Yahoo News 2024's Top Film Schools in North America
Each year, Variety curates a list of the top film school programs across North America. From universities that are as old (or older) than the moving picture itself, to budding programs, the schools on this list collectively offer an impressive array of educators, facilities and lessons to be learned. Countless alumni from these programs have become legendary names in the industry. They have created award-winning films and television series, enacted change both on-screen and behind-the-scenes, and often give back to the institutions that fostered their talent.
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Belmont University
Nashville, TN
Collaboration between departments is key to the success of Belmont’s students in the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. “Our faculty are career industry professionals, who’ve worked in all forms, from indie features to the biggest studio productions,” Jay New, the school’s co-chair of motion pictures, production and screenwriting, tells Variety. He adds that students can pick up a camera on day one. “Our freshman students are required to start off with a course called cinematic storytelling, where they have a camera in hand,” he says. “They make four productions that semester. And then it just keeps going from there.” Besides state-of-the-art equipment and advantageous curriculum, students benefit from networking opportunities provided by dedicated staff. “We have students who have very seamlessly moved into the industry for internships and other opportunities in L.A. and New York, Atlanta — and obviously, Nashville as well,” says New.
Biola University
La Mirada, CA
Tucked in a suburb of Los Angeles, Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts offers students not only the technical skills to forge a successful career but also qualities such as teamwork, reliability and follow-through, says Dean Tom Halleen. “It’s an understanding that preparing students for the world of media in general isn’t just about having excellent technical skills.” The school features all the high-end equipment and instruction that students need to create films, and in 2026, it will open an expanded studio, growing Biola’s existing production facilities. “The building has been envisioned to accommodate the incredible rate of growth that we have,” says Halleen. “The idea behind the building is to house the full production workflow, from ideation to pre-production, production and post-production all the way through final presentation in our theater.” The school is also working in partnership with a “recently announced AI lab within our Crowell School of Business,” says Halleen.
Boston University
Boston, MA
Boston University will renovate a second 2,500-square-foot production space this summer, which will operate in addition to the school’s current production studio. BU is also moving toward the use of LED to replace traditional lighting, which is more environmentally conscious and safer for students. “We are immensely proud of all aspects of our program, both in the classroom and beyond — the renaissance we are experiencing in curriculum growth and faculty expansion and the ongoing success of our students in the field,” says Paul Schneider, chair of the department of film and television. Current faculty members include cinematographer Tim Palmer (“Killing Eve,” “Bad Sisters”) and director and producer Amy Geller (“The Guys Next Door,” “The Rabbi Goes West”) among many other industry professionals.
California State University, Northridge
Northridge, CA
With a campus near studio lots, Cal State Northridge students are in the heart of the industry. The school has a strong documentary department and under new documentary head Judy Korin (“Adrift,” “The Great Hack”), student documentaries have garnered national attention with finalists for the Student Academy Awards and PBS Fine Cut Festival of Films. Dave Caplan (“The Connors”) is heading up a new CSUN Cinema and Television Arts mentorship program for six underserved screenwriting students that places them with working showrunners to develop their own TV scripts. Talicia Raggs (writer/producer on “NCIS: New Orleans”) and music producer/engineer/scoring mixer Michael Stern (“Iron Man 2”) are new faculty members.
Chapman University
Orange, CA
The Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman is not only one of the most technically advanced institutions in the country — sporting multiple soundstages, editing and mixing suites plus an LED wall — it is also one of the most productive with 50 undergrad thesis films being produced this year. Yet, according to dean Stephen Galloway, what makes it truly unique is the community built between students during their four years. “We bake that in from day one. Students are working together, forming teams, not being dictatorial,” Galloway says. “We think of this as a village of filmmakers, where everybody knows each other and works together and builds those relationships that you take out into the industry.”
Community College of Aurora
Denver, CO
Formerly known as Colorado Film School, the Cinematic Arts department at the Community College of Aurora is expanding into virtual production, immersive entertainment and storytelling for video games. The average class size is around 13, and the curriculum is based on experiential learning, so students and the school have established educational partnerships with interactive game companies, national advertising agencies, production companies, and film festivals. The school offers six certificates and six three-year associate’s degrees so students can finish their program and enter the industry earlier than traditional programs. The price of the degree is also much less than most bachelor’s degree programs, allowing aspiring filmmakers to graduate without heavy debt.
Columbia College Chicago
Chicago, IL
Undergraduate students can take advantage of the school’s Semester in L.A. program, which introduces students to people working in the entertainment industry and L.A. internship opportunities. “At Columbia College Chicago, we focus on bringing your vision to the screen, but also on developing close working relationships with people you trust. Our classes provide the skills needed to work in any aspect of the industry you are interested in, and our vibrant community helps you build creative partnerships that start at school but continue and grow as you enter the industry,” says Eric Scholl, interim co-chair of the cinema and television arts department.
Columbia University’s School of the Arts
New York, NY
In the 2023-2024 school year, the film MFA program welcomed its first class to the new writing for film and television concentration, while undergrads can work on graduate films and take advantage of the Columbia Undergraduate Film Productions group. New faculty include veteran film and TV editor and producer Elizabeth Kling (“Practical Magic,” “Addicted to Love”). Notable faculty include James Schamus, Trey Ellis and Ira Deutchman. Columbia’s notable alumni includes writer/actress Grace Edwards (“Insecure”) and helmer Kathryn Bigelow (“Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Hurt Locker”), offering plentiful networking opportunities for graduates.
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Within the Visual and Media Arts department, Emerson promises a hands-on education in filmmaking. Students can select a production track or media studies track, with courses ranging from writing the feature film to computer animation to media criticism and theory. Students can take advantage of the school’s directing studio located on campus at the Paramount Center, or partake in the school’s Los Angeles internship program. VMA chair Shaun Clarke says, “The Visual and Media Arts department fosters the development and creative passions of our students in ways true to themselves and uniquely Emersonian: in the classroom with highly skilled faculty and inspired peers, using state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and in the world alongside groundbreaking alumni impacting the future of film.”
Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema
Brooklyn, NY
For a top film school, Feirstein is famously more affordable than many others with tuition at $21,000. The school is also developing new curriculum, which is more focused on the overall multifaceted filmmaker, rather than specific tracks. Students benefit from an impressive faculty including the school of cinema’s executive director Richard N. Gladstein, who frequently leads master classes and lectures about film producing and the entertainment industry, and new instructors such as producer Anne Carey (“The Persian Version,” “Lost Girls”) and helmer/writer Anthony Drazen (“The West Wing”). The school also recently had masterclasses taught by John Turturro, Steven Soderbergh and Janusz Kaminski. Feirstein boasts a powerhouse advisory council that includes Ethan Hawke, Darren Aronofsky, Bruce Cohen, Stephen Daldry, Randall Poster, John Turturro, Talitha Watkins, Vicki Thomas and Doug Steiner.
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
The College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University is all about putting students first with a 5-1 student-to-faculty ratio, 24-7 facility hours, plus funding virtually all student laboratory, workshops and thesis project production expenses at the graduate and undergraduate level. An impressive 96% of graduates find work in the industry after one year. FSU is also home to the Torchlight Center for Motion Picture Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which is an off-campus cinematheque and virtual production studio available to all film students. Just last year, the college was named number four among all public film schools in the nation.
Hofstra University
Hempstead, NY
This year, Hofstra’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication added a BS in sports media and continues to offer BFAs in filmmaking and writing for the screen, as well as a BA in film productions and studies and another BS in television and film. Students in these programs can begin making their films their first year with access to three soundstages and a post-production facility that includes an editing classroom, screening room and color correction suite. Faculty include cinematographer Sekiya Dorsett (“In Our Mother’s Gardens”), helmer Kelcey Edwards (“The Art of Making It”) and cinematographer Mark Raker (“Five Questions”).
Ithaca College
Ithaca, NY
In 2023, Ithaca’s Roy H. Park School of Communications established a special opportunities fund for students to access hands-on opportunities related to their career paths. Additionally, the James B. Pendleton Endowment gives more than $800,000 every year to the Park school, funding the Los Angeles program, annual technology upgrades, two endowed professorships, $125,000 in student scholarship awards and close to $75,000 for student, faculty and staff projects. Park also boasts an immersive volume stage known as the Cube, which lets students make use of 3D visual effects via Unreal Engine. Dean Amy Falkner says, “Recruiters often remark at how industry-ready Park students are when they enter the workforce. We owe that to our Tech Ops team who keep the broadcast studios, soundstages, virtual production studios, LED walls and post-production suites on the cutting edge of industry-grade equipment and software. The faculty incorporate all this tech in their teaching, and it takes our students to the highest level.”
Loyola Marymount
Los Angeles, CA
In the fall, LMU will introduce Masters in Entertainment Leadership and Management (MELM), a collaboration between LMU SFTV and LMU College of Business Administration. This program will be taught by industry leaders including Janet Yang, SFTV presidential fellow and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Unique programs for LMU include its Hollywood Bootcamp, recently led by WME agent Krista Parkinson, which provides career training via access to leading executives and companies. LMU also often brings distinguished speakers to campus such as Damon Lindelof, S.S. Rajamouli, Vince Gilligan, Lauren Neustadter and Terilyn Shropshire. “We have a unique ability to provide not only an exceptional education within the classroom but also the in-person industry access and connections required to launch and sustain a successful entertainment career. Thanks to our award-winning faculty, our two campuses located in the heart of the industry (Los Angeles and Silicon Beach), and programs like Hollywood Bootcamp and our Distinguished Artist in Residence, we give aspiring filmmakers a pragmatic, real-world education to set them up for success,” says Joanne Moore, dean of the School of Film and Television.
New York Film Academy
New York, NY
The New York Film Academy is one of the most expansive film schools in the nation, with eight global locations and three undergraduate degree programs encapsulating over 15 areas of study. With an emphasis on a hands-on approach to filmmaking, students get access to top-of-the-line gear and facilities, personal mentoring from industry veterans, travel courses for up to eight weeks and opportunities to train in formats such as 35mm and 16mm film. NYFA has no shortage of famous alumni including Bill Hader, Issa Rae, Aubrey Plaza, Shivani Rawat, Masali Baduza and Lisa Cortés.
Northwestern
Evanston, IL
This year, Northwestern’s department of radio/television/film took students to Sundance to experience the festival and network with alumni. “Our alumni networks are our biggest asset,” says Kerry Trotter, communications director at the school. “There is a very strong, short tether between L.A. and Evanston, and alumni in the industry are often cultivating opportunities for NU students.” Additionally, each spring break the program takes a group of RTVF and communication studies students to London for site visits and networking opportunities. As part of the school’s mission to elevate entertainment education for its student body, it will offer a new minor next academic year: game design, media arts and animation.
Rutgers
New Brunswick, NJ
Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts offers a myriad of programs and facilities, including the Documentary Film Lab, which allows students to work on full-length documentaries with faculty. Associate professor and chair of the Rutgers Filmmaking Center, Patrick Stettner, says of the department’s mission, “Our priority is to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of different modes of storytelling and filmmaking techniques. We recently launched a new course, AI in New Technology Filmmaking, which helps students navigate the next great tech revolution in cinema.” Mason Gross also boasts a new VR studio lab which offers students the opportunity to gain experience with virtual reality filmmaking.
Savannah College of Art and Design
Savannah, GA
With one of the largest university film studio complexes in the nation, SCAD continues to expand. New additions will include a 17,000-square-foot support building for production classrooms, costume labs, costume studio shop and a scenic production wood/machine shop. Students recently worked on a comedy series and two short films on location at SCAD’s Lacoste, France campus. Film and television coursework is supported by events with industry guests throughout the academic year, such as Kevin Bacon, Eva Longoria, Ava DuVernay and George Lopez. The school boasts a well-connected faculty, including Andra Reeve-Rabb, dean of the school of film and acting and director of SCAD’s casting office, who is the former director of casting at CBS Primetime, New York.
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ
Offering efficient two-year degree programs that prepare students to enter the entertainment industry is just one advantage of the Scottsdale School of Film and Theatre at Scottsdale Community College. The school’s curriculum is looking ahead to what film and theater professionals will need in the coming decade, and as such, updating courses to prepare students to work in both filmed productions and live events. Scottsdale’s TV/New Media studio is also in the early stages of a $250,000 update, focused on creating a space that features current equipment and tech students will likely use post-graduation.
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
Syracuse’s Visual and Performing Arts film program focuses on hands-on education, the film production process and cross-training across film disciplines for its students. BFA and MFA degrees in film are offered through the VPA program, and BS and MA degrees in television, radio and film are offered through the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. The VPA program also hosts study opportunities in Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C. “The brand of Newhouse graduates is less about making film as we know it, rather their capacity to invent the next generation of film,” says Michael Schoonmaker, professor and chair of the television, radio and film department at the communications school.
The Los Angeles Film School
Los Angeles, CA
Centrally located in Hollywood and just a stone’s throw from nearby studio lots, the Los Angeles Film School offers bachelor’s and associate degrees in entertainment fields, with its film degree allowing students to pursue concentrations in production, directing or cinematography. In addition to adding an animation/VFX program that shares classes with the film program, the school recently redesigned its TechKit — which includes state-of-the-art software and hardware designed to make it possible for the student to start making films immediately — for the animation program. Famous alums include sound designer Phillip Bladh, who won an Oscar for sound for “The Sound of Metal,” video director Hannah Lux Davis, known for collaborating with Ariana Grande, Halsey and Demi Lovato, and helmer/writer/producer Kyle Newacheck, whose work has appeared on “Workaholics,” “Parks and Recreation” and “Community.”
U. of Texas at Austin – Moody College
Austin, TX
Within the Moody College of Communication, the department of radio-television-film boasts a motion capture studio, 70×20 foot green screen and podcast suites, as well as noteworthy alums including Matthew McConaughey and Robert Rodriguez. The school has begun a curriculum overhaul to its B.S., MFA and M.A. programs, and is currently refreshing all film equipment, including cameras, lenses, audio equipment and computers. For aspiring young filmmakers, the school even offers a summer camp led by advanced graduate students, professors and media professionals.
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
Winston-Salem, NC
Now celebrating the school’s 30th anniversary, the Fighting Pickles are formally launching the Story Art Studio in 2024 as an incubator that merges the unique voice and history of the region with both classical and cutting-edge storytelling tools across the disciplines of dance, music, drama and more. The program not only encapsulates the breadth of UNCSA’s curriculum but joins with its Dean’s Advisory Council, comprising of prominent industry leaders, to create post-graduate pathways into the industry. “It’s a gift to have the focus that [students] have here without the distractions of wonderful cities like Los Angeles and New York present,” says dean Deborah LaVine. “Here, the only person they’re competing with is themselves.”
Vancouver Film School
Vancouver, B.C.
Through its school of film & television, school of animation and school of games & creative design, VFS offers an immersive curriculum across 15 programs. Students are trained by industry professionals and have access to eight world-class production centers that feature a 64,000 cubic-feet of performance and motion capture volume, a 180-degree greenscreen room, mixing labs and recording studios, film sets and studios. VFS has been ranked as the top game design school in Canada, and the second-top game design school worldwide. In the 2024 awards season, over 12,000 VFS alumni were credited on nominated and winning projects spanning the Game Awards, Golden Globes, Emmys and the Academy Awards.
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT
The College of Film and the Moving Image at Wesleyan University seeks to blend history, analysis and production in a liberal arts context. The school recently piloted a one-week immersive summer externship program in Los Angeles, which introduces students from underrepresented groups to the entertainment industry. Two first-generation college students spent a week meeting with prominent alumni like Jenno Topping, Tony Ducret and David Stone. “While we teach skills such as analytical and creative writing, producing, shooting and editing, our goals are broader,” says Scott Higgins, director of the College of Film and the Moving Image. “We aim to help undergraduates discover their goals and to develop their creative and critical voices in a collaborative community founded on a passionate commitment to the moving image.”
Film School Titans
USC, UCLA, Cal Arts, Tisch, AFI
Across the film school landscape, there are many notable programs but five in particular stand apart because of their impressive curriculum, notable alumni and overall influence: the American Film Institute, California Institute of the Arts, the Kanbar School of Film and Television at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, and the USC School of Cinematic Arts.
AFI is noted for its remarkable instructors such as cinematography head Stephen Lighthill and producing head Lianne Halfon. Fellows are guaranteed to make films and the school has partnered to help create the Disney/AFI Underrepresented Storytellers Initiative to help create a pathway that removes economic barriers for emerging filmmakers.
Ask many any animation luminary where they went to school, and you’ll likely hear the name CalArts. Notable alumni include Tim Burton, Brad Bird and Pete Docter, whose films have won multiple Academy Awards. Students can choose from 70 comprehensive degree programs.
The Kanbar Institute within Tisch claims Martin Scorsese as a production alum. Several years ago, the school received the largest grant in its history from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation to establish the Martin Scorsese Institute of Global Cinematic Arts, which includes a virtual production center and cinematic studies.
As a public university, UCLA offers a world-class film school education at a price that won’t saddle a student with heavy costs. Among ambitious offerings at UCLA’s school of theater, film and television is a recently announced extended reality and artificial intelligence research studio at the school’s downtown campus. Faculty includes many noted working pros who cover every aspect of filmmaking such as costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis. Screenwriter David Koepp (“Jurassic Park,” “War of the Worlds”) and Dustin Lance Black (“Milk”) are among the school’s many notable alums.
The USC School of Cinematic Arts offers a unique interdisciplinary curriculum, in which students take courses from the full spectrum of the SCA’s offerings — prospective writers take courses in directing, directors take courses in interactive media. Helmer Ryan Coogler and writer-producer Shonda Rhimes are just a few of SCA’s highly successful alums. The school receives tremendous support from the creative community. In 2006, filmmaker and alumnus George Lucas made the largest single donation in USC history by giving the film school $175 million.
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