Accelerated Bachelor’s degree/Master of Arts in Film Studies

Dodge College offers a specialized master of arts program for Chapman University undergraduates, which enables students to begin taking master of arts coursework in the fall of the senior year and receive a Master of Arts in Film Studies within one year of finishing their undergraduate studies. The accelerated program is open to undergraduate film studies majors, undergraduate majors who fall under the film division of Dodge College and have taken two upper-division film studies classes or an undergraduate in good standing who will be completing a film studies minor by the end of the fall of their senior year. Twelve credits of specified graduate classes and 3 credits of elective graduate courses, for a total of 15 graduate credits, taken in the senior year may count toward the 48 credits in film studies required for the bachelor’s degree and may also count toward the master’s degree.

Students pursuing a major in film studies may only use up to 6 credits of internship coursework to satisfy elective requirements within their major.

Admission to the program

Admission to the program may be achieved by the completion of the following requirements:

1. Submit an application for admission in the spring of their junior year. (This includes submission of an upper-division paper from a film studies course.)
2. Be enrolled at Chapman University and have completed 75 credits or more of undergraduate coursework with a cumulative GPA of 3.250 or higher.
3. Submit two letters of recommendation from faculty (not in film studies).
4. Complete a personal interview. (This will happen in the second round of application review.)

Admission deadlines

Prospective students are encouraged to submit their application by February 1 for full consideration and first priority.

Requirements for the Accelerated Bachelor’s degree/Master of Arts in Film Studies degree

1. Complete 15 credits at the 500 or 600 level during the undergraduate senior year. Complete remaining 21 credits the following year.
2. Successfully complete the thesis project.
3. Pass an oral defense of the thesis project.