Transcript:
Official paper transcripts are not required for the admission application. If you receive an offer of admission, you will be required to send official paper documents for verification. Any offer of admission will be provisional until receipt of the official undergraduate transcript showing conferral of your undergraduate degree. Whether we receive your official undergraduate transcripts directly from you or your undergraduate institution, we must receive them in a sealed envelope bearing the registrar’s stamp along the rear flap.
Recommendation Letter:
Online submission of the letters of recommendation is preferred. If you are not utilizing the online submission method, the form may be downloaded here. Fill out the applicant portion of the recommendation form, and provide it and a self-addressed stamped envelope to each recommender. Recommenders can be undergraduate, graduate, or professional contacts; they should be people who can attest to your creative ability and potential. Request that they: (1) enclose the recommendation; (2) seal the envelope; (3) sign their name or place their stamp across the seal; and (4) mail or give the envelope directly to you.
Autobiographical Essay:
Autobiographical essay: Four to six double-spaced pages. (Tell us something about yourself and your background, artistic experiences, creative influences, and professional objectives.)
Film Prompt:
Film prompt: Read the following openings, choose one and imagine the scene that might follow it. The scene you write must include both dialogue and description. It should be no less than two and no more than three pages long.
You may change the gender of any character in these prompts, but do not change ages or relationships.
INT. LIBRARY - MORNING
The TWO TEENS burst through the library doors and race to the shelves. Scanning the titles of books, they stop short when they spot the one they’ve been searching for. One of them grabs for it but then hesitates before opening it up.
EXT. BACKYARD – MIDNIGHT
A WOMAN hastily exits the house leaving the noise and chaos of the party behind her. Finally alone, she allows herself to exhale, laugh and slump down onto a patio chair. After a moment, she realizes she isn’t the only one out there.
EXT. BEACH – MIDDAY
While his family screams with excitement in the last moments of their volleyball game, the Young Man continues to write feverishly in his notebook. Wet from the ocean, his SISTER drops down next to him and catches him hiding the book beneath a towel.
Writing Sample:
Dramatic writing sample: No more than 10 pages and must contain dialogue. This can be a complete short screenplay, or the first ten pages of a longer screenplay (please indicate which you've chosen). It must be original; it may not be an adaptation, except of your own work in another form. The submission should be in screenplay format. No theatre plays, please. The story cannot be the same as the one in your feature film treatment or your optional video submission.
Feature Film Treatment:
Feature film treatment: On one double-spaced page for a film you might wish to write, or direct. The treatment must concisely relate a complete dramatic story sufficient to sustain a feature-length film, including major characters and plot developments and a clear statement of the resolution. The story cannot be the same as the one in your dramatic writing sample or your optional video submission. You must state the genre of your treatment and a log line. A log line is one or two sentences that describe the protagonist(s) and the story of the film.
Film/Video Work:
(Not required, but strongly suggested for Directing applicants.)All Film MFA applicants may submit up to 30 minutes of film/video work and must include a list of their contribution(s) to each work. This material should be uploaded to an online video service (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo). A link to the video must be included in the application along with any password necessary to view the work. Please be sure no download is required.
Visual Exercise:
Applicants for Directing who have not shot prior visual material are encouraged to shoot and submit the following OPTIONAL VISUAL EXERCISE:
Write and shoot a 2-person SILENT SCENE (no dialogue), between one and two minutes long, which deals with the idea of "COMING TOGETHER". It could be two strangers who make a connection, a fighting couple who then make amends, or two people who 'come together' in anger, physicality or any other dramatic situation you choose.
You may use subjects of any genders or ages, and any locations and props, etc. that you have available to you. Elaborate production expense is NOT the goal of this part of the application. You may shoot on any format.
This Silent Scene should be uploaded to an online video service (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo). A link to the video must be included in the application along with any password necessary to view the work. Please be sure no download is required.