Hi, I am going to be a senior this year and I am currently in the process of choosing colleges to apply to. My hope is to be able to get into a college in California and I was wondering if anyone knew of any good colleges (in CA) with film production or screenwriting majors. I already know that I am going to apply to LMU and Chapman but I am looking for more options. Also, if you have any suggestions of colleges in other states that would help too. Another question I have is when you apply to be a film major do you have to submit a whole separate application or does the film school application just combine with the common app? One more question, does anyone know about CU Denver film program? Thanks! Any responses are much appreciated.
USC’s film school is widely considered to be the best film school in the world. Their facilities are unparalleled, but you have to be crazy good to get in (think 4-6% acceptance rate). UCLA also has a good film school, as does NYU, but again you’ve got to be pretty good to get in.
USC is ranked number 1, with a 4% acceptance rate, NYU is 2 (don’t know acceptance rate) and UCLA is 3 with about a 1.5% acceptance rate- yikes!) So, those schools are like winning the lottery to get into their programs. Meaning it can really come down to good luck if you get in. Still, they’re worth a shot and have great industry ties.
Great idea to apply to Chapman and LMU. Chapman (Dodge) has been on an amazing trajectory and has impressive facilities. Loyola is in a great L.A. location and has a very solid, respected program. I would advise you to really focus on these two schools if you have serious aspirations to work in the film/television industry. Tour them, and work hard on your apps!
My daughter is attending UCLA as a freshman film major in the fall. She was part of a film/television program at her high school in Southern California. There are a handful of kids from her program that are going to Chapman, and one is going to Texas Christian University. Maybe look into that school as well? I’m not familiar with the CU Denver program, so can’t offer advice there.
All of the schools my daughter applied to had a substantial supplemental application ( in addition to the common app) for their film programs. To be honest, it was a grueling, painstaking process to get all those apps in, but she is so happy now and it was all worth it. Good Luck to you!!
Check out Emerson - while they are a Boston school they do have an LA campus and I’ve heard good things about it.
Also SFSU. As a CSU it’s probably impacted but if you are OOS you have a good chance of getting in, provided you meet the eligibility index for the school and/or major.
Here is Hollywood Reporter’s latest ranking: