http://cias.rit.edu/schools/film-animation/graduate-film-and-animation

Program overview

The MFA program enjoys state-of-the-art facilities. Students can create computer animation that is unique. It is the only such program housed in a School of Film and Animation with full production facilities, as well as the additional support of highly specialized faculty in photography, imaging science, computer science and information technology, and printing.

Goals

The program’s goals provide students with the opportunity to use animation, filmmaking, and other imaging arts as a means to:

• pursue a career and earn a livelihood,
• enrich their personal lives and society as a whole, and
• encourage a sense of community, creativity, scholarship, and purpose.

Curriculum

Degree requirements

The MFA degree in film and animation provides students with four options:

(1) The live action (film production) option allows students to develop and refine their creative approach to fictional narrative, documentary, and experimental work.

(2) Scriptwriting is an opportunity for students to complete short films with a concentration in creating feature length screenplays.

(3) 2D animation concentrates on traditional forms drawn by hand, a mixture of both traditional and digital, or all digital origination. There is also the possibility of concentrating on stop motion puppet animation.

(4) 3D computer animation focuses on advanced 3D modeling, lighting, texturing, and animating in a 3D space.

All four options require two years of course work and a thesis project. A complete film is required of all the first year students, a complete film or script is required in the second year, and a more ambitious thesis film or feature length script is required of the third year.

A minimum of 90 quarter credit hours of graduate work is outlined below. The 90 hours do not include undergraduate work required by action of the MFA admission committee in accepting a particular applicant, nor do they include undergraduate prerequisites for graduate courses.

Distribution of work within the following course sequences is subject to modification based upon the candidate’s background, abilities, and interests. An individualized course of study will be prepared with the advice of the graduate faculty and made a matter of record. Modifications in this prescribed program thereafter must be approved and recorded.

Distribution of work within these guidelines is subject to modification based upon the candidate’s background, abilities, and interests. An individualized course of study will be prepared with the advice of the graduate faculty and made a matter of record. Modifications in this prescribed program thereafter must be approved and recorded.

Electives

Elective courses are available in animation, film, video, multimedia, screenwriting, printmaking, painting, sculpture, communication design, museum studies, crafts, bookmaking, typography, color photography, new media, studio photography, advertising photography, perception, sensitometry, computer graphics, art history, and archival preservation and conservation. There are also opportunities for independent studies, internships, and concentrations.

Thesis

Specific instructions pertaining to the thesis are available in the “MFA Guide for Students and Faculty: Policy Regarding Student Work.” The School of Film and Animation reserves the right to retain copies of student-produced films to be used for educational purposes, to show to prospective students, and as examples of student productions.

Admission requirements

To be considered for admission to the MFA in film and animation, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

• Hold a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university,
• Submit a portfolio of work that demonstrates the applicant's skills, visual sophistication, and aesthetic awareness,
• Submit official transcripts (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work,
• Submit two letters of recommendation,
• Submit a personal statement of purpose detailing why the candidate wants to attend graduate school and what they will bring to the program, and
• Complete a graduate application.

Scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are not required for admission. Applicants who are capable of good academic work as well as artistic visual expression, and who demonstrate an interest in the exploration of new artistic ideas and experiences, will be favored. The graduate faculty makes recommendations based on the above interlocking criteria.

Students who are evaluated to have MFA potential but need additional study in preparation for graduate courses will be advised to take such courses either prior to entrance or during their first year of study. The graduate faculty will make recommendations.

All correspondence concerning applications or catalogs should be addressed to the Office of Graduate Enrollment Services. Students interested in the program should have their application process completed by January 15. Applications received later than January 15 are considered on a space-available basis.

Portfolio

The review committee is looking for work that is original in concept and content. It does not need to necessarily be motion media, but should be visual or aural. Examples include films/videos, photos, drawing, paintings, sculpture, stop motion puppets, script, storyboards and original music.

The applicant must present what they consider to be the best of their work, not all their work. Therefore links to websites and or multiple film reels tapes, DVDs, or CDs will not be reviewed. The film or videos should total 15 minutes or less. A complete work is preferable to a “demo reel”. If there are no short works then a 15-minute excerpt of a longer piece is acceptable.

Please provide an inventory sheet or table of contents. Videos should be on mini-DV, DVDCAM, DVD or DVDROM. The movie files on a DVDRM must be in QuickTime, MPEG2, MPEG4, or HG.264 format. No AVI or other digital video architecture files, NTSC or ATSC(HD) only. Still images should be on DVDROM or DCROM and be jpeg or tiff format. 35mm slides are acceptable but must be in sleeves. No boxes or carousel trays. No more than 30 images. Sound design should be no longer than 10 minutes and on CD format.

Additional information

Faculty

The program is supported by a staff of 18 full-time faculty members and a variety of adjunct faculty members. The program may also borrow faculty and utilize courses from the schools of Photographic Arts and Sciences, Print Media, Art, Design, American Crafts, and the College of Liberal Arts.

Transfer credit

Graduate-level course work taken prior to admission should be submitted for approval upon entrance into the program. Up to 12 quarter credit hours (8 semester hours) of graduate work with a grade of B or better is transferable and may be counted toward the MFA degree, with the approval of the graduate faculty.

Grades and time limit

The average of all grades for graduate credit taken at the university must be at least a B (3.0) to qualify for the MFA degree. Thesis hours are usually completed over several quarters. Acceptance or rejection of the thesis is made by the candidate’s thesis board and the graduate faculty. All course work, including an accepted thesis, must be completed within seven years of entrance into the program.

Screenings

Screenings are required for all student-produced films and are coordinated through the professor or the thesis chair.