Program Overview

Film B.F.A.

Focused on independent filmmaking, the film major teaches you every aspect of the film industry.

About this Program

• Receive a hands-on education on the film production process from development to post-production (scriptwriting, budgeting, pre-production and storyboarding, cinematography, directing, sound design and post-production, including 2D and 3D animation).
• Study with faculty members who have premiered films all over the world at such venues as Sundance, Black Maria Film Festival, Lisbon International Film Festival, Shanghai International Film Festival, and Guadalajara International Film Festival, Interfilm Berlin and the National Gallery of Art, among many others.
• Learn from guest speakers, from presidents of studios and streaming companies to Academy Award-nominated individuals.
• Study and intern in Los Angeles via our VPA LA Semester program or at Syracuse-based Hollywood production companies under the mentorship of renowned producers and directors.
• Study filmmaking in Prague, Czech Republic, and Bologna, Italy, via Syracuse Abroad.
• Join the numerous Syracuse alumni now working in the entertainment business.

Program Information

• Degree Type: Major
• Outcome: B.F.A.
• Modality: In-person
• College or School: College of Visual and Performing Arts

Curriculum

The first two years of the program are rigorously structured. In addition to hands-on filmmaking workshop courses, first-year students follow the Department of Film and Media Arts core curriculum, which includes film history and an introductory film production course. Sophomore classes concentrate on essential filmmaking skills. Juniors and seniors have additional flexibility to choose from menu-structured course offerings according to your academic and professional interests and, in essence, construct your own path with your faculty advisor.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Technical Skills: Demonstrate a subset of technical skills involving process or technique knowledge and proficiency in film production.
• Conceptual Skills: Demonstrate a broad set of skills in film that allows a student to understand abstract ideas and complicated processes while also thinking creatively.
• Critical Thinking: Analyze theoretical, critical and historical thoughts and concepts clearly and effectively through film.
• Filmmaking Proficiency: Produce quality films that demonstrate a cohesive and compelling production, appropriate to the medium while effectively managing the resources and logistics to produce a film.
• Collaboration Skills: Employ ability to function as a team member of a production.

Extracurricular Opportunities

• Study Abroad: Through Syracuse Abroad, we offer a semester-long program in Prague, Czech Republic, through our World Partner FAMU as well as a summer program in Italian film studies and filmmaking in Bologna, Italy.
• VPA LA Semester Program: The VPA LA Semester is an immersive professional development program that provides you with the opportunity to work as an intern in Los Angeles while taking academic courses taught by LA professionals with expertise in their given disciplines.

Related Programs

• Computer Art and Animation B.F.A.
• Acting B.F.A.
• Television, Radio and Film B.S.