Do you want to study Film, TV, or Digital media in the United States? We’ve put together a useful guide to what’s top and what you can expect going into one of these programs.

A Brief Introduction

Film, television and digital media programs combine a theoretical and scholarly approach to the study of visual media with professional training in how to actually produce a piece of original work.

Undergraduates pursuing a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in film studies attend courses that are for the most part “theory heavy” providing scholarly overviews of the various media, the industries involved, their history and recent trends while availing the opportunity to “taste” the field by taking on internships with film companies or trying their hand at working for graduate student films.

Schools that offer Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degrees introduce students to the craft of film making and include courses in animation, art direction, cinematography, directing, editing and sound, producing and screenwriting.

Coming through as a well-educated, determined, imaginative and creative person can heavily tilt the scales in your favour.

Graduate programs dig deeper and make it possible for students to choose between Master of Arts (MA) and Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees and the opportunity to enrol for research heavy PhD programs. The MA includes courses in cinema and media studies and is many ways an extension of ground already covered in undergrad studies while the MFA focuses on the actual craft of film/television/digital media “making” whether in terms of production, directing or screenwriting.

Several top schools such as the Columbia University School of the Arts place the MA and MFA programs close together, so that students have ready access to the experience of their counterparts across the MA/MFA divide and some schools even make it compulsory for students to dip in to both theory and practice in equal measure.

Schools offering PhD degrees provide students the opportunity to conduct in depth research in film and media studies often paving the way, among other professions, to academic careers.

Unsurprisingly, getting into the top schools is tough and expensive but the rewards just as sweet in terms of top class training, exposure, influential contacts and nearly always a push to recognition.

What it Costs and What it Pays

Although the average tuition fee for a year at film school at any of the leading US universities is about USD 38,000 – 40,000, what you pay for can be a difference. 

Tuition costs per year for a graduate program tend to cost a tad less than that for a BA or BFA certificate. But some Masters degrees such as an MFA in Cinematography or Directing can go on for up to four years as against just two years for the undergrad degree in Film making.

The average annual starting salary for a student who has completed a film production major is at the lower end at about USD 36,000. But the prospect of earning big bucks right after film school is not why those wanting to work in the film or related industries go to school in the first place.

As with most other creative pursuits, the question of whether attending school is of value can be answered equally honestly in two opposing ways: it is, if you realise that attending a recognised film program is one part of what it will take to start a solid career and it isn’t if you view it as the only or main factor in your employability.

Where is Best

Versions of the world’s top ten film and other media programs abound. A recent one compiled by The Hollywood Reporter is probably one of the most comprehensive as it takes into account various not-so-obvious factors such as a school’s commitment to imparting a sense of the “culture of film-making”, the unusual opportunity to complete a debut feature film while still a student, or the benefit of referring to some of the personal papers and film material of filmmakers in the school’s archives.

The top ten film schools in the world according to this list are:

1. American Film Institute, Center for Advanced Film and Television Studies, US
2. University of Southern California, US
3. Beijing Film Academy, China
4. New York University Tisch School of the Arts, US
5. University of California Los Angeles US
6. California Institute of the Arts, US
7. Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic
8. Columbia University School of the Arts, US
9. Wesleyan University, US
10. National Film and Television School, UK