Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Motion Pictures & Television
- San Francisco, USA
- Online
Bachelor's degree
DURATION
8 semesters
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2026
TUITION FEES
USD 1,463 *
STUDY FORMAT
Distance Learning, On-Campus
* per unit for international students / USD 1,239 per unit for domestic students
Key Summary
About : The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Motion Pictures & Television focuses on developing your skills in filmmaking, scriptwriting, and television production. The program offers hands-on experience with industry-standard equipment and techniques, encouraging students to create compelling visual stories. Coursework covers various aspects of production, including directing, editing, and sound design, preparing you for a dynamic industry.
Career Outcomes : Graduates can pursue various career paths, such as film director, screenwriter, television producer, and editor. Other opportunities include roles in production design, cinematography, and sound production, allowing you to contribute creatively to film and television projects.
The BFA degree offers a solid grounding in the creative process and business skills of entertainment, as well as an in-depth specialization in one of the key areas of filmmaking (directing, producing, cinematography, editing, production design, and screenwriting).
Unit Requirements
Degree Requirements
BFA Motion Pictures & Television Degree Requirements
- Minimum grade of C- in all core courses, major courses, and LA 107 Writing for the Multilingual Artist or 108 Composition for the Artist
- Minimum 2.0 GPA and the following general education requirements:
- 1 Written Communication: Composition
- 1 Written Communication: Critical Thinking
- 1 Written Communication: Context & Style
- 2 Art Historical Awareness: Western Art
- 2 Art Historical Awareness: Surveys
- 1 Historical Awareness
- 1 Quantitative Literacy
- 1 Cultural Ideas & Influences
- 1 Employment Communications & Practices
After the above general education requirements are met, take Liberal Arts electives as needed to fulfill the Liberal Arts unit requirement.
Undergraduate students will meet the following student performance criteria:
General Filmmaking Skills
- Collaborate effectively with multi-disciplinary teams
- Create shorts that demonstrate a basic understanding of story structure and character development
- Demonstrate a basic understanding of the process of creating a film from beginning to end
Professional Readiness
- Apply knowledge of roles in the film industry to select an area of specialization (Midpoint Review only)
- Effectively showcase work in an industry-standard demo reel and website (Final Review only)
- Demonstrate professional–level achievement through the execution of a variety of projects in the area of specialization (Final Review only)
Editing
- Demonstrate proficiency in post-production technology and techniques
- Achieve Avid certification
- Demonstrate proficiency in at least two other editing programs
Screenwriting
- Write shorts that are marketable and/or appealing to a general audience
- Deliver a polished feature script or TV pilot
Cinematography
- Work effectively with various cameras, lenses, and accessories
- Design and execute creative lighting schemes
- Effectively manage a scene for coverage
- Apply principles of composition and camera movements to enhance the story
Directing
- Guide a crew in preproduction, production, and postproduction to execute effective choices that serve the story
- Elicit engaging and believable performances from actors
Producing
- Acquire or originate and develop material for a project that can be pitched in a professional setting
- Demonstrate basic proficiency in budgeting and scheduling
- Demonstrate familiarity with negotiating film contracts (for actors, crew, locations, equipment, lodging, transportation, and catering)
- Demonstrate understanding of the legal aspects of film production, including copyrights, trademarks, music licensing, working with minors, unions, finance, and distribution
- Demonstrate understanding of the legal aspects of film production, including copyrights, trademarks, music licensing, working with minors, unions, finance, and distribution
Production Design
- Support the look of films based on the director’s vision, including choosing locations, creating settings, selecting props, and dressing sets
- Communicate design concepts through basic drawing skills and visual presentations
Academy of Art University Learning Outcomes
Graduates of the Academy of Art University will demonstrate the ability to:
- Produce a body of work suitable for seeking professional opportunities in their chosen field of art and design.
- Solve creative problems within their field of art and design, including research and synthesis of technical, aesthetic, and conceptual knowledge.
- Communicate their ideas professionally and connect with their intended audience using visual, oral, and written presentation skills relevant to their field.
- Execute technical, aesthetic, and conceptual decisions based on an understanding of art and design principles.
- Evaluate work in their field, including their own work, using professional terminology.
- Recognize the influence of major cultural and aesthetic trends, both historical and contemporary, on art and design products.
- Learn the professional skills and behaviors necessary to compete in the global marketplace for art and design.
Semester 1
- MPT 105: Cinematic Storytelling
Core / 3 Units - MPT 106: Edit 1: The Art of Editing
Core / 3 Units - MPT 166: The Power of Story
Core / 3 Units - MPT 205: Introduction to Producing
Core / 3 UnitsSemester 2 - LA 104: Respect for Acting
Liberal Arts / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - LA 108: Composition for the Artist
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 120: Art History Through the 15th Century
Liberal Arts / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - MPT 159: Cinematography 1
Core / 3 Units - MPT 225: Sound Design for Film 1: Basic Concepts
Core / 3 Units - MPT 285: Production Design Foundations
Core / 3 Units - MPT 330: Directing Actors for Film & TV
Core / 3 UnitsSemester 3 - LA 291: Designing Careers
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - MPT 140: Lighting 1: The Art of Seeing Light
Core / 3 Units - MPT 234: Scene Production Laboratory
Core / 3 Units - MPT 378: Directing 2
Core / 3 Units - WRI 188: Characters & Backstory
Major / 3 UnitsSemester 4 - LA 121: Art History Through the 19th Century
Liberal Arts / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - LA 202: English Composition: Creative Persuasion & Argument
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - MPT 204: Power of Social Media
Major / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - MPT 259: Cinematography 2
Major / 3 Units - MPT 271: Lighting 2: Film + Digital
Major / 3 Units - MPT 315: Experimental Filmmaking 1
Major / 3 UnitsSemester 5 - LA 110: Writing the Short Story
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 281: Film History 1: Pre-1940
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - MPT 236: Edit 2: Avid Fundamentals
Major / 3 Units - MPT 351: Lighting 3: Film
Major / 3 Units - MPT 359: Cinematography 3
Major / 3 UnitsSemester 6 - LA 124: Physics for Artists: Light, Sound, and Motion
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 171: Western Civilization
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 282: Film History 2: 1940-1974
Liberal Arts / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - MPT 135: Virtual Reality/360 Production: The New Frontier
Major / 3 Units - MPT 235: Virtual Reality/360 Production & Post-Production
Elective / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - MPT 415: Experimental Filmmaking 2
Major / 3 Units - MPT 459: Cinematography 4
Major / 3 UnitsSemester 7 - LA 127: Topics in World Art
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 382: Film History 3: Contemporary Cinema
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - MPT 471: Senior Narrative A
Major / 3 Units - MPT 498BD: The Business of Drone: Designing a Career Around Drones
Major / 3 UnitsSemester 8 - LA 388: Survey of Asian Cinema
Liberal Arts / 3 Units - LA 462: Power of Myth and Symbol
Liberal Arts / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - MPT 472: Senior Narrative B
Major / 3 Units - MPT 495: Filmmaker Portfolio: Breaking Into the Entertainment Industry
Core / 3 Units - MPT 500: Internship in Motion Pictures & Television
Elective / 3 Units / Recommended for summer - N/A: Any Course
Elective / 3 Units
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