Film Schools

Asia | UK | US

United States

Top 10*

NYU Tisch School of the Arts

AFI Conservatory

American Film Institute*

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Graduate school only

  • Alumni: Patty Jenkins, David Lynch, Terrence Malick

American University

  • Washington, D.C.

  • Alumni: Barry Levinson, Nancy Meyers

Arizona State University

  • Tempe, Arizona

  • Alumni: Jimmy Kimmel, Ludwig Ahgren

USC School of Cinematic Arts

ArtCenter College of Design*

  • Pasadena, California

  • Alumni: Michael Bay, Zack Snyder

Biola University

  • La Mirada, California

  • Alumni: Scott Derrickson, Zach King

Boston University*

  • Boston, Massachusetts

  • Alumni: Julianne Moore, Albert Maysles, Safdie brothers

Columbia University School of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts*

  • Santa Clarita, California

  • Specialty: Animation

  • Alumni: Brad Bird, Tim Burton, Pete Docter

California State University, Northridge*

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Alumni: Joan Chen, Richard Dreyfuss, Eva Longoria

UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television

Chapman University*

  • Orange, California

  • Alumni: Ben York Jones, Justin Simien

Colorado Film School

  • Denver, Colorado

  • Alumni: Aaron Kroger

Columbia College Chicago*

  • Chicago, Illinois

  • Alumni: Mauro Fiore, George Tillman Jr.

Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts

Columbia University*

  • New York City, New York

  • Graduate school only

  • Alumni: Kathryn Bigelow, Lisa Cholodenko, James Mangold

DePaul University*

  • Chicago, Illinois

  • Alumni: Gillian Anderson, Judy Greer

LMU School of Film and Television

Emerson College*

  • Boston, Massachusetts

  • Alumni: Kevin Bright, Jay Leno, Chris Romano

Florida State University*

  • Tallahassee, Florida

  • Alumni: Wes Ball, Barry Jenkins

Full Sail University

  • Winter Park, Florida

  • Alumni: Ryan Connolly, Adam Wingard

CalArts

Harvard University

  • Cambridge, Massachusetts

  • Alumni: Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle, Natalie Portman

Hofstra University

  • Hempstead, New York

  • Alumni: Avi Arad, Francis Ford Coppola, Christopher Walken

Ithaca College*

  • Ithaca, New York

  • Alumni: Bill D’Elia, Mark Romanek

Emerson College

John Hopkins University

  • Baltimore, Maryland

  • Alumni: Millard Kaufman, Walter Murch

Los Angeles Film School

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Alumni: Kyle Newacheck, Brandon Trost

Loyola Marymount University*

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Alumni: Brian Helgeland, Francis Lawrence, Dave Meyers

University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Mount St. Mary’s University

  • Emmitsburg, Maryland

New York Film Academy

  • New York City, New York

  • Alumni: Paul Dano, Bill Hader, Aubrey Plaza

New York University*

  • New York City, New York

  • Alumni: Ang Lee, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese

Northeastern University

  • Boston, Massachusetts

  • Film production minor only

  • Alumni: Courtney Hunt, Barbara Kopple

Northwestern University

  • Evanston, Illinois

  • Alumni: Zach Braff, John Logan, Edward Wood

Pepperdine University

  • Malibu, California

  • Alumni: Marlene King, John Lasseter

Pratt Institute

  • New York City, New York

  • Alumni: Terrence Howard, Robert Redford, Rob Zombie

Princeton University

  • Princeton, New Jersey

  • Film studies only

  • Alumni: Ethan Coen, Craig Mazin, Jimmy Stewart

Rhode Island School of Design*

  • Providence, Rhode Island

  • Alumni: Mary Lambert, Seth MacFarlane, Gus Van Sant

Ringling College of Art and Design*

  • Sarasota, Florida

  • Alumni: Brandon Oldenburg, Michelle Phan

Rutgers University

  • New Brunswick, New Jersey

  • Alumni: James Gandolfini, Roy Scheider, Sebastian Stan

San Francisco State University*

  • San Francisco, California

  • Alumni: Annette Bening, Dana Carvey, Steve Zaillian

Savannah College of Art and Design*

  • Georgia, Atlanta

  • Alumni: DeRon Horton, Steven Walker

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

  • Chicago, Illinois

  • Alumni: Hong Sang-soo, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Orson Welles

School of Visual Arts

  • New York, New York

  • Alumni: Fred Armisen, Jared Leto, Harris Savides

Stanford University*

  • Stanford, California

  • Specialty: Documentary

  • Alumni: Roger Corman, Jeff Orlowski, Alice Wu

Stony Brook University

  • Stony Brook, New York

  • Graduate school only

  • Alumni: Joy Behar, Perry Kivolowitz

Syracuse University*

  • Syracuse, New York

  • Alumni: Meg LeFauve, Aaron Sorkin, Michael H. Weber

University of Arizona

  • Tucson, Arizona

  • Alumni: Jerry Bruckheimer, Ron Shelton, Kristen Wiig

University of California, Berkeley

  • Berkeley, California

  • Alumni: Edith Head, Joe Letteri, James Schamus

University of California, Los Angeles*

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Alumni: Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Ben Stiller

University of California, Santa Barbara

  • Santa Barbara, California

  • Alumni: Scott Frank, Gwyneth Paltrow, Eric Roth

University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Boulder, Colorado

  • Alumni: Heather Hach, Matt Stone, Dalton Trumbo

University of Miami

  • Coral Gables, Florida

  • Alumni: Bob Clark, Dwayne Johnson, Sylvester Stallone

University of Michigan

  • Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • Alumni: Dudley Nichols, Robert Shaye, Christopher Yost

University of Minnesota

  • Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Film studies only

  • Alumni: Jim Burke, Scott Z. Burns, Jessica Lange

University of North Carolina*

  • Winston-Salem, North Carolina

  • Alumni: David Gordon Green, Danny McBride

University of Pennsylvania

  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Film studies only

  • Alumni: Elizabeth Banks, Bruce Dern, Anthony Russo

University of Southern California*

  • Los Angeles, California

  • Alumni: Jon M. Chu, Ron Howard, George Lucas

University of Texas at Austin*

  • Austin, Texas

  • Alumni: Wes Anderson, Richard Linklater, Robert Rodriguez

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Alumni: Willem Dafoe, Jim Rygiel

Wesleyan University*

  • Middletown, Connecticut

  • Film studies only

  • Alumni: Kenneth Lonergan, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joss Whedon

Yale University

  • New Haven, Connecticut

  • Film studies only

  • Alumni: Elia Kazan, Lupita Nyong’o, Meryl Streep