Diploma in Screenwriting | (1 Year)

Programme offered in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

The objective of this 1-year, 2-semester postgraduate programme is to impart advanced instruction in screenwriting and create professional screenwriters. Students need to develop writing skills that will help them write in a wide range of genres in cinema, television, as well as OTT. Additionally, some more basic inputs will offer an understanding of the craft of writing short films, corporate films, documentaries, and advertisement films. The deeper aim of the programme is to help student-writers discover their own voice, free up their creativity, hone their intuition and impart the skills through which they can write their own original as well as others’ stories. The learning entails hands-on writing on a continuous basis with active mentoring from faculty, and studying a wide range of cinema and narrative literature, via intensive theory classes, workshops, and interaction with faculty as well as many senior and experienced writers and writer-directors. Apart from this, the course offers other educational inputs from the field of culture and arts, especially from theatre, and from ancient narrative traditions like mythology and folk tales.

Overview of the Screenwriting field

Stories have eternally been a source of amusement, inspiration, education and general entertainment for human beings. In India, our ancient narratives have lasted the test of centuries, spawning a variety of performing narrative arts including mythology, folk tales, Urdu-Farsi Theatre, Classical Sanskrit Theatre, and many other forms of storytelling. Cinema is currently the most exciting and the most powerful storytelling medium known, and is like a hungry monster continuously requiring content in the form of scripts. India produces more than 1200 feature films a year, countless documentaries, and short films, has more than 500 TV channels operating 24/7, and a growing number of OTT platforms. Hence, naturally, the demand for scripts and scriptwriters has been soaring exponentially, and writers are receiving much better remuneration and status than a decade ago.

Moreover, the creative bandwidth of Indian cinema has increased, with films containing unconventional plots and themes finding acceptance at the box office. This has led to writers negotiating more space for their creativity, and gaining acceptance for original ideas.

All in all, since the birth of Indian cinema, this is perhaps the most exciting time to become a scriptwriter.

Course Structure

Types of Courses: There are multiple courses in this programme, some mandated while others are chosen by students:

• General Education Courses: These courses offer a context to students learning, enabling them to understand historical developments in their specific areas of interest as well as allied areas such as classical and folk art, cinema, photography, urban mythology and digital art etc.
• Core Courses: These courses are mandated by the Programme Head and all students in the programme have to take them.

Semester-wise Distribution of Courses

Eligibility: English proficiency: Fluent

Academic qualification: This is a professional program which has a minimum academic requirement of 10+2 or equivalent from any recognized board but graduates / working professionals are preferred.

Entrance Process:

• MECAT (Media And Entertainment Common Aptitude Test) – MECAT, an online General Aptitude Test by Media And Entertainment Skills Council, assesses students’ logical reasoning, language skills, and knowledge of Media and Entertainment businesses, covering Film, Broadcasting, Advertising, Marketing, Animation etc. Candidates can appear for this test at a time of their choosing from a venue of their choice. This score needs to be attached to their application.
• CAT (Creative Ability Test) – The Creative Ability Test evaluates course-specific skills by faculty of the program the candidate has applied to. Admission Counsellors will provide test details, including any requirements such as materials to bring, technical preparation etc.
• SOP (Statement of Purpose) – The SOP for college admission should introduce your personal motivation for choosing the program and institute while telling us a little about yourself. It is essential to highlight your academic and professional interests, if applicable. Please highlight your fit with the institute and convey personal qualities that make you a valuable candidate to the institute. Your SOP, in text format, must ensure clarity, interest, and a personal approach to align with your chosen course and institution. The SOP must be submitted on the platform at least 72 hours before the date of the on-campus interview. For some courses, a portfolio could be a component of the SOP and will be specified to the candidate in advance.
• PI (Personal Interview) – The personal interview will cover academic achievements, motivation and goals, strengths and weaknesses, extracurricular interests, individual experiences, and problem-solving capabilities of the candidate. For specific courses, their work experience and portfolio will be a topic of discussion. It offers applicants a chance to demonstrate their character, experiences, and alignment with the college’s culture and values. The interviews will also provide an opportunity for candidate to ask questions about their academic suitability.

*All the content of this website are subject to change at the discretion of the management.

Admission Policy – 2025 Intake

Programme offered in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)

Programmes Offered & Seats:

The Programmes offered & Available Seats are mentioned in the table below:

Application Process:

• Candidates to apply through the ONLINE Application process only.
• APPLY HERE and follow the process.
• Application Fee of INR 3500/- all-inclusive to be paid through the Online Payment Gateway only.

Selection Criteria:

The Selection Criteria is as given in the table below:

MECAT: Media & Entertainment Common Aptitude Test

CAT: Creative Aptitude Test

SOP: Statement of Purpose

P.I: Personal Interview

For each admission round, there will be certain dates to remember which will be updated on a regular basis on the Whistling Woods International website www.whistlingwoods.net:

FORMALITIES TO BE COMPLETED ON SELECTION:
Will be mentioned in the Selection Intimation Emails sent to Selected Candidates.

ADMISSION HELPDESK CONTACTS:
Mob. Nos.: +91 8454886604 / +91 8828022630 / 022-62716070 (Mon to Sat: 10.30 am – 6.30 pm).
Email: admissions@whistlingwoods.net

RESERVATIONS:
As per Government of India norms, 15%, 7.5% and 27% reservation is available to Scheduled Caste, Schedule Tribe and Other Backward Classes (non-creamy layer) respectively, for each of the programs. In addition, supernumerary seats are allocated to Persons With Disabilities (PWD) {3%}, Kashmiri migrants {1%} and children of the Armed Forces Employees {5%}

MERIT LIST PREPARATION:

• Merit list will be prepared for each program based on the aggregate scores of all four components of the Selection Criteria, in accordance with the Reservation Policy of the Institute.
• Individual Selection Intimation letters will be sent by email to all selected candidates.
• Waitlisted or denied candidates shall not receive any communication from the institution. They must get in touch with the admissions counsellor and take an update.
• In the event that a candidate is upgraded to the Selected List, individual Selection Letters will be sent to the candidates.

DECLARATION OF ADMISSION TEST RESULTS:

• The entrance exam results will be declared within a week of completion.
• Selected candidates shall be receiving a ‘Selection Intimation’ email.
• Waitlisted or denied candidates shall not receive any communication from the institution. They must get in touch with the admissions counsellor and take an update.
• In the event that a candidate is upgraded to the ‘Selected list’, individual selection letters will be sent to the candidates.

ADMISSION RULES:

1. 1. Canvassing in any manner, for securing admission, shall render a candidate disqualified.
   2. Eligibility rules as specified for each course shall be strictly followed and shall not be relaxed under any circumstances. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that all general and specific eligibility criteria listed for admission under each of the programmes are fulfilled.
   3. Candidates awaiting results of qualifying examinations may also apply for admission with the clear understanding that their selection will be conditional, subject to fulfilling all eligibility requirements of the concerned course of study at the time of admission.
   4. Changes, if any, made in the admission rules and / or in the eligibility criteria from time to time, shall be applicable to candidates seeking admission to Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) even after this notification.
   5. Application form shall not be transferred from one course of study to another under any circumstances.
   6. A candidate whose qualifying examination is not recognised by TISS shall not be eligible for admission. All such application forms / admissions shall be rejected / cancelled.
   7. Application forms may be rejected if in case of the following:
      • Incomplete Application.
      • Received without requisite fee.
      • Received after the last date.
      • Received with invalid documents.

      No correspondence shall be entertained in this regard. No relaxation in the last date shall be granted.

   8. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) assumes no responsibility whatsoever in the event of failure to report on the due date and time by the candidate for appearing in the Admission Test.
   9. The medium of all Tests shall be English only.
   10. Special arrangements for students with disabilities and special needs are available on campus, but requests must be submitted by email to the concerned admissions counsellor at least 7 days in advance.
   11. Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and WWI reserves the right to make changes in the notified admission test schedule.
   12. In case a candidate does not meet the eligibility criteria prescribed for a specific course of study, appears for the Admission Test, he/she shall be doing so at his/her own risk and cost. If at any stage it is found that the candidate does not fulfil the eligibility requirements, the admission, if granted, shall be cancelled.
   13. Application fee is non-refundable under any circumstances (Candidate unable to take the entrance exam | Waitlisted | Denied | Ineligible etc.) For all other refunds, please refer the fee policy 2024 Read Here.
   14. Selected candidates shall be allotted the course on merit and as per their preference indicated in the application form.
   15. All admissions shall be provisional.
   16. Selected candidates shall not be allowed to complete admission formalities in absentia.
   17. Candidates not reporting for admission on the stipulated date and time, shall forfeit their claim for admission. The offer of admission shall stand cancelled and no correspondence in this regard shall be entertained.
   18. No candidate shall be admitted unless they have completed all the eligibility requirements at the time of admission. Candidates awaiting results of their Supplementary / Improvement examination shall be considered provisionally for admission. They must submit their final documents to the Administration office at the earliest to secure their seat.
   19. Marksheet / Grade sheets / Certificates downloaded from the Internet shall not be accepted at the time of admission.
   20. Candidates selected for admission must deposit the attested photocopy of qualifying examination in the Administration Office at the time of Admission.
   21. No candidate shall be eligible to pursue a full-time course of study if they are already admitted to any full–time course of study in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) or any other University.
   22. Candidates pursuing any full-time course of study is required to get their name removed from the rolls of the University / College / Institution where already admitted and submit a certificate to this effect from the concerned authority at the time of reporting for admission to the course (including evening Courses and Professional Courses under Centre for Professional courses) for which they may have been provisionally selected.
   23. The candidate selected for admission shall have to submit the Original Migration Certificate from the Head of the Institution / University last attended at the time of admission. Candidate who is not in the position to submit the Migration certificate at the time of admission, shall give an undertaking on prescribed Proforma to submit the same within six months from the date of admission, failing which the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) reserves the right to cancel their admission.
   24. The university reserves the right to ask for student’s medical history records. If a candidate is found to be medically unfit to continue their education, then for the wellbeing of the student the admission will be cancelled.
   25. If any error / omission in the processing / verification of certificates / documents of a candidate is detected after the candidate is admitted to a course in Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), then Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) has the right to cancel such admission at any stage at which error / omission is detected.
   26. If it is found, at any stage, that a candidate:
       • Does not fulfil the eligibility requirements.
       • Has used fraudulent means to secure admission including but not limited to plagiarism, copying, or passing off someone else’s work as their own.
       • Has made false or incorrect statements in the application form.
       • Has not signed / marked thumb impression on the application form or somebody else has done so on their behalf.

       They shall not be allowed to complete the admission formalities. In case they are already admitted, the admission shall be cancelled, ipso facto.

   27. Answer sheets and other relevant material pertaining to the Admission Test of all candidates and Application Forms of all the non–admitted candidates will be removed from records 3 months after the closing date of Admissions. Therefore, in case of any dispute regarding admissions, the matter must be filed within 3 months of the closing date of admission. After this time period the relevant records will not be made available.
   28. The closing date for all admission in the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) will be as per the notification on the website and be final. Except those courses / categories for which separate notification will be made on the website. Any vacancy arising after the date of enrolment of the candidate in any course shall not be filled.

Tuition Fees & Security Deposit

* GST as applicable (currently 18%) would be additional and is not reflected in the above-mentioned amounts.

** Security Deposit & Taxes (subject to changes based on Taxation norms) are included in the above instalment amounts.

Notes:

• All Graduate & Post-graduate Degrees and Diplomas are awarded by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. TISS is a deemed to be University under Section 3 of UGC Act 1956.
• All amounts are payable to are payable through the WWI online payment portal through its fee collection partner. The link to the same will be mentioned in each invoice that the student receives. Students can pay by NEFT / RTGS / electronic transfer.
• GST or any other taxes have not been levied on any of the fees based on prevalent taxation rules / guidelines for educational institutions. However, these are subject to change. Any taxes levied by the government / taxation authorities would be additional & intimated to students with appropriate notice.
• All amounts are listed & payable in Indian Rupees, for both Indian and International students.
• All payments made by Indian nationals must be accompanied by the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the payee, without which fees will not be accepted.
• All fees are as mentioned are for the program as a whole, and are being collected over instalments to reduce the burden of paying large amounts on the student. The semester-wise payments are not reflective of the value of the program completed till then or the value charged specifically for that semester.
• The Semester 1 instalment includes security deposit. This is non-interest bearing and refundable on program completion or withdrawal, subject to deductions, if any.
• The ‘Acceptance’ payment is payable within two weeks of being accepted into a program. If a student is accepted within two weeks of program commencement, then it is payable on registration day. The ‘Acceptance’ payment is non-refundable, although it can be carried forward for a maximum of 2 intakes, subject to management approval. The Fee policy applicable to students who push forward their admission will be the one that is active when the student does join the program. WWI refunds the ‘Acceptance’ instalment to students only in case they withdraw under exceptional circumstances involving health issues or academic ineligibility to join said program. An amount of Rs 50,000/- (+ taxes as applicable) will be retained by WWI as Application processing & Admission Costs.
• Semester 1 fees are payable on Registration day, which may be a few days prior to program commencement. All other instalments are payable 1 week before the commencement of each Semester, except for the final Semester. All payments listed under the Final Semester of each program have to be paid before the penultimate semester is completed.
• Once a Semester has commenced, all fees paid / payable upto the end of that semester are non-refundable. Should a student leave his/her program mid semester, all fees paid / payable are non-refundable but any fees paid in advance for future semesters will be refunded, with the security deposit, subject to deductions
• Transfer of fees across / between programs is subject to management approval, on a case-by-case basis, and will involve a re-calculation of fees based on the fees of the new program & the amount already paid by the student and the fee difference, on a retrospective basis, is to be paid by the student before commencement of the next Semester.
• If a student changes specialisation mid-program from a program with a higher fee to a program with a lower fee, no refunds will be made retrospectively for fee differences, if any in the Semesters already completed, and, irrespective of such differences, fees payable for future Semesters have to be paid as per the fee policy.
• If a student wishes to withdraw from the program between 2 semesters, he / she has to convey the same in writing to the Dean and the Administration Manager atleast 2 weeks prior to Semester commencement. After such date, entire fees payable for that semester will be applicable.
• The institute undertakes all refunds of fees & security deposits only twice a year – in the months of September and March. So all refund requests processed during the year are disbursed only in these months.
• In case of refunds or claims sought, the student will hold Whistling Woods International alone responsible for the same as it is the institution that is delivering the education as the implementation partner of TISS. Whistling Woods International has indemnified TISS of the same.
• Any scholarship / fee waiver / fee adjustment extended to a student will be used to reduce the fees payable for the ultimate (final) Semester of his/her program. If scholarship / fee waiver amounts are higher than those payable for the final semester, then the balance over & above that will be used to reduce the amount payable for the penultimate semester, and so on.
• A delay in Fee Payment will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000/- per week. Each act of cheque bouncing / dishonour of cheque will attract a penalty of Rs 5,000/-.
• Examination Fees, payable on an annual or semi-annual basis, are additional. You will be intimated of the same.
• Program Fees do not include any additional study tour costs. While such costs are rare, they will need to be borne additionally as and when required. Due notice will be given to students for the same.
• Students of specific programmes would need to acquire some hardware / software / supplies, as under:
  • Students being accepted into the Direction / Producing specialisations of MA Filmmaking need to acquire a MacBook Pro laptop [MacBook Pro M2/4 & 32GB RAM] & a good quality headphone. WWI will provide exact specifications to the students towards the end of their 1st semester, based on new models being launched.
  • All students being accepted into the Producing specialisation of Filmmaking need to acquire Movie Magic Budgeting & Movie Magic Scheduling softwares, which will be made available to them at a special cost allocated for WWI students
  • All students of the Music Production & Composition program will need to acquire a MacBook Pro laptop with specifications: MacBook Pro M2 Processor, 32GB DDR5 RAM (higher is better), a good quality headphone, a MIDI controller keyboard, a license of ProTools software, Sibelius software and a license of the Apple Logic Pro X sequencing software. Changes to the same, if any, will be intimated at the time of admission.
  • WWI has a site-license for Adobe Creative Cloud, 1 license of which is allocated to each student. Costs for the same change each year based on the total number of students and the USD:INR exchange rate. Hence there is an amount recalculated annually which is payable mandatorily over & above the fees by each student. This amount for 2025 & 2026 is Rs 14,000/- each year and will increase from 2026 onwards. This is not optional & will reflect in the Sem 1/3/5/7 invoice, as applicable.Students other than for the above-mentioned programs need not acquire their own hardware and can use the computing assets available on campus, but it is recommended that they acquire a personal laptop after their 1st year, preferably a Macbook. WWI is happy to assist students in selection of their hardware devices. WWI also has student discounted pricing, details of which will be made available to the student.
• Health Insurance is mandatory for all students. Whistling Woods International provides a group health insurance policy, the cost of which is already built into the fees. There is no additional payment needed for the same. However, it is incumbent on students and parents to provide accurate health information, especially historical health insurance, else the insurance company may reject claims based on ‘undeclared existing condition’ rules, at which point, the cost of the medical treatment will have to be borne by the student / parent.
• Norms under the New Education Policy allow a student to take a 3-yr break during the official tenure of a degree program to complete their program. This includes term repeat on account of failure or attendance norms. So, a 3-yr UG degree program needs to be completed within 6 years & a 4-yr UG degree program within 7 years. Fees will be payable as applicable for each repeat semester that the student attends based on the current fees prevailing for that semester for the batch that the student joins into. If multiple breaks cause the students to cross the 5/6/7 year threshold, they will need to re-register as a new student. The same is also applicable in case of credit transfers from other universities.
• Whistling Woods is facing litigation with respect to its campus in Filmcity, Mumbai. WWI has secured relief through interim orders passed by both the Hon. Supreme Court of India on September 22, 2014 and the Hon. Bombay High Court on July 30, 2014, on WWI’s Review Petition challenging the Hon. Bombay High Court’s February 2012 decision on the matter. In its order of July 30, 2014, the Hon. Bombay High Court has allowed WWI to continue its educational activities unhindered until the Review Petition is finally disposed off and in its order of September 22, 2014, the Hon. Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed that decision. The Maharashtra State government, through its Cabinet has taken a decision, in late 2018, to allot the land on which the campus is situated to WWI on a long-term lease subject to High Court clearance. The Cabinet Note for the same is available in the Maharashtra government public documents section. The lease agreement finalisation currently underway and will be presented before the High Court soon. In case there is any update on this matter, adequate intimation / notice will be given.
• Fee Policies as above are subject to change at Management’s discretion. Appropriate notification of the same will be given to all students. Excessively delayed fee payments may be cause for cancellation of enrolment of student.

*All the content of this website are subject to change at the discretion of the management.