Film Directing Program
MFA Only

The Film Directing Program is a three-year graduate course of study in narrative film directing. The program's chief objective is to encourage directing students to develop innovative approaches to dramatic storytelling rooted in the enduring traditions of drama that stretch from Sophocles and Aristotle to Shakespeare and Chekhov; from Griffith and Murnau to Ford, Hitchcock, Godard, Peckinpah and von Trier. It focuses on the aesthetic and technical components of film directing, but also includes screenwriting, acting, scene study and directing a one-act play.

The rigorous curriculum consists of film and video production workshops, acting studios, editing classes, seminars in film history and aesthetics, scene study labs, writing workshops and other forums in which students share and examine their own experiences, hone their powers of observation, work closely with actors, develop visual strategies and discover methods for shaping stories—both invented and adapted—that are emotionally true and dramatically credible. This curriculum is enhanced with visiting artist workshops each semester, ranging in form from technical boot camps to critiques of student work.

During the first two years in residence, students write screenplays of varying lengths, shoot short videos and films, and produce a one-act play. By the end of the first year, each student is required to propose a thesis project—usually a short film, preferably 15 to 30 minutes in length—that will be completed by the end of the third year. To meet graduation requirements, the thesis film must have a sound mix and receive unanimous approval from the student’s thesis committee.

Each student works closely with his or her assigned mentor, a faculty member who is the primary guide on that student’s creative journey. All students in the Film Directing Program are also expected to support the projects of their peers by serving as actors and crewmembers.