FILM & TELEVISION
Producing, Directing and Screenwriting
As one of the most affordable FTVDM MFA program in the nation,
Rooted in Georgia’s Film Industry
At the end of two years, students will graduate ready to assume above-the-line roles as writers, directors and producers in film, television and digital media.
The first year of the program will introduce students to the skills and technology they need to seamlessly transition to the second year of study at Georgia Film Academy facilities at Trilith Studios (formerly Pinewood Studios Atlanta) and, ultimately, to thriving careers in Georgia’s vibrant entertainment industry or wherever they choose to work.
Courses will include writing, directing and producing for the screen, film and television history, lighting, camera, sound, production design, editing, and digital post-production, among others.
CURRICULUM
FALL 2021 ATHENS
FILM 6000 Proseminar Film and TV Writing & Production
4 Credits
Fall Semester
FILM 6045 Post Production 1
3 Credits
Fall Semester
EMST 6010 Directing I
3 Credits
Fall Semester
EMST 6110 Screenwriting I
3 Credits
Fall Semester
FALL 2021 TRILITH
EMST 6120 Producing for Film and TV
3 Credits
Fall Semester
EMST 7110 Writing for the Screen 3
3 Credits
Fall Semester
EMST 7010 Directing 3
3 Credits
Fall Semester
EMST 6042 Camera and Lighting
3 Credits
Fall Semester
JRMC 6000 Budgeting & Scheduling
3 Credits
Fall Semester
SPRING 2022 ATHENS
EMST 6041 Camera and Lighting 1
4 Credits
Spring Semester
EMST 6010 Directing I
3 Credits
Spring Semester
EMST 6111 Writing for the Screen 2
3 Credits
Spring Semester
THEA 7570 Acting for the Camera
3 Credits
Spring Semester
SPRING 2022 TRILITH
EMST 7111 Writing for the Screen 4
3 Credits
Spring Semester
JRMC 7000 Master's Research (capstone production)
3 Credits
Spring Semester
FILM 7045 Post Production 2
3 Credits
Spring Semester
EMST 7220 Media Industry Internship
3 Credits
Spring Semester
JRMC 6000 Special Topics
3 Credits
Spring Semester
SUMMER 2022 ATHENS
THEA 7700 Art Direction for Film & TV
3 Credits
Maymester
EMST 6011 Directing 2
3 Credits
Summer Thru Session
FILM 7400 Film & TV Practicum
3 Credits
Summer Thru Session
SUMMER 2022 TRILITH
FILM 7045 Post Production 2
3 Credits
Summer Thru Session
EMST 7220 Media Industry Internship
3 Credits
Summer Thru Session
JRMC 7300 Master’s Thesis Film or Screenplay
3 Credits
Summer Thru Session
MFA by the numbers
2
Year Program
12
First Year Students Accepted
62
Total Credit Hours
16,000
Approximate In-State Annual Tuition & Fees
41,000
Approximate Out-of-State Annual Tuition & Fees
Faculty
Our expert faculty selected to teach the MFA Film program are leaders in the art and practice of creative storytelling. They are innovators, motivators, educators and mentors. They are award-winning instructors dedicated to sharing the craft they are passionate about with the next generation of filmmakers, directors, producers and writers.
Bryan Cole
Associate Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
An accomplished director and editor, Bryan’s work has been released theatrically, broadcast on major networks and streamed commercially. His credits include films and television for ABC, NBC, PBS, National Geographic, Discovery, Bravo, Starz, A&E, and many others. Most recently, he served as editor of the Emmy Nominated six part mini series “Who Killed Malcolm X?” currently streaming on Netflix.
Ivan Ingermann
Head of Design Area, Associate Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Ivan Ingermann is a professor in the University of Georgia's Theatre and Film Studies Department where he will teach the Costume Design for TV and Film class and is Head of our Design Area.
Neil Landau
Associate Professor, Director of Screenwriting
Neil Landau’s screenwriting credits include the cult teen comedy "Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead;" "Melrose Place," and "The Magnificent Seven," among others. His animated movie projects include "Tad: The Lost Explorer" (aka Las Adventuras de Tadeo Jones) for which he earned a Spanish Academy “Goya” Award and Cinema Writers’ Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2014).
Shandra L. McDonald
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Shandra L. McDonald is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer with more than 30 years of experience in the television and film industry. Shandra has created content that has aired on networks including Showtime, Oxygen, TV One, CBS, BET, NBC and more. Shandra's film projects have screened at many U.S. and international festivals including the British Film Institute, the Cannes Film Festival and the Fespaco Film Festival.
George Contini
Performance Area Head, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
George Contini is a Professor in the University of Georgia's Theatre and Film Studies Department where he specializes in Characterization, Acting on Camera, Queer Theatre and Film, and Solo Performance.
Nate Kohn
Professor, Entertainment & Media Studies; Director, Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
Dr. Nate Kohn teaches screenwriting, producing for film/television, and qualitative methods; directs UGA’s Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program; and has produced award-winning films that have premiered at Sundance, Toronto and SXSW.
Booker T. Mattison
Assistant professor, Entertainment & Media Studies
Booker T. Mattison is a professor, author and filmmaker. Mattison was the screenwriter and director for the film adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s story “The Gilded Six Bits,” which aired on Showtime.
Sanghoon Lee
Assistant Professor, MFA Film
Lee has completed several award-winning dramatic features as the cinematographer and producer, including "Chicago Heights" and "Hogtown." His credits also include feature documentaries "Today We Saw the Face of God" and "Breakfast at Ina’s." In 2018 he wrote directed his first feature film, Banana Season. He has taught MFA and film production courses previously at Governors State University, DePaul University and Northwestern University.
Mike Hussey
Associate Professor, Dramatic Media Area Head, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Mike Hussey is a CG animator and mechanical engineer. Professor Hussey founded the department's program in 3-D computer animation.
Dave Kreutzer
Academic Professional, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
David Kreutzer is an academic professional in media technology specializing in digital video production, dramatic media and film studies.
Richard Neupert
Charles H. Wheatley Professor of the Arts and a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Dr. Richard Neupert teaches film history and theory. His special areas of interest are French cinema, narrative theory and animation.
Julie Ray
Associate Professor, Production Coordinator, Dept. of Theatre and Film Studies
Julie Ray has more than 20 years of experience designing scenery for theatre, film and television. She has designed scenery for feature films including "Love & Other Drugs," "Abduction" and "13 Days."
Contact
For more information about the MFA Film Program, please contact Dr. Jeff Springston.
Dr. Jeff Springston
Director of MFA Programs
Grady College
Email: jspring@uga.edu
Phone: (706) 542-7833
Office: Journalism Bldg, Room 201-B
WANT TO GET STARTED?
This is the only MFA program for film production at a public university in Georgia and is offered to students at the same tuition rate as other graduate programs at UGA, making it one of the most affordable programs of its caliber in the country.
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