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The Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Directing at the School of Cinematic Arts is a highly selective program designed to cultivate a filmmaker’s voice through a rigorous filmmaking curriculum. Students will be educated in every discipline involved in the filmmaking process, as well as the business facets of the film industry, enabling them to be best prepared for a career in the industry following graduation. Graduates of the program will emerge with a rich portfolio, including numerous original short films and a complete significant thesis film.

DePaul was recently named a top film school by both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety for giving students real-world opportunities to work on Chicago’s film and television sets. Students have access to unparalleled resources including a dedicated 32,000 square foot production space at Cinespace Chicago Film Studios, the second largest production studio in North America and home to over thirty major Hollywood productions including Power Book IV: ForceChicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and more. Students also have access to state-of-the-art camera gear, including Alexa, Amira and Red Cameras, as well as two sprinter vans and an array of professional lighting equipment.

Program Requirements Quarter Hours
Degree Requirements 96-100
Total hours required 96-100

Learning Outcomes

​​Students will be able to:

  • Write short or feature screenplays in proper format employing standard narrative.
  • Demonstrate a mastery of directing and casting actors in a fiction film.
  • Express picture editing, visual effects, and sound design preferences to post-production crew members using proper terminology.
  • Employ advanced functions of the producing process, including scheduling, budgeting, pitching, packaging, and distribution.
  • Communicate short setup and framing preferences using proper cinematographic and visual design terminology.
  • Create short filmic works in a variety of genres and processes, such as documentary, experimental, and television.
  • Identify major genres, figures, and works in contemporary and historical short and feature films.

Degree Requirements

Course Requirements

No Introductory Course in any other program may be substituted for any other course at any level.

Introductory Courses

Course Title Quarter Hours
FILM 401FUNDAMENTALS OF CINEMA PRODUCTION4

Note: Students who are required to take this course must take the course during the Fall quarter of their first year and consult their advisor about their course sequence for their first year in the program.

Introductory courses may be waived for any of the following conditions:

  • The student has the appropriate course work to satisfy an Introductory Course.
  • The student has appropriate and verified professional experience to satisfy an Introductory Course.
  • If an exam is available, the student passes a Graduate Assessment Examination (GAE) in the Introductory Course area.

Required Courses 

Course Title Quarter Hours
CP 420SCHEDULING & BUDGETING4
CP 540PRODUCING FOR DIRECTORS: PITCHING, PACKAGING, AND DISTRIBUTION4
DOC 414INTRO TO DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION4
FILM 410PRODUCTION WORKSHOP4
FILM 425EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKING I4
FILM 430FUNDAMENTALS OF SHORT FILM4
FILM 431FILM HISTORY FROM THE FILMMAKER'S PERSPECTIVE4
FILM 450CINEMATOGRAPHY4
FILM 479VISUAL DESIGN4
FILM 484DIRECTING ACTORS4
FILM 485DIRECTING THE PRODUCTION4
FILM 487DIRECTING THE SHORT MOTION PICTURE4
FILM 499INTERNSHIPS IN MEDIA AND DESIGN4
FILM 501ADVANCED PRE-PRODUCTION FOR THESIS4
POST 400EDITING4
POST 420DIRECTING SOUND DESIGN AND MUSIC 4
POST 484POST-PRODUCTION SEMINAR4
POST 500ADVANCED EDITING FOR THESIS4
POST 520ADVANCED SOUND WORKSHOP FOR THESIS2
POST 580ADVANCED FINISHING WORKSHOP FOR THESIS2
SCWR 400FOUNDATIONS OF SCREENWRITING4
SCWR 401WRITING THE FEATURE I (FORMERLY DC 402)4
SCWR 408WRITING THE SHORT MOTION PICTURE4
SCWR 446FILMMAKERS SEMINAR4
Select Four (4) Credit hours of Major Electives4
1

Students who are required to take this course must take the course during the Fall quarter of their first year and consult their advisor about their course sequence for their first year in the program. 

2

Optional Los Angeles Quarter (See below).

Major Electives

Students must choose any graduate level ANI, CP, DOC, FILM, POST, SCWR, or VFX courses or MCS 502.

Optional Los Angeles Quarter

Students may apply to participate in the Los Angeles Quarter Program for the spring of their third year; they will spend 12 weeks in Hollywood doing industry internships, living with their fellow DePaul classmates, and having twice-weekly classes on an industry lot where they will have intimate question and answer sessions with industry professionals in all aspects of the film, TV, and video game world. If selected to participate in the LA program, MFA in Film and Television Directing students would take SCWR 446  and FILM 499 in Los Angeles.

MFA in Film and Television Directing students who are not selected to participate in the LA program, would take FILM 499 in Chicago and one (1) Major Elective.

MFA Thesis

The MFA Thesis should be a significant work that demonstrates a mastery of cinematic storytelling technique to convey the filmmaker's unique voice and vision. This project may be a short film or television/web series pilot. Feature films may be permitted with approval from the student's thesis committee.

Thesis Committee

Students will be asked to submit five preferences for full-time faculty members to serve on their thesis committees. Two committee members and one thesis chair will be assigned to each student by the Production-MFA Committee. During the thesis phase, the thesis committee supervises a student's project. Approval to proceed to the thesis classes is at the sole discretion of the thesis committee. If the thesis committee denies approval, students may appeal to the Production-MFA Committee. If appeals are denied, students are dismissed from the MFA program. Students in good academic standing may choose to complete an MS in Film and Television.

Thesis Classes

There are four crucial milestones a student must pass in order to proceed with thesis classes:

  1. Script Approval
    The thesis committee must approve a student's thesis screenplay before admission will be granted to FILM 501. The thesis committees will notify the instructor of FILM 501 of approved students.
  2. Principal Photography
    MFA students should complete principal photography prior to taking POST 500. Only instructor approval (not thesis committee approval) is necessary to register for this class. If the instructor deems the student not ready to register for  POST 500, the student must wait until the class is offered again, and must again seek instructor approval to register.
  3. Picture Lock
    MFA students must edit and picture lock their films prior to taking POST 520 and POST 580. Thesis committees will notify the instructors of POST 520 and POST 580 of approved students, and the instructors will grant approval to register. If the thesis committee deems the student not ready to register for POST 520 and POST 580, the student must wait until the classes are offered again, and must again seek committee approval to register.
  4. Final Thesis Delivery, Screening and Defense
    MFA students will deliver their finished projects their thesis committees for exhibition at a culminating screening of all thesis films. After the screening, students will schedule a formal defense of their thesis films. If the film passes and upon completion of the required 96/100 credits of coursework, the student will be awarded an MFA. If the film does not pass, the student may revise it and re-defend. If the film does not pass again, the student will be dismissed from the MFA program. Students in good academic standing may choose to complete an MS in Film and Television.

FILM 701 THESIS CONTINUATION

This zero-credit course is for students who do not continue with the thesis classes as scheduled. A student's MFA thesis committee chair may enroll a student in FILM 701 a maximum of six times. Failure to enroll in a course for three straight quarters will lead to a student becoming inactive at the university, and will require the student to reapply to the program should they wish to finish their degree. Re-admission cannot be guaranteed, and the student will be subject to follow the curriculum in place when they return.

Time Limit to Finish Degree

Students must complete all required coursework and defend their finished thesis projects in no more than five years from their first enrollment in the program. If the student does not complete the above requirements in the required five years, the student will be dismissed from the MFA program. As per University policy, during their college career, students may be allowed one medical/personal approved administrative withdrawal and one college office administrative withdrawal, each for one or more courses in a single term. Such withdrawals do not count towards the time limit to finish the degree.

Degree Requirements

Students in this degree program must meet the following requirements:

  • Complete a minimum of 96 graduate credit hours in addition to any required introductory courses of the designated degree program.
  • Complete all graduate courses and requirements listed in the designated degree program.
  • Earn a grade of C- or better in all graduate courses of the designated degree program.
  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  • Satisfactorily complete the MFA thesis as determined by the student's MFA Advisor Committee.
  • Students cannot count credit earned towards a previously awarded master's or MFA degree toward the completion of this MFA program.

For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook.

Sample Schedule

The representation of these course requirements on a year-by-year basis is just a suggestion. Students are free to take these courses in any order they choose, provided they have mastered the course-specific prerequisites.