Master of Fine Arts

The Master of Fine Arts degree in Film, Video and Computer Animation is a three-year (six semester) graduate program designed for students who have clearly identified animation as their primary interest in cinema. The program focuses on animation production, including a wide range of techniques and aesthetic approaches, from hand drawn character animation to state-of-the-art interactive computer graphics. While embracing traditional forms, the program strongly encourages innovation and experimentation, and emphasizes imagination, creativity and critical thinking. Students should graduate with a comprehensive knowledge of animation from conception through realization; an understanding of the history of the medium and its esthetics; the fundamentals of computer technology, animation software and the most important elements of film, video and interactive media.

The program requires a minimum of 50 units: 38 units are in prescribed, sequential courses in Cinema-Television. The other 12 units are electives, four of which must be taken in the division of Critical Studies. A thesis is required for the M.F.A. degree.

Admission is once a year in the fall. Approximately 20 students will be enrolled in each incoming class. In addition to practical production, the program also provides opportunities for fieldwork experience and internships to facilitate the student’s transition into the profession.

Applicants for the M.F.A. in Film, Video and Computer Animation must submit supplemental application materials. For specific instructions, contact the Cinema-Television Animation Program Office, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2211, (213) 740-3986, web page: http://cinema-tv.usc.edu.

The application deadline is February 15 for the fall semester.

Required Courses

Year One, First Semester		Units
CTAN 451	History of Animation	2
CTAN 482	Basic Motion Picture Techniques for Animators	2
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTWR 528	Screenwriting Fundamentals	2
CTAN 544	Introduction to Film, Video and Computer Animation	3
		____
		10
Year One, Second Semester		Units
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTAN 523	Principles of Computer Animation	2
CTAN 547	Animation Production I	3
CTAN 579	Expanded Animation	2
Elective*
		____
		8
Year Two, First Semester		Units
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTAN 524	Contemporary Topics in Animation	2
CTAN 548	Animation Production II	3
CTAN 577	Character Animation	2
		____
		8
Year Two, Second Semester		Units
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTAN 549	Animation Production III	3
Elective*
		____
		4
Year Three, First Semester		Units
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTAN 593	Directed Studies in Animation	2
CTAN 594a	Master's Thesis	2
		____
		5
Year Three, Second Semester		Units
CTAN 522	Animation Department Seminar	1
CTAN 594b	Master's Thesis	2
		____
		3

*Cinema-Television Electives

The courses listed above do not constitute the 50 units required for the M.F.A. in Animation. Consequently, students are required to take a minimum of 12 elective units at the 400 and 500 level. Four of those units must be taken from the following Critical Studies courses:

Electives		Units
CTCS 400	Non-Fiction Film and Television	4
CTCS 402	Practicum in Film/Television Criticism	4
CTCS 404	Television Criticism and Theory	4
CTCS 407	African-American Cinema	4
CTCS 408	Contemporary Political Film and Video	4
CTCS 409	Censorship in Cinema	4
CTCS 464	Film and/or Television Genres	4
CTCS 469	Film and/or Style Analysis	4
CTCS 501	History of the International Cinema: Silent Film	2
CTCS 502	History of the International Cinema: Sound Film	2
CTCS 503	Survey History of the American Sound Film	2
CTCS 510	Case Studies in National Media	4
CTCS 511	Seminar: Non-Fiction Film/Video	4
CTCS 518	Seminar: Avant-Garde Film/Video	4
CTCS 564	Seminar in Film and Television Genres	4
CTCS 567	Seminar in Film/Television and a Related Art	4
CTCS 569	Seminar in Film and Television Authors	4
CTAN 576	Seminar in Film/Television and New Technologies	4
CTCS 585	Seminar in Film/Television, Critical Theory and Production	4

Grade Point Average Requirements

A grade point average of at least 3.0 (A = 4.0) must be maintained in all USC course work toward the master’s degree. Courses in which a grade of C- (1.7) or lower is earned will not apply toward a graduate degree. Courses below a C must be repeated.

Time Limit

Students must maintain satisfactory progress toward their master’s degrees at all times. The time limit for completing all requirements is three years from the first course at USC applied toward the Master of Fine Arts degree. Course work more than seven years old is invalidated and will not be applied toward the degree.

Thesis Project

In order to begin work on the thesis project, students must first successfully propose their project to a committee of M.F.A. Animation Program faculty. The proposal is prepared during the first year of study in the program and submitted at the beginning of the second year. Throughout the three years of study, students will meet regularly with an M.F.A. Animation Program faculty advisor to develop and refine the proposal and discuss the progress of their work. The advisor will be a member of the thesis committee.

The proposal itself will include a written treatment of the project with a discussion of similar work in the field and its relationship to the proposed project. It will describe esthetic issues to be explored and specific techniques to be employed in its realization. The proposal must also include a storyboard, budget and schedule in addition to supporting materials created by the student demonstrating his or her ability to pursue the project. The faculty committee will make comments and decide whether the student may go forward with his or her project. Upon acceptance, the student will begin work on the project, otherwise revising and meeting again with the committee.

A mid-residency review of the thesis project will take place in the second semester of the second year of study. The student must show that deadlines set in the proposal have been met and that progress consistent with the proposal has been made. The committee may, if necessary, suggest modifications to the project, which the student is then obligated to implement.

In the third and final year, students concentrate on their thesis projects, completing production and post-production. All sound or music, final high-resolution rendering (for computer animation), final film or video output, and compositing, titles or subtitles, will be done during this time.

A final review of the completed work will take place in the second semester of the third year. The committee will meet and the student must show and defend the work.