Film MFA Admissions & Creative Materials

1. Completed Application
   
   Must be submitted online.
    

2. Official Undergraduate Transcript
   
   Official paper transcripts are not required for the admission application.  If you receive an offer of admission, you will be required to send official paper documents for verification. Any offer of admission will be provisional until receipt of the official undergraduate transcript showing conferral of your undergraduate degree. Whether we receive your official undergraduate transcripts directly from you or your undergraduate institution, we must receive them in a sealed envelope bearing the registrar’s stamp along the rear flap.
   
   If (a) you have submitted only the unofficial copy of your transcript online or (b) your transcript is received, but does not state that a degree is conferred, your status will be“Received (Not Official)” and you offer of admission will be provisional  until we receive the final official transcript showing conferral of your undergraduate degree.

3. Three Letters of Recommendation

   Online submission of letters of recommendation is required. Recommenders should be academic or professional contacts who can speak to your creative ability and potential; personal/friend references are not permitted. If you received a degree in the past 5 years, you must provide at least 1 academic reference from faculty at that institution. Once you save their contact information, they will be sent an email with instructions on how to upload your letter of recommendation.

   Letters of recommendation must be submitted online by one week after the application deadline. Letters submitted after this date may not be reviewed.

4. Creative Materials Required for Application
   
   Creative Materials vary by concentration. Please see below for a list for each concentration. All submitted creative materials must clearly bear the applicant's name, date of birth, name of concentration to which he or she is applying, and title of the material (dramatic writing sample, autobiographical essay, etc).

5. $110 Online Application Fee
   
   This may be paid by credit card (Visa and MasterCard only) when submitting an application online; or by check or money order, mailed with your materials, made out to Columbia University, drawn on a U.S. bank and denominated in U.S. dollars only. We cannot accept postal money orders. Applicants should be sure to write the program and, if applicable, the concentration to which they are applying on the check or money order; if the check is that of an individual other than the applicant, the applicant's full name must be included as well. Application fees are nonrefundable and cannot be waived; no application can be processed without the application fee.
   
   
   Responsibility for Materials

   Please keep copies of all materials submitted. Do not send your only copy.

   All materials included in a School of the Arts application become the property of Columbia University. The School of the Arts will not return any submitted creative materials. Applicants should note that the School is not responsible for the transportation and safekeeping of materials submitted for review; applicants send all materials at their own risk.

ALL applicants MUST submit the following in 12-point Courier font:

1. Autobiographical essay: Four to six double-spaced pages. (Tell us something about yourself and your background, artistic experiences, creative influences, and professional objectives.)
    
2. Dramatic Writing Sample: A log line must be included. No more than 10 pages. Must be in screenplay format and must contain dialogue. This can be a complete short screenplay or the first ten pages of a screenplay. It must be original; it may not be an adaptation, except of your own work in another form. Please do not submit writing in prose form and no theatre plays. The story cannot be the same as the one in your feature film treatment or your optional video submission.
    
3. Film prompt: Read the following openings, choose one and imagine the scene that might follow it. The scene you write must include both dialogue and description. It should be no less than two and no more than three pages long. It should be written in screenplay format. These prompts change every year. The prompts listed below correspond to the Fall 2024 application.
   
   You may change the gender of any character in these prompts, but do not change ages or relationships.
   
   EXT. BACKYARD - DAY
   A YOUNG WOMAN hastily exits the house leaving the noise and chaos of the party behind her.  Finally, alone, she allows herself to exhale, laugh, and slump down onto a patio chair.  After a moment, she realizes she isn’t the only one out there.
   
   EXT. STORE PARKING LOT - LATE AFTERNOON
   A MAN stands in the parking lot of a shabby-looking grocery store. He wears a work apron beneath his winter jacket and he’s clearly on a break. Just about to light up a cigarette, he suddenly freezes. Peering ahead, he sees a BLACK LIMOUSINE coming toward him.
   
   INT. KITCHEN - LATE NIGHT
   TWO TEENAGERS sit at opposite ends of a kitchen table, occasionally glancing up at a wall clock.  Just as the hands of the clock reach midnight, the two jump to their feet and head over to a window overlooking the yard.
    
4. Feature film treatment: On one double-spaced page for a film you might wish to write, direct or produce based on your application concentration. The treatment must concisely relate a complete dramatic story sufficient to sustain a feature-length film, including major characters and plot developments and a clear statement of the resolution. The story cannot be the same as the one in your dramatic writing sample or your optional video submission. You must state the genre of your treatment and a log line. On a separate page, please state the genre, major characters and a log line for the film. On a separate page, please state the genre, major characters and a log line for the film. A log line is one or two sentences that describe the protagonist(s) and the story of the film.
    
5. Visual Submission (not required, but strongly suggested for Screenwriting & Directing Film Concentration applicants)
   
   Film/Video Work: All Film MFA applicants may submit up to 30 minutes of film/video work. This material should be uploaded to the Video Upload section of the online application.
   
   It is advisable to put the best work at the beginning of your visual submission.
   
   Visual Exercise: Applicants for Directing who have not shot prior visual material are encouraged to shoot and submit the following OPTIONAL VISUAL EXERCISE: Write and shoot a 2-person SILENT SCENE (no dialogue), between one and two minutes long, which deals with the idea of "COMING TOGETHER." It could be two strangers who make a connection, a fighting couple who then make amends, or two people who 'come together' in anger, physicality or any other dramatic situation you choose.
   
   You may use subjects of any genders or ages, and any locations and props, etc. that you have available to you. Elaborate production expense is NOT the goal of this part of the application. You may shoot on any format.
   
   Your visual submission should be uploaded to the Video Upload section of the online application and cannot be linked to a third-party such as YouTube or Vimeo.