Overview
SMU Meadows Division of Film & Media Arts focuses on both craft and auteurship while providing the technical hands-on experience that helps our students find employment after graduation. Our alumni enjoy careers as directors, screenwriters, producers, cinematographers, media executives and artistic directors, with work ranging from documentaries and shorts to feature-length films, television series and online digital videos.
While here, our students gain extensive hands-on experience and an understanding of the entire process of filmmaking and other forms of visual storytelling. These students are given the tools and encouragement to hone their craft in scriptwriting, directing, producing, lighting, audio recording and more through class projects, film festivals or for the division’s biennial Summer Film Production, a long-form project produced entirely by students under the mentorship of SMU’s industry-respected faculty.
Offering both B.A. and B.F.A. degrees, the division gives plenty of curriculum choices and guidance, including hands-on production training and courses covering the historical and theoretical aspects of film and media. B.F.A. students have an added requirement of choosing either screenwriting or production as an area of emphasis. Regardless of specialty, ambitious and motivated students can pursue internships in Dallas, Los Angeles, New York and other major film hubs.
A unique advantage of the film and media arts program is being part of the Meadows School of the Arts, encompassing 11 areas of study in the visual, performing and communication arts. This interdisciplinary environment encourages collaboration with students from other disciplines such as theatre, advertising, music and more, fostering creativity and imagination while developing practical skills and their own artistic vision.
