Notable alumni include Carol Burnett, Francis Ford Coppola, Alexander Payne, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, and John Williams.
On the westside of Los Angeles sits the University of California, Los Angeles, better known as UCLA. Over its 100-year history, UCLA has created a name for itself as a highly regarded and competitive school for aspiring filmmakers, and through its School of Theater, Film and Television, students can pursue a degree in any one of its many specialized programs.
Currently, UCLA has an undergraduate program for Film, Television, and Digital Media, as well as graduate programs in Screenwriting, Cinema and Media Studies, Cinematography, Animation, Production/Directing, and the Producers Program. The school also provides a Ph.D. option in Cinema and Media Studies and its Professional Program in various film and TV-related specialties for students interested in a more abbreviated certificate program.
UCLA indicated that approximately only 8% of its fall 2020 classes would be presented in an in-person and/or hybrid format. The rest will be conducted online. Moreover, with minor exceptions, the entirety of classes following the school’s Thanksgiving break will be remote. Housing will be available as well, though given to those with the greatest need with residence halls able to accommodate approximately 5,000 students and the university-owned apartments able to accommodate approximately 1,500 students.
Interim Department Chair Steve Anderson on UCLA’s response to COVID-19:
“At UCLA, some students are continuing to pursue traditional forms of moviemaking… Students wanting to pursue this path [will] work with our Safety Committee and must develop a set of extremely thorough safety plans based on those being implemented in the industry, complete with an on-site safety producer, contingency plans, and whistleblower protocols. Other students have shifted their projects from mini-industry productions to tap into a different tradition of artistic expression that may be more personal or essayistic.
We have also made some changes in the course offerings for the year ahead to provide an intellectual foundation and historical context for rethinking creative practice along these lines. Overall, students are being invited to think in terms of developing a ‘portfolio’ of smaller-scale creations that convey a range of artistic vision, rather than putting all of their energy into creating traditional, monolithic productions.”
Learn more about UCLA’s COVID-19 plan of action.
University of California, Los Angeles