Where to major in film and the sciences?

July 26, 2009 7:47 PM

My sister is a junior in high school and beginning to look at colleges. We're having difficulty finding colleges which would be a good "fit" for her (film major). Help?

My sister is an aspiring director. She's very talented, but we've had some difficulty finding colleges for her to look at. So far, she's expressed a lot of interest in Cal Arts and Brooks Institute -- however, upon visiting, I don't think her or my mother were big fans of the Brooks Institute.

Here's the thing: She's absolutely brilliant, especially at math/science/etc., and she'd like to double-major in something related to those fields, so we'd like to avoid any conservatory-type colleges.

She also is not your typical film or art student -- she's relatively shy and conservative (not so much politically -- she's relatively apathetic about politics -- but in dress, mannerisms) very friendly, kind of goofy, sweet and silly. We aren't sure if she would fit in with some of the quirky abrasiveness that can come with an art school (that's more my scene) or the massive population at a school like UCLA or USC.

She'd also like to be in California, but my mom isn't sure about the distance (we're from the Midwest).

I spent a ton of time looking for colleges when I applied, and I'm racking my brain for good fits but coming up short. I'd like to give her a list of colleges to check out that have:

film programs (preferably reputable ones)
strong academics (I strongly believe she could get into any top 25 university with her academics, barring the randomness of college admissions)
smallish student body -- perhaps a strong liberal arts school?
potential for scholarship money is a plus
preferably west of the Mississippi

(Also, don't mention Northwestern -- I am a student there and I've recommended it, but she doesn't like the huge Greek scene.)

Help!

posted by elisabethjw to education (39 comments total)

Florida State University College of Motion Picture, Television and Recording Arts maybe?

Small city feel, decent school population, good academics, major national physics lab

But: east of the Mississippi, northern Florida is not California, not exactly "small" school but the department most certainly is, generally politically liberal city in a conservative region with Southern tendencies. Sizable Greek scene, however it is easily eschewed.

I suspect that most students in a reputable film school would be discouraged from double majoring, but that's just a guess...?
posted by those are my balloons at 7:58 PM on July 26

Besides not being west of the Mississippi, NYU film program fits all your criteria. They have an amazing film program, good academics, a small student body in the film school, and NYU is generally pretty good about giving out scholarship money. More info here.

I would also recommend looking at Yale University, I've heard their acting/film program is world-class.
posted by newtux at 8:01 PM on July 26

NYU. She could do a customized major through the Gallatin School.

On preview, NYU good with scholarship money? Ha ha ha ha. Not so much, no. The price will probably be a factor.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:04 PM on July 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

We've thought about NYU, but she's not a huge fan of NYC (I'm living there now and she was more than ready to leave after visiting for a few days). But it's definitely on our list!
posted by elisabethjw at 8:08 PM on July 26

Off of memory, no time to research now, but I remember hearing Cal State Long Beach had a great program.
posted by samthemander at 8:16 PM on July 26

Temple University in Philly (my alma mater) isn't west of the Mississippi, and has a huge student body. But, its film school is awesome for experimental/avant garde stuff, and it's got lots and lots of other good programs.

And it's cheap. Not to mention Philly's cheap, for a city.
posted by Netzapper at 8:18 PM on July 26

Chapman University in Orange, California.
Here's their film school's website.
I have several friends there who love it, and it seems to be a good fit for what you're looking for.
posted by derogatorysphinx at 8:19 PM on July 26

Between the VAP, CMS, and Media Lab, MIT, believe it or not, has a long history and rich resources for Film. I don't know think there is an actual undergraduate major in film, but I do think there is a lot of opportunity to be involved in it in a rich and rewarding way.
posted by lalalana at 8:22 PM on July 26

^ yeah I went to UCLA and while I'm only going on hearsay I'd recommend MIT over it.

One thing that disturbs me about UCLA engineering is that the same profs I had in the 1980s are still there.

Real film seems more a post-grad thing anyway.
posted by @troy at 8:26 PM on July 26

I have several friends who went to San Francisco State for their film program and they loved it.
posted by elsietheeel at 8:35 PM on July 26

University of Texas

Austin is a really great city. Has a decent film community without being too overwhelming like LA or NYC might be.
posted by silkygreenbelly at 8:54 PM on July 26

It is east of the Mississippi, but Dartmouth College has an excellent film program program. The Telluride film festival was founded by a couple of Dartmouth profs, and the films from Telluride show at the college, as well.

The school is small. The Greek scene is a big deal but it's also easy to avoid - I pretty much did - and the academics are outstanding.
posted by rtha at 8:56 PM on July 26 [1 favorite has favorites]

Perhaps Wesleyan University (appropriate WP section) may be a fit? Not west of the Mississippi at all, nor does it really meet the non-quirky requirement reputation-wise, but the student body is definitely small and it is indeed a strong liberal arts school. On that note I'd suggest Amherst and Williams -- completing the "Little Three" -- off-the-cuff but I'm not sure about their film program (just generally stellar academics-wise).
posted by zer0render at 9:02 PM on July 26

2nding Chapman... a couple of friends ended up there for film school, seemed like the academics were pretty great. Fits your list to a T.
posted by honeybee413 at 9:06 PM on July 26

Regarding Yale: their school of drama is world class, but it's theater, not film.
posted by ocherdraco at 9:08 PM on July 26

Gotta rep UCSC (Santa Cruz). A few friends highly enjoy the program. I assume that they researched other schools.

UCSC has about 16,000 students regarding size, but it is the second least populous UC school.

I can 3rd Chapman also. Heard nothing but good things.
posted by DolorousEdd at 9:26 PM on July 26

My old school, Columbia College in Chicago, was known for its film department.
Which they could have told all of us, the other majors, upon acceptance.
Their liberal arts department isn't the best, but it's not a conservatory either.
Just a thought.
posted by lhude sing cuccu at 9:27 PM on July 26

I found The Princeton Review's college search extremely useful in narrowing down the list.
posted by sophist at 9:28 PM on July 26

We aren't sure if she would fit in with some of the quirky abrasiveness that can come with an art school (that's more my scene) or the massive population at a school like UCLA or USC.

This is just something you all might want to keep in mind during the college search: schools with massive amounts of students do not always work against the shy or the conservative. Often it's easier for people to find a niche in a larger, more diverse pool of people.

Other than that, I do not have much advice. California is certainly a good place for film opportunities.
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 9:32 PM on July 26 [2 favorites has favorites]

If she's nervous about the idea of a large school, it's worth it to know that some large schools are divided up into smaller colleges (U.C. San Diego is, for instance, but I don't know anything about what their film department is doing these days.) It's also worth it to know that chances are good that her own department will be a smaller community within a larger campus, just FWIW.
posted by corey flood at 9:35 PM on July 26

Maybe look at Loyola Marymount. They have a good film production program, it's small-ish (5,000 or so), and in LA.

Also, Occidental would be worth a look. Also in LA, small (1,800), a good liberal arts school, and has a film program.
posted by wsquared at 9:38 PM on July 26

If a student is brilliant and interested in schools in California, they should put Pomona near the top of their list. No true film program per se, but a curriculum could be made around those interests with extra coursework either at Harvey Mudd (the science engineering school) and Pitzer (the more hippy liberal arts school) of the other Claremont College campuses. The students are always ranked near the top of the happiest lists.
posted by Edward L at 9:47 PM on July 26

Jumping in again to second the five Claremont Colleges... the five schools together have a Media Studies major that encompasses Film.
posted by zer0render at 9:50 PM on July 26

In response to zer0ender's suggestion of Amherst College, note that Amherst has virtually no film program to speak of (last I checked it's part of the English Department).

The problem (as I understand it) is that your sister wants to learn how to be a film director, not necessarily to study film -- for example, studying film at Amherst would involve watching a lot of movies, reading and writing critical essays about film, and things of that nature. I suspect that film studies degrees at other academically rigorous liberal arts schools are similar, simply because they tend to have very strong ideals about Not Being Vocational Schools. If your sister wants both academic rigor in math/science AND a more practically minded film program, a large university like NYU is probably going to be necessary.
posted by telegraph at 10:03 PM on July 26

Just a warning ... be sure that the "film school" is actually teaching people how to actually make films. There are several "film schools" whose curriculum is actually more focused on media critique and high-minded theory than nuts-and-bolts filmmaking.

For example, UCLA is a kick-ass film school. UCSB is a total joke. Yet they are both nominally within the same overall university structure.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 10:06 PM on July 26

In response to zer0ender's suggestion of Amherst College, note that Amherst has virtually no film program to speak of

Oops, that'd be my fault for not reading the question properly or double-checking; Film at Amherst is indeed a smattering of courses from other majors. Sorry about that (and thank you telegraph for correcting me)!
posted by zer0render at 10:22 PM on July 26

This is just something you all might want to keep in mind during the college search: schools with massive amounts of students do not always work against the shy or the conservative. Often it's easier for people to find a niche in a larger, more diverse pool of people.

I went to the HUGE University of Florida, and I completely agree! And as I grad student at MIT, I gotta say that I think a little diversity (of all kinds) could potentially do some of 'em good!
posted by lalalana at 11:12 PM on July 26

(Disclaimer: I didn't study film, but I went to NYU and know some film students from there, and I know some other people who went to Chapman, so this is what I've heard from them. I also went to UCLA, but didn't know any film students there.)

Chapman is a very good school (although not in the same league as UCLA/USC/NYU). It is an actual film program, not just "media studies" or whatever, and it is not a crazy art school, so I'd definitely check it out. The neighborhood is nice and quiet, too.

But: UCLA is indeed huge, but she probably won't have any trouble fitting in, what with the sheer number of people around. And you can't do much better in terms of film program quality, or general academics. So give it a visit, at least.

As for NYU: the actual film school is good, but don't be tempted to try and study film-plus-other-stuff in the Gallatin individualized-study program. Gallatin students are theoretically supposed to be able to take classes from any random department, but in reality it's apparently very hard to get into any upper-level classes in real departments, and film school classes in particular are notorious for being impossible to take for non-majors. Also, there's a "film studies" program in addition to the real film program; it's good, but not the same thing in terms of actual hands-on movie-making experience. So if she wants to actually get out there and film stuff, it's the real film school or nothing, as far as NYU is concerned.
posted by equalpants at 12:09 AM on July 27

2nd UCLA. The UC system is incredible for just about every field. Libraries, courses, research/internship opportunities...

Larger campus=tons and tons of course offerings. Great for your sister who is into very different fields. Most people end up changing majors, or adding new majors and minors.

Larger student body=so many experiences and opinions and things to do!

I went to a UC (not UCLA) so I may be a bit biased. I found the huge population and array of courses freeing. There was some person, club, or whatever for anything I was interested in.

If she is seriously into film, she'll find a way to make/act/direct/write any place she's at. All schools have film clubs, and any decent sized town has a local film scene. For her California + film school + math/science wants though, UCLA would seem ideal.
posted by shinyshiny at 1:39 AM on July 27

An acquaintance of mine went from graduate work in computer science to an MFA in directing at the American Film Institute Conservatory. So that's another possibility for your sister to consider, to pursue her math/science interests as an undergraduate and then focus on the directing as a graduate student. Of course this would entail her continuing to pursue activities as an undergraduate that would make her an attractive candidate for a program such as the AFI.

In some ways your sister is juggling conflicting academic goals, that of pursuing a more traditional academic education and pursuing a more "professional" (or some might say vocational) track. A large university will probably be better able to meet these conflicting goals. And as others have said, large universities are not uniformly large, but rather tend to be collections of communities.

One thing to consider - in professional programs, the school's track record in placing its graduates and the alumni network are very important, as well as the internship opportunities for its students. So that's another thing to consider when considering colleges.
posted by needled at 4:11 AM on July 27

Hopelessly Midwestern, but good film program and academics, as state schools go (got my BFA in film production there), fairly small and won't chafe at her style: Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.

Grads of the program (here, here, here) are consistent award-winners, and have no problems finding work in NYC and LA.

If she is seriously into film, she'll find a way to make/act/direct/write any place she's at.
If only it were that simple.
posted by Rykey at 4:30 AM on July 27

If she is open to a slightly different path, UNC-Wilmington has a film program that's growing. It's a smaller public university with a good reputation overall, and is particularly strong in some science areas, like marine biology. The Wilmington area is booming as a place for TV and movie production. (And it's gorgeous--if you've ever seen One Tree Hill or Dawson's Creek, that's what the area looks like.)
posted by hydropsyche at 4:31 AM on July 27

Emerson in Boston, has a program in LA.
posted by Gungho at 5:31 AM on July 27

I'd second Columbia College in Chicago (not CA, but has a great film program) -- my sister-in-law is a video production major & was dying to go there but couldn't afford it (their fin aid packages aren't that great). She's at Webster University in St. Louis now, which has a very good film program from what I understand & also would offer the opportunity to double-major in mathy/sciency-type areas.
posted by oh really at 6:00 AM on July 27

Seconding The Biggest Dreamer's point about finding your niche at a large school, where it's much easier to blend into the scenery, which we shy types like. :-)

I've heard good things about Southern Illinois University's media programs. Apparently they have a pretty active alumni network that helps out quite a bit with internships and jobs for graduates. Shoot me an email if you'd like contact info for a [very nice, not at all pushy] recruiter there.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:51 AM on July 27

Seconding Wesleyan--apart from the location (central CT), it hits all your points.

Overall academics are very strong, and the film program is fantastic and well-respected. There's a lot of theory, but it includes actual film-making. Several of the film majors I graduated with (4 years ago) are still making movies or doing related things as their main profession or a significant hobby.

The sciences are quite good. Administration has really been building the departments up the past 5 or 10 years, but my impression is that most are still small enough that exceptional students can work closely with professors. I'd expect there are scholarship opportunities in both film and the sciences, more so than in most of the school's departments.

It's known as a pretty quirky, political, "hippie" college, but it sounds like your sister could find a place. There's definitely a dominant culture, but also many smaller communities of people with different orientations, and the film majors themselves tend to be diverse of style and fun, not aggressively arty. Someone who's friendly and goofy should have little trouble.
posted by hippugeek at 10:31 AM on July 27

I don't know much about film schools, but you might want to investigate Brown/RISD. Brown is excellent overall academically and has a small student body. It has a film program in its Modern Culture and Media department. RISD has a more serious film program, but it's primarily an art school. It's possible to go to one of these two and take classes at the other.
posted by epimorph at 10:38 AM on July 27

APU

My friend was in their Cinematic Arts program and upon finishing his thesis film he used it to get into AFI's film program. Lot of good people to rub elbows with.
posted by M Edward at 8:39 PM on July 27

Film is a harsh and competitive business: NY or LA. But since she wants west of the Mississippi, she should reconsider USC and UCLA.
posted by heather-b at 8:12 AM on July 28