The mission of the Department of Cinema and Television Arts (formerly Radio-Television-Film) is to instill in students the knowledge, expertise, and creative skills that will help them to achieve their goals in the fields of radio, television, film, or multimedia, and to promote the critical, analytical, and conceptual thinking that will enrich their academic and professional careers.

The Cinema and Television Arts major provides students with academic and professional training for careers in the entertainment industries and educational/corporate media fields. The major prepares students for creative and management careers in commercial or educational radio, television, film, and multimedia positions, as well as related scholarly areas. The program is strongly committed to a balance between theoretical and practical education.

Our full-time faculty number is sixteen, and is a healthy mix of academics and professionals, responsible over the years for having written, directed or produced approximately 5,000 feature motion pictures, television shows, stage plays or industrial films. They have functioned in every capacity from screenwriter to executive producer to network vice president, and have received most of the industry's major honors: the Emmy, Peabody, Cindy, Golden Mike, and Voice of America awards, among others.

The College's proximity and close ties to the area's entertainment industry have allowed the Department use of a variety of industry locations and facilities, and make it possible for us to offer student internships undreamed of outside of Southern California. Our annual showing of senior student films, held at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, continues to attract accolades from leading film professionals. The hosts of these programs have been Academy Award-winning directors and producers, including Robert Wise and William Friedkin. Several of our courses are regularly taught on the lot at CBS Studio City, and the Department's annual banquet has been held on the Seinfeld Street at the studio. Additionally, each semester we offer more than 100 internships at a variety of entertainment companies. Our internship program is acknowledged to be among the finest in the country. We have placed students in some of the best radio, television and film companies on the West Coast. CTVA students have earned an excellent reputation in the media world and are in much demand. To quote an internship host: "Our average is excellent." A high percentage of our internship students find paying positions with their host companies. Many others find related work soon after graduation based on recommendations or contacts made as a result of their internships.

The Department of Cinema and Television Arts has been evaluated by a distinguished panel of outside educators who were "overwhelmed by the potential of Department of Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Northridge, to expand its current academic influence beyond the boundaries of Southern California to verily reaching around the globe with its educational impact". We anticipate the move into our new building, complete with state-of-the-art studios, classrooms, post production facilities and 130-seat screening room, will be a large step towards reaching our future potential. The CTVA Department is affiliated with the University Film and Video Association, the Society for Cinema Studies, the Broadcast Education Association and the National Association of Broadcasters.

B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts (seven options); M.A. in Screenwriting.

Click here to view a complete description of courses offered by CTVA.

LOWER DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
Students are accepted into the department as Pre-CTVA majors. After completion of the Pre-CTVA course requirements, students may petition for entry into the Option area for which they are quali

SPECIAL GRADE REQUIREMENT

Students admitted to the upper division CTVA major must complete the 33 upper division units with a grade of C or better in each course.

ELECTRONIC MEDIA MANAGEMENT OPTION

Operational and management aspects of independent, studio, and network electronic media--including business structures, personnel, budgets, advertising, sales, research, and regulation of the media industries.

A minor is also offered in this option.

FILM PRODUCTION OPTION

Conceptualization, production, directing, editing, and distribution of film projects for both entertainment and informational purposes.

MEDIA THEORY AND CRITICISM OPTION

History, theory, and critical analysis of the culture of film and electronic media--providing a background for all professional training, with specific preparation for careers in teaching or research. Screenwriting Option: research, structure, and writing for dramatic and non-dramatic scripts for film, radio, television, and multimedia.

MULTIMEDIA OPTION

Pre-production, production and distribution of digital material for film, television and the World Wide Web. Students acquire effective computer skills to design websites, create streaming audio and video, design and create DVDs and CD-ROMS, and develop games in the interactive media environment.

RADIO & TELEVISION PRODUCTION OPTIONS

Pre-production, production, and post-production techniques for all electronic media formats--encompassing directing and all other creative aspects of studio and field production.

SCREENWRITING OPTION

Research, structure, and writing for dramatic and non-dramatic scripts for film, radio, television, and multimedia.

 

The Department of Cinema and Television Arts offers a Master of Arts degree in Screenwriting.

Experience a Graduate MA Program of discovery and growth with an intense focus on professional script writing, in the heart of the motion picture and television industries.

Emerging screen storytellers from many cultures and backgrounds are mentored toward creating scripts that explore new insights into the human condition. In a vigorous workshop environment, students explore the elements of screen story structure, character, dialogue, scene, setting, texture and tone.

Screen story and film aesthetics are studied as well with top film and TV writers, directors, and producers through the Department of Cinema and Television Arts Cinematheque, in the 130 seat state-of-the-art Armer Screening Room.

The program offers a two-year course of study designed for working adults, with scholarships and paid Teaching Assistant positions available.

The 30-unit MA in Screenwriting degree consists of core concentration classes in script writing, then elective units chosen from such courses as: Screenplay Adaptation; The Working Screenwriter, Understanding Agents, Studios, and Networks; Writing Episodic Television; Comedy Writing; Screenplays in Performance; Documentary Tradition; and one-on-one Independent Screenplay Studies. Studio internships are available for screenwriting students, including placement at Paramount, 20th Century Fox, Disney, Universal, Warner Bros., Sony, DreamWorks, ABC, CBS, NBC and other companies.

Click here to learn more about the Graduate Program.