MFA in Production

Highlights of Course of Study

• Students work with professional equipment and facilities, using 35 mm, Super 16, HD, or RED digital cinema media, and the Film School pays all production costs.
• Students work with full-time faculty members, who are professional filmmakers – not adjuncts or graduate teaching assistants – in one-on-one settings and in small groups with a six-to-one student to faculty ratio.
• The Film School regularly hosts industry professionals who lecture, and conduct workshops and seminars. A council of professionals provides constructive, objective feedback on student films.
• Students write, direct and edit their own short film projects, and fulfill such roles as producer, cinematographer, and production designer on the films of their fellow students.
• Students receive intensive training in all aspects of film production, from screenwriting to distribution.
• Students graduate with creative works ready for submission to the film festival circuit.
• Students are provided with industry mentors upon graduation.

Description of Curriculum

The program leading to a master of fine arts has the following goals:

1. to provide a creative and technical environment for professional development,
2. to ground students in the history of the medium's theory and practice, and
3. to prepare students for successful careers in the art, craft and business of the professional film industry. The MFA Production program is a full-time (fall, spring, and summer), two-year course of study. Students complete ninety (90) semester hours in a curriculum that focuses on the art, craft, and business of storytelling. The graduate program is designed and scheduled as a conservatory. It is meant to create a setting in which individuals can learn and work with accomplished professionals to hone their talents, develop a body of creative work, and sharpen their capacities to collaborate with others.

Information on the cost of attendance can be found here: Cost of Graduate Programs

The major courses include producing, directing, screenwriting, editing, camera and lighting, sound, production management, film history and theory.

Course Listings by Semester

First Semester - 15Hours (Fall)

• FIL5605r Production Management
• FIL5209r Basic Film Production
• FIL5265r Directing Actors
• FIL5155 Screenwriting I
• FIL5256 Sound Workshop
• FIL5257r Film Editing
• FIL5278r Camera & Lighting
• FIL5509 Film Aesthetics

Second Semester - 15 Hours (Spring)

• FIL5219 Workshops in Technical Support
• FIL5975 Thesis Production Support

Third Semester - 15 Hours (Summer)

• FIL5215 Producing I
• FIL5209 Basic Film Production
• FIL5267r Directing
• FIL5156 Screenwriting II
• FIL5259 Post-production Sound Workshop
• FIL5257r Film Editing
• FIL5278r Camera & Lighting Mechanics
• FIL5509r Film Aesthetics

Fourth Semester - 15 Hours (Fall)

• FIL5216 Producing
• FIL5209r Basic Film Production
• FIL5268 Advanced Directing
• FIL5157 Screenwriting III
• FIL5296 Advanced Sound
• FIL5617 Advanced Editing
• FIL5279 Lighting Workshop
• FIL5509r Film Aesthetics

Fifth Semester - 15 Hours (Spring)

• FIL5977 Graduate Thesis Production

Sixth Semester - 15 Hours (Summer)

• FIL5962 Graduate Qualifying Project
• FIL5906 Directed Individual Study
• FIL5955 Apprenticeship
• FIL5615r Advanced Workshop in Specialization
• FIL5509r Film Aesthetics