In order to fulfill a dream of fame and fortune, and a great career as a filmmaker, you have to choose a university first. America is the best place for that. A higher profile education from the United States could help a student become famous, and maybe even receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
After many hours of research, we came up with our pick for the top 10 Film Schools to help you achieve your dreams. Here is our list:
1. American Film Institute (Los Angeles, CA)
This place is nothing like an ordinary educational institution. It is more like a platform where the high society of the film industry like, directors, script-writers, and producers, can improve or change their professional skills.
Students can take the AFI Conservatory Master’s program on a non-commercial basis. A central aspect of this program are its teachers. They educate and inspire! Learning from the celebrities who fall within the same galaxy as David Lynch, Darren Aronofsky, or Terrence Malick allows you to stand shoulder to shoulder with them, within the shortest possible time.
Finally, the program times less in volume than UCLA or USC. And every year, AFI graduates walk the Oscar red carpet, affirming the professionalism of the greatest teachers.
2. University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
This is one of the world’s leading private research universities. It is located in Downtown Los Angeles; the heart of the movie industry, and the birthplace of Disneyland. The university boasts a student body of more than 40,000, coming from 150 countries. The increase, in comparison with the year of the university’s foundation, appears to be considerable. Indeed, only 59 people became the first students in the late 19th century.
Dozens of celebrities came out of USC’s walls since then, including George Lucas, director of the Star Wars saga, or Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon.
Branches of the University are located throughout the Los Angeles area.
3. The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (New York, NY)
We question whether Oliver Stone or Martin Scorsese would become world-famous if they graduated from another American film school. TSOA has to its credit not only these eminent personalities of the cinematography but also thousands of other professionals whose names made history in the motion-picture industry.
Plus, it has planned to provide a $200,000 prize to the debutant who will make the best exam film. Such information leaves no doubt about which school in the United States is best!
Todd Phillips, James Franco, Joel Coen, Charlie Kaufman are some of the biggest names among Tisch’s graduates.
4. California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, CA)
Walt Disney, the founder of this school, could not imagine that its brainchild would become one of the best film schools in the United States. The original idea was to build a university for animators only. However, according to the dean, Steve Anker, this educational institution has since become an experimental school that offers training in all areas of the art. This is confirmed in practice. CalArts graduates are animators, playwrights, documentary filmmakers, and directors.
Tim Burton, Andrew Stanton, and John Lasseter are among it’s prominent graduates.
5. Columbia University (New York, NY)
This one is one of the prestigious Ivy League schools on this list, owing to its unique teaching staff. The teachers are mainly famous film directors, screenwriters, and producers.
Miloš Forman, Barbara De Fina, and Mira Nair are some of the most striking illustrations.
6. University of North Carolina (Winston-Salem, NC)
University of North Carolina School of the Arts provides all the necessary conditions and opportunities for students to take an in-depth look at the world of art. The training program provides a simultaneous study of cinematography and music, in particular with collective music-making, theater, choreography, and design.
7. The University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX)
The school is associated with the slogan ‘art for art’s sake.’ The public research university in Austin is technically well equipped, which means students will be exploring all the “ins and outs” of cinematography in professional studios.
Bruce Hendricks, Robert Rodriguez, and Matthew McConaughey are some of its illustrious graduates.
8. Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY)
At the end of Syracuse‘s Film program, students will achieve high skills in the use of innovative methods of filmmaking (both practical and theoretical). They will gain experience in animation, special effects, and video. In addition, they will gain all the knowledge for the development process of the film, from start to finish.
Finally, young talents are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to take part in Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s masterclass, where they will have a chance to learn everything from gurus/Hollywood stars.
9. Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT)
This university‘s reputation is based and supported on the authority of its immediate founders. Weslesyan University enjoys permanent public attention, especially among those who want to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Cinematography.
Graduates of this school are film aesthetes who have undergone a proven rigrious training program in the art, as well as received in-depth knowledge. All this undoubtedly has a positive impact on their vision of the world through the prism of a movie camera.
Each year, most of the graduates’ final projects reveal a high rating from the U.S. educational institution. Among those graduates are Miguel Arteta, Michael Bay, Akiva Goldsman, Zak Penn, Rick Nicita, Joss Whedon, and Larry Mark.
10. University of California Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
UCLA has a high and deserved reputation of being one of the best film academies in the United States. It brings an international mentality, as the management has taken appropriate and effective measures to create a very comfortable learning environment. You cannot find such an environment in any other campus in California.
The students are provided a unique opportunity to use the materials of the largest film archive in America, which can be only sidelined by the Library of Congress in terms of value and volume.
Among the most successful graduates are Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, and Tim Robbins. But something tells us the list might be a little longer than you think.
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