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The MFA Program in Film: Creative Producing is a three-year program that takes advantage of Columbia’s unique geography at the center of the independent film world, with the mission of creating the next generation of producers.
The program emphasizes the role of the producer as the creative force behind a project, requiring business skills, the ability to form creative collaborations and an understanding of an ever changing marketplace.
Our faculty consists of working members of the New York and Hollywood filmmaking communities, who bring to the program a wealth of day-to-day practical knowledge in all areas of producing from development to finance to distribution to the changing landscape due to new technologies.
Students share a common first year with students in the screenwriting and directing programs, reflecting our belief that the best training for producers includes work in all of these disciplines. It also builds friendships and partnerships across the disciplines and, in part because of the intensity of the workload, establishes an environment of mutual support and collaboration that lasts throughout the program and beyond.
In the second year, students take more intensive courses focusing primarily on producing feature films, but also crossing over to television and new media. They may also take courses in screenwriting, Columbia Business School courses and other courses throughout the university as electives. Every student must take at least one course in history/theory/criticism prior to graduation.
In the third year, the thesis year, students must work on the production of at least three films, one of which is their thesis, on which they are required to be the sole producer. Students are also required to complete an internship working for a production or distribution company. Our graduates leave the school with a portfolio of produced films, and a feature film project they have developed that is ready to be produced.
Our graduates are highly employable and our growing network of adjunct faculty, guest speakers and alumni continues to promote the program and raise the profile of program graduates both nationally and internationally.