School of Theater, Film and Television rises in rankings
By Asher Landau
Aug. 4, 2014 1:05 a.m.
The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) ranked third place in The Hollywood Reporter’s 2014 list of film schools this week, moving up one spot from last year.
The USC School of Cinematic Arts maintained its position in first place while New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts replaced American Film Institute for second place.
William McDonald, chair of the Department of Film, Television and Digital Media, said UCLA climbed up in the rankings this year likely because of the recent expansion of TFT’s television curriculum and its recent policy change to accept first-years into the film major.
The Hollywood Reporter also cites TFT’s screenwriting program, vast moving image archive – smaller only than that of the Library of Congress – and selective acceptance rate as reasons for UCLA’s high ranking.
McDonald said The Hollywood Reporter is very influential in the film industry, being widely read by filmmakers, executives, writers and possible donors, so TFT’s ranking will help further boost its reputation.
While first and second place went to USC and NYU, McDonald said he is hopeful for TFT’s future.
“USC is number one so they only have one direction to go,” McDonald said. “We can only go up as long as we keep doing what we do well.”
Compiled by Asher Landau, Bruin senior staff.
