Master of Fine Arts
The Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Digital Cinema is the terminal degree in digital filmmaking. The MFA program is a highly selective program that culminates in the successful completion of the MFA thesis project, a public presentation of the thesis project, and a defense of the thesis to the student's MFA committee.
A student is not admitted into the MFA directly; rather, a student enters the Master of Science in Digital Cinema (either the Cinema Program or the Animation Concentration) to gain the required technical foundation in cinema production and then, during pursuit of the Master of Science degree, applies for admittance into the MFA program. At any time after completing 7 courses (28 credit hours) toward the MS in Digital Cinema, a student may elect to apply for admission into the MFA program.
Online Learning Options
Some courses in this degree are available for review and playback via the CDM
Course Online playback system (COL) . If a course is COL-enabled, any student registered in the course has access to the course playback. Students are strongly encouraged to utilize the COL resource wherever available. Some courses are offered online. To complete this degree students may take any combination of courses offered online and on campus. For more information on online learning at CDM visit the
Online Learning page.
Course Requirements
Master's of Science Phase
Students must complete the
13 courses required for either concentration in the MS in Digital Cinema:
- MS in Digital Cinema - Cinema Program
| DC 460 |
| DC 461 |
| DC 462 |
4 courses from the following list
| DC 401 |
| DC 495 |
| DC 476 |
| DC 430 |
| DC 485 |
|
| 3 DC or ANI graduate-level courses |
| 2 CDM graduate-level courses |
- MS in Digital Cinema - Animation Concentration
| ANI 460 |
| DC 461 |
| DC 462 |
| ANI 436 |
| ANI 430 |
| ANI 439 |
| 4 DC or ANI graduate-level courses |
| 3 CDM graduate-level courses |
MFA Advanced Phase
MFA Thesis
The
MFA Thesis shall be a major artistic digital project. Although there is no prescribed length for theses, the following should be used as guidelines:
- For live action projects, 15-35 minutes.(15-20 minute films tend to get the best festival play). Films longer than 35 minutes usually do not qualify for the SAG student film waiver. The Digital Cinema faculty encourages students to produce feature length films.
- For animation projects, 10 minutes or more.
Student's MFA Committee
During this phase students are supervised by the their MFA Committee. The student's MFA Committee shall have a Chair and a minimum of two other members. The Chair (who was the student's advocate during the selection process) and one committee member must be full-time Digital Cinema Faculty. After assembling an MFA Committee the student will advise the Chair of the Digital Cinema MFA Committee of the composition of that committee. Students will work closely with the Chair of their committee in planning and completing the MFA thesis.
MFA Thesis Screening
A major component of the MFA degree is the pubic screening of the MFA thesis. It is the student's responsibility to organize, schedule, promote and publicize this screening.
MFA Thesis Defense
At some point following the public screening the student will schedule a thesis defense with his/her MFA committee. At this defense the student's MFA Committee will discuss, evaluate, and critique the thesis and make a determination on the awarding of the MFA degree.
Degree Requirements
Students in the MFA degree program must meet all degree requirements for the MS in Digital Cinema plus the following requirements:
- complete a minimum of 64 credit hours (generally 18 courses) beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- earn a grade of B- or better in each Prerequisite Phase course
- earn a grade of C- or better in all graduate courses beyond the Prerequisite Phase
- maintain a graduate level GPA of 2.50 or higher while pursuing their degree
- achieve a graduate GPA of 2.50 or higher at the completion of all other requirements
For DePaul's policy on repeat graduate courses and a complete list of academic policies see the DePaul Graduate Handbook in the Course Catalog.