Temple University School of Theater, Film and Media Arts
Film and Media Arts MFA
Philadelphia, USA
MA
DURATION
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Sep 2026
STUDY FORMAT
Key Summary
About: The MFA in Film and Media Arts at Temple University teaches theory and practice in filmmaking, video and digital media. This 54-credit program emphasizes independent film and offers three tracks: media arts, narrative/documentary filmmaking, writing. You study film history and screenwriting, and complete up to six credit hours of thesis resulting in creative project: sound, film or video production, feature script, or alternative media (computer-generated, interactive, installations).
Career Outcomes: Graduates pursue roles such as director, producer, screenwriter, editor and media artist in independent/documentary film, digital media, post-production and festivals; skills include storytelling, production management, script development and multimedia design.
Explore the expanding boundaries between filmmaking approaches, driven by choices of subject and style, and learn to take creative control with the Master of Fine Arts in Film and Media Arts in Temple’s School of Theater, Film and Media Arts. With an emphasis on independent film and video, this 54-credit master’s degree will help you develop the skills necessary to become an incisive, socially conscious filmmaker and pursue a professional career in film, video or digital media.
Through exposure to both theory and practice, you’ll develop a fuller understanding of the history of film, the rise of video and interactive media, and research and screenwriting best practices. You’ll be given the option to choose from one of three tracks, including
media arts,
narrative and documentary filmmaking, and
writing.
You’ll also be required to complete up to six credit hours of thesis material, conceptualizing, developing, writing and ultimately creating a final creative project. Thesis projects take the form of a complete sound, film or video production; a feature film script; or a completed work in an alternative media form, including computer-generated media, interactive media, installations or newly emerging technologies. Taken together with the master program’s comprehensive exams, the curriculum’s synthesis of theory and practice serves to develop film and media artists with personal, informed voices.
