality programs at schools in the LA area, but I've gotten mixed feelings from working writers, some saying it's not necessary and a waste of money, while others think the education and connections you make are valuable. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to apply or if I should devote my energies to pounding the pavement and working.

I posted the discussion of HU's forum, HUSN.  Here are the responses I've received thus far:

Rob:

I haven't, nor do I have plans to attend graduate school, and I'm currently not a working writer, so I don't have any sort of authority to comment about graduate school; however, I can share my opinions based on my experience as an undergrad.
In my last class of college, my film editing professor, who has worked in the industry for many years, told us that if we already knew someone working in the industry, going to college wasn't necessary. He then went onto qualify this statement by saying that it's who you know that will get you your first job, and it's what you know that will keep you working. My film and television writing professor always said on the last day of class that he didn't care if we did well or not on our spec scripts, how hard we worked, or if we completed all the assignments. If we left the class without making two new connections, we essentially failed.

Nick:

I'm not going to grad school, but I did have the same dilemma. I asked everyone in the industry I knew, between ten and twenty people, and only one person was for it. His reasons were that you get to make a lot of connections, you get to work with expensive equipment for relatively low cost and with not as much stress as if you were working on a film, and that if you're moving to LA you get to grow accustomed to the city with a lot less stress than if you arrived and started working. Everyone else who was against it said that for the amount of money you'd spend on tuition you could simply go make a film since there isn't any film school that teaches something you can't learn on the internet/on your own through experimentation/by asking people. There's also no guarantee that you'll get work once you graduate, and there are even stigmas against certain schools that could hurt you in the long run. That being said, all of the people who were against grad school said that I should at least work for a year in the industry before deciding, which is what I'd recommend.

Nicholas:

No. There is no reason to pay 50,000+ bucks to be taught something that 1) cannot necessarily be taught, and 2) you need to, by and large, learn how to do on your own. Anyone can write a script (the slush pile proves this). However, whether or not you will be able to write a good one is not up to how much time you spend in school, but rather how much time you spend on your own figuring it out. If you read scripts, and watch a lot of TV/movies, and work your ass off at writing...you can do it by yourself, and do so for a hell of a lot less money.
If you want to learn how to write, no amount of time spent sitting in a classroom is going to help you, outside of maybe one or two introductory courses...but once you learn the basics it's really up to you to figure the rest out. That's just the nature of the craft.
Also, no one in Hollywood gives a shit if you went to graduate school, or even went to college. Hell, Quentin Tarantino didn't even graduate high school.

Warren Bell:

First of all, I can't say I have a crystal clear opinion on graduate film and TV programs because I don't know a ton about them. That's probably because I don't know too many people in the industry who have that kind of degree, and maybe that tells you all you need to know about the value of the degree to the business at large. It seems to me that getting a Masters in screenwriting or filmmaking would at the very least get you some very polished samples of your work, and hopefully also lead to some good professional contacts. The down side would be that it's an expensive way to come up with a spec script. Personally, I am a big advocate of life experience -- I would rather meet a writer who spent two years as a line cook or a tour guide or a bank teller than one who spent those years at USC or NYU. I guess the bigger question would be whether or not a graduate program really improves someone's writing, and I tend to suspect it doesn't. I don't think you learn how to write in a class.

Ross:

Here’s my outlook as an MFA screenwriting student rapidly approaching the end of my first year at USC:

After years of teaching myself to write, I managed to crank out a script that was good enough to land me a meeting with a major producer. He saw potential in my work but would not move forward without a revision. What was wrong with the script? Like me, the producer had no idea and the changes he requested baffled me to no end. I needed help. But who could set me straight? The only people who would read my scripts were friends, family, and, for a brief minute, this producer – and what did they really know? Were they professional screenwriters?

That’s when I decided to apply to USC. Now, one year into the program, I can safely say there is no equivalent to learning from top experts in the field. But, is it worth the heavy price tag? Yes. USC delivers serious bang for your buck. You get big name professors, an absurdly beautiful campus, and ample networking opportunities. Most importantly, you will generate mountains of pages and surprise yourself with how much you grow as a writer. You will not find a more thorough and efficient way to gain the skills you need to succeed. Expensive but worth every penny.

I hope this helps in some way to inform your decision. However you choose to further your education as a writer, I hope it is fruitful and rewarding.

What's your opinion?  Join the discussion at HUSN.