MFA Documentary

The Academy makes the accelerated two-year schedule possible by creating an extended academic year allowing students to complete three full-length semesters in each calendar year.





The New York Film Academy is proud to offer a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree program in Documentary at our Los Angeles Campus. This two-year conservatory-based graduate program is designed to educate talented and committed prospective documentarians in a hands-on, total immersion, professional and supportive environment.

The Master of Fine Arts in Documentary is an accelerated graduate degree program.

It offers qualified students a full course of production and study, including the opportunity to produce and direct a documentary in the second year. Candidates for admission to the MFA program must possess a Bachelor's Degree from a post-secondary institution.

YEAR ONE

In Year One, students undergo a thorough regimen of class-work and film production that builds the groundwork for a professional life in the art and craft of documentary filmmaking. Starting the first day of class, students are immersed in a hands-on education and an environment that empowers them to artfully tell their stories. Through a sequence of workshops, students begin to work through a number of visual, dramatic, and technical challenges. They rapidly learn the fundamentals of creative and technical skills they need to make a documentary. All students participate in an intensive series of courses such as Producing, Directing, Writing & Research, Cinematography, Lighting, Production, and Post Production Sound, and Digital Editing to prepare them for more advanced topics and projects in Year Two.


Based on an academic year, the curriculum is divided into three semesters. During the first semester, students will learn the art and technique of visual storytelling through class instruction, lectures and hands-on workshops. As the year progresses, students will produce films of increasing complexity and depth. By the end of the third semester, students will have produced eight documentaries and a short based on a topic of their own choosing. While the emphasis of the program is on hands-on immersion in the art of documentary filmmaking, students will also receive instruction on new media, film studies and the business side of the industry.

YEAR TWO

Coursework in the second year includes a series of highly specialized classes and workshops designed to further develop students’ knowledge and skills as professional documentary filmmakers. Students produce a promotional film for a non-profit as a group. They spend time perfecting their research and development skills as well as creating a business and marketing plan. Students learn professional techniques such as graphics, titles, animation, color correction and using a score. The final thesis is intended to reflect the student’s strengths as a documentary filmmaker and should be of professional quality. All students are expected to have a role in multiple thesis productions, besides their own.