Cinema and Media Arts, MFA

60 credit hours

The Master of Fine Arts in Cinema and Media Arts instructs students in the craft of motion picture production, the art of presenting compelling and important stories, and the study of shaping and understanding messages meant for mass consumption. Drawing from a background in communication theory, studio art, art history, creative writing, and media production, students should be able to develop meaningful pieces of cinema with critical awareness of their artistic and cultural context.

 Students in the Master of Fine Arts in Cinema and Media Arts will

  1. Create films that are engaging, meaningful, and inventive works of cinematic storytelling.

  2. Master the style and technique of filmmaking.

  3. Become artistic entrepreneurs, capable of independently initiating and leading projects from concept to screen.

  4. Build and draw on a broad knowledge of the arts in finding their own creative voices.

  5. Become well versed in film theory and history and know their own creative influences and artistic context.

A graduate student in the School of Arts, Media, and Communications may take only one tutorial or independent study course and may enroll in a maximum of nine graduate credit hours per semester. A student may not receive graduate credit for any course designated as a dually-enrolled course, if that student received credit for the undergraduate version of that course.

Admission Requirements

Applications are initially reviewed by the Office of University Admissions to ensure all university admissions standards are met. An admissions decision will be made once all steps have been completed.

**In addition to the requirements of all graduate students, applicants to the School of Arts, Media, and Communications should complete and/or submit the following documents and information:

  • Transcripts demonstrating completion of undergraduate degree in related field with a minimum of a 3.0 GPA in all major coursework.
  • The official results from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) may be required if GPA is below 3.0. 
  • Contact information for three academic and/or professional references. 
  • 1,000-word statement of purpose describing applicant’s goals. 
  • Specific deliverables depending on area of study, such as a writing sample and/or portfolio of work.

Updated after publishing – September addendum 09/26/2019**

Candidates for admission are expected to demonstrate an undergraduate GPA of 3.0. They should also have completed undergraduate video or film production coursework, demonstrate equivalent basic proficiency, or be willing to enroll in leveling coursework upon admission.

Requirements

Core Curriculum

To earn a Master of Fine Arts in Cinema and Media Arts, a total of 60 graduate credit hours must be completed, a minimum of 30 of which must be graduate-only courses, including the following required core courses:

AMC 50000Research Methods

3

AMC 51000Research and Scholastic Writing

3

AMC 55000Graduate Seminar I

3

COM 58901Cinema Workshop I

3

COM 58902Cinema Workshop II

3

COM 60201Cinema Thesis I

3

COM 60202Cinema Thesis II

3

Plus 12 credit hours selected from the following options:

AAD 536003D Graphics

3

AAD 55400Web Design II

3

AAD 56400Web Design III

3

AAD 57440Web Design IV

3

COM 50700Writing for the Electronic Media

3

COM 51700Narrative Screenwriting

3

COM 52500Photojournalism

3

COM 55700Editing Film and Video

3

COM 55900Short Film Production

3

COM 57300-57399Topics in Producing

3

COM 57400Producing Film and Video

3

COM 57600-57699Topics in Production

3

COM 57700-57799Topics in Post-Production

3

COM 57800-57899Topics in Scriptwriting

3

COM 57900Television Production

3

Plus six credit hours selected from the following options:

AAD 50200Sculpture

3

AAD 50500Painting

3

AAD 51500Studies in Graphic Design

3

AAD 52200Motion Graphics

3

AAD 53000Drawing

3

AAD 53001Digital Photography

3

AAD 54600Digital Imaging

3

AAD 54800Digital Illustration

3

AAD 55100Typography

3

ARTH 55400Nineteenth-Century Art

3

ARTH 55600Baroque Art

3

ARTH 55700Ancient Art

3

ARTH 55800Medieval Art

3

ARTH 56100Twentieth-Century Art/Modern

3

ARTH 56200Twentieth-Century Art/Contemporary

3

ARTH 56300Early Modern Gender Studies

3

ARTH 56400Non-Western Art

3

ARTH 56900History of Graphic Design

3

ARTH 57000History of Games and Critical Theory

3

ARTH 58900Art Theory and Criticism

3

COM 57500-57599Topics in Media Studies

3

Plus nine credit hours selected from the following options:

AMC 56000Graduate Seminar II

3

COM 50310Contemporary Digital Rights

3

COM 50320Critical Analysis of Media

3

COM 50330Media and Politics

3

COM 50340Audience Analysis in an Interactive Age

3

COM 58903Cinema Workshop III

3

COM 58904Cinema Workshop IV

3

COM 60101Communications Project

3

IMF 51400Fundamentals of Writing for the MFA

3

IMF 51600-51699Fiction Genres

3

IMF 52200-52299Focused Fiction Workshop

3

IMF 52300-52399Focused Nonfiction Workshop

3

IMF 53500Fiction Writing Workshop

3

IMF 53600Fundamentals of Contemporary Fiction

3

IMF 53700-53799Selected Emphases in Fiction

3

IMF 54300-54399Genre Fiction as Literature

3

IMF 54400-54499Genre Fiction Workshop

3

IMF 54500Creative Nonfiction Workshop

3

IMF 54600The Personal Essay and Memoir

3

IMF 54700The Lyric Essay

3

IMF 55100Fiction Craft Foundations

3

IMF 55200Creative Nonfiction Craft Foundations

3

IMF 55600-55699The Prose Collection

3

IMF 56100Classic Foundational Literature: Fiction

3

IMF 56200Classic Foundational Literature: Creative Nonfiction

3

IMF 56600Narrative Journalism

3

IMF 57300-57399The Literary Novel

3

IMF 57400-57499Literary Novel Workshop

3

IMF 58100Contemporary Foundational Literature: Fiction

3

IMF 58200Contemporary Foundational Literature: Creative Nonfiction

3

Note: The course descriptions for IMF courses may be found in the catalog of the School of Accelerated Degree Programs.

Plus 12 additional credit hours from the above-listed course in Studio Art and Art History, Creative Writing, Media Production, or from the following options:

COM 57000History of World Cinema

3

COM 58400Media/Communication Internship

3

COM 59000-59999Special Topics

3

IMF 53200Advanced Focused Fiction Workshop

3

IMF 53300Advanced Focused Nonfiction Workshop

3

IMF 53900Advanced Studies Contemporary Fiction

3

Note: The course descriptions for IMF courses may be found in the catalog of the School of Accelerated Degree Programs.