Program Partners
Athena Studios
Athena Studios is a full service soundstage for film, television and digital media, with over 180,000 square feet of stage space and support space for office, mill and flex areas. It is the only professional soundstage in Athens-Clarke County, and as part of their complex, they have built the Studio Production Learning Center, a 14,000 square foot soundstage and classroom space, dedicated for UGA student use.
Trilith Institute
Trilith Institute is the non-profit arm of the largest studio facility in the state of Georgia, Trilith Studios. They provide support to our students through casting assistance, live script readings, location consultation, and special events with professionals in the film industry.
Georgia Film Academy
The Georgia Film Academy supports a collaboration of institutions of the University System of Georgia, Technical College System of Georgia, and independent institutions that offer professional courses in film, television, digital entertainment, Esports, and video game development.
A variety of production courses over the two-year program are taught by accomplished GFA faculty at Athena Studios.
Athens Film Office
The Athens Film Office serves as the official film and television liaison for Athens, Georgia. Athens-Clarke County is designated as a Camera Ready community by the Georgia Music, Film & Digital Entertainment Office. The film office provides location assistance to our students, as well as information about working with permitting and filming in public spaces.
Atlanta Film Festival & Atlanta Film Society
The Atlanta Film Festival is “one of the largest and longest-running festivals in the country; ATLFF showcases the work of both emerging and established artists and is one of less than twenty US film festivals that is Academy Award®-qualifying in all three shorts categories: Narrative Short, Documentary Short, and Animated Short.”
Kelvin Summerhill, a graduate of our inaugural cohort, premiered his short film at the Atlanta Film Festival, a prestigious honor as his film was one of ~40 films selected to screen out of thousands of submissions.
Sam's Club in Athens
As a part of their community outreach, Sam’s Club in Athens has partnered with the MFA program to help students with purchases for their films. They provide discounted membership for our students, as well as Instant Savings offers on various items throughout the store.
RAIN
A company built on the mission to “end our unnecessary and harmful dependence on single-use plastics,” RAIN became an MFA program partner in the 2022-2023 academic year. RAIN generously supplied our first-year students with an entire palette of their water to replace students’ need for single use plastic water bottles, not only saving senseless plastic from entering the landfill but also saving our students money from needing to by water for their productions. Talk about a win-win!
Program News
We’re growing, learning, and evolving. Stay in the loop with us.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the costs to participate in the MFA Film program?
Annual tuition and fees are $16,000 (approximate in-state); $78,000 (approximate out-of-state); $92,000 (approximate interntaional). This amount does not cover any living expenses. Accepted students will also be required to have a laptop and some specialized software. Estimated costs range between $2,000-3,000.
What is the difference between the MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media program and the low residency MFA Program in Narrative Media?
The MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media program is an intensive six semester, two-year residential program in which students will be trained in the above-the-line roles of screenwriting, directing and producing. They will also have coursework in camera and lighting, postproduction, and production design. Students in this program will produce a number of short films, as well as a graduate thesis film or a Webseries pilot. If you want to learn a comprehensive set of filmmaking skills and can reside in Athens, Georgia, this program may be for you.
The MFA Program in Narrative Media is a 2 ½-year, five semester low-residency program that offers two tracks: Screenwriting and Narrative Nonfiction Writing. Students attend two week-long residencies each year on the Athens campus, one in August and one in January, and then complete the remainder of their work online under the supervision of a faculty writing professor. Screenwriting students in this program will develop at least two full-length screenplays or television pilots. If you are specifically interested in screenwriting, or are unable to relocate for two years, this program may be for you. Please see our MFA in Narrative Media website for more details.
Does tuition cover lodging?
Housing is not covered by tuition and fees. Students are responsible for securing their own housing.
- In Athens: There are many options for housing in the Athens area, both on and off campus. This link is a good source for more information about Athens housing: https://isl.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/09/Off-Campus_Living_Guide_2020-min.pdfhttps://sga.uga.edu/uploads/docs/SGA_Student_Housing_Guide.pdf
Contact
For more information contact Heidi Choi.
Heidi Choi
MFA Film Operations Manager
MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media
Email: Heidi.Choi@uga.edu
Want to Get Started?
This is the first dual-college graduate program at the University of Georgia. It is offered to students at a tuition rate comparable to other graduate programs at UGA, making it one of the most affordable programs of its caliber in the country.
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Header image provided by Chris Gerlach