Description
The University of Central Florida and the School of Film and Digital Media offer a Master of Fine Arts with tracks in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema and Visual Language and Interactive Media, as well as a Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment. These programs are designed to educate the next generation of filmmakers and media entrepreneurs and produce artists, entrepreneurs, educators, engineers, and scientists who use digital technologies to create content in many venues (film, digital media, interactive entertainment, and a host of others), and who will develop and use digital technologies in new ways.
The Master of Fine Arts in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema is designed for individuals who intend to work directly on the creation of new films and other media products and prepares graduates to teach in colleges and universities. This rigorous, three-year professional program is for visual artists and practitioners who demonstrate exceptional artistic and intellectual prowess and evidence of significant professional promise. The M.F.A. degree produces graduates with mastery of storytelling while allowing for individualized specialization. Upon completion, each student will have produced a microbudget Digital Feature Film and prepared a marketing strategy for its distribution.
This program requires that students take GEB 6115, Entrepreneurship, taught by the College of Business Administration; and they may take other electives. This gives students access to courses that will enhance the skills needed to finance and market their future projects.
The Master of Fine Arts program in Visual Language and Interactive Media is a specialized program designed to train degree candidates to learn and implement the conceptual, design, and technical skills needed to create and communicate twenty-first century stories and messages. The principal emphasis of the program is on the creation of compelling content for new media for which production tools and processes are currently being invented. These students pursue a variety of goals that address media convergence: increasing film, digital, and dynamic media skills, extending these skills into new areas, or in the case of educators and media professionals, expanding their expertise and credentials for use in their professions. Students may be admitted on either a full-time or part-time basis.
The Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) teaches artists, programmers, and producers the techniques, tools, and skills to succeed in the gaming industry. This program provides specific skills in the area of game design, as well as essential skills such as problem solving, teamwork, and project management. To this end, students are selected for admission into production teams based on the skills they possess and contributions they can make to their production team.
FIEA provides a team-based, industry-oriented education in a world-class facility located at the Expo Centre in downtown Orlando. Student production teams are mentored by industry experts and researchers who provide instruction in game design, creative collaboration, rapid prototyping, 3-D animation and modeling, documentation, software engineering, legal and ethical issues, preproduction, and postmortems. Graduates have access to internship opportunities and job interviews with game and media companies from across the country.
Degrees Offered
- Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media
- Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track
- Visual Language and Interactive Media Track
- Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment
Admission
For information on general UCF graduate admissions requirements that apply to all prospective students, please visit the Admissions and Registration section of the Graduate Catalog. Applicants must apply online. Please be sure to submit all requested material by the established deadline(s).
The Graduate Record Examination is required of all graduate students. Minimum requirements for admission are a 3.00 GPA in the last 60 semester credit hours earned toward the baccalaureate, or a competitive GRE score.
For applicants from countries where English is not the official language, or for an applicant whose bachelor’s degree is not from an accredited U.S. institution, an official score of at least 220 (computer-based test; or equivalent score on the paper-based test) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is required.
Meeting minimum UCF admission criteria does not guarantee program admission. Final admission is based on evaluation of the applicant's abilities, past performance, recommendations, match of this program and faculty expertise to the applicant's career/academic goals, and the applicant's potential for completing the degree.
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media
The following items are required as part of the Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media application:
- Official transcripts of previous academic work
- Three letters of recommendation from professors or employers who can address the applicant’s ability to undertake graduate-level course work
- A 500-word essay that demonstrates the applicant’s breadth of knowledge, insight, curiosity, vision, voice, and ability to think critically. The applicant should respond to ONE of the following:
- Discuss the relationship between emerging technologies and creative expression.
- Discuss the continuing conflict between art and commerce and how its energy might be made to serve the creative process.
- Discuss the social, political, and cultural role and responsibilities of the artist/creator in a global society.
- A 250-word biography detailing the applicant’s creative and entrepreneurial accomplishments as they relate to a professional and/or educational setting, or a current resume.
- A Creative Submission as follows:
- Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Applicants must submit a filmmaking reel that is no longer than 15 minutes, including complete shorts or excerpts from long format work. Each selection should be clearly marked with 1) the title, 2) the applicant’s creative role, 3) length of excerpt if applicable, and 4) the date completed. If the selection is an excerpt from a longer work, the context of the longer work should be provided. (Please send reel directly to the program: UCF SFDM Graduate Office, P.O. Box 163120, Orlando, FL 32816-3120.)
- Visual Language and Interactive Media Applicants must submit a creative portfolio. (Please send your creative portfolio directly to the program: UCF SFDM Graduate Office, P.O. Box 163120, Orlando, FL 32816-3120.)
Applicants may be asked to attend an admissions interview. The School of Film and Digital Media faculty will determine final eligibility of applicants. In the case of restricted admission with deficiencies, the graduate committee will decide upon the appropriate courses to be taken to compensate for the deficiencies. The letter of admission will specify the requirements that must be completed for regular admission.
For more information, applicants should consult the University of Central Florida Graduate Catalog regarding admissions requirements.
Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment
Students desiring admission into the M.S. program must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, meeting or exceeding the university's minimum standards for GPA, an official GRE score, and a portfolio of their prior work as it relates to their area of specialization (art, programming, production, etc.). Additional requirements apply for international students.
This program admits students in the fall semesters into production teams. Students will be selected based on the skills they possess and contributions they can make to the production team.
Application Due Dates
All application materials must be submitted by the appropriate deadline listed below.
All students applying for fellowships must apply by the Fall Priority deadline date.
U.S. Applicants
Applications received after the deadline will be considered on a space-available basis.
| Program(s) | Fall Priority | Fall | Spring | Summer |
| Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media | ||||
| Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track | Dec 15 | Dec 31 | ||
| Visual Language and Interactive Media Track | Jan 15 | Mar 15 | ||
| Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment | Jan 15 | Jul 15 |
International Applicants
| Program(s) | Fall Priority | Fall | Spring | Summer |
| Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media | ||||
| Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track | Dec 15 | Dec 31 | ||
| Visual Language and Interactive Media Track | Jan 15 | Jan 15 | ||
| Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment | Jan 15 | Jan 15 |
International Transfer Applicants
| Program(s) | Fall Priority | Fall | Spring | Summer |
| Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media | ||||
| Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track | Dec 15 | Dec 31 | ||
| Visual Language and Interactive Media Track | Jan 15 | Jan 15 | ||
| Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment | Jan 15 | Mar 1 |
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media
Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track
The Master of Fine Arts track in Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema is intended for exceptional cinematic storytellers and thinkers who have either academic or professional experience in a significant creative filmmaking role. Upon completion, each student will have produced a microbudget Digital Feature Film and prepared a marketing strategy for its distribution. The program is ideal for students who are committed to the entrepreneurial and artistic demands of independent filmmaking. The degree seeks to develop entrepreneurial, cinematographic storytellers of the highest quality by providing a select number of graduate students with the education and experience of creating strong visual narratives worthy of critical attention, professional recognition, and exhibition.
Students desiring admission to the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track must have successfully completed a B.F.A. or B.A. in film or a related area or, if a degree from this area was not obtained, they should have completed a significant, creative work. Those without a film degree may be accepted on a restricted basis pending completion of course work to be specified with the admission offer.
The ideal M.F.A. student is an imaginative, visual storyteller and inventive problem-solver who is interested in exploring digital cinema and the intersection of art and commerce utilizing real world applications. They are independent thinkers willing to inspire others and nurture a project from vision to distribution.
The Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track is a creative program in which students develop their own unique artistic voices and visions, which are the hallmarks of the personal film. We encourage a spirit of inquiry, creative exploration, and artistic leadership in the application of cinematic languages to new technologies. The Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track requires 72 credit hours including the thesis project. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Before undertaking the thesis project, a candidate must be accepted by a faculty adviser/mentor and meet with the thesis project advisory committee. A thesis project proposal must be presented and approved by the committee. The proposal should include a statement containing evidence of research, script, budget, production planning, and scheduling, as well as a marketing and distribution plan.
The thesis requires intensive applied learning to be completed as a feature length project. Additionally, the thesis project has a strong research component both in the initial development phase and in the creation of the distribution and marketing plan for the project. This final stage of the curriculum serves as a bridge to the professional world and supports the entrepreneurial philosophy of the program. The thesis project must be reviewed by the faculty adviser/mentor throughout the production process and meet agreed upon criteria within a stated time frame. Once the thesis project is completed, candidates must have a public screening or exhibition of the work and meet with the thesis advisory committee for final approval.
Minimum Requirements for M.F.A., Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track—72 Credit Hours
Core Requirements—18 Credit Hours
- FIL 5800 Research Methods in Film and Digital Media (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5810 Ways of Seeing: Cultural and Technological Perspectives (3 credit hours)
- FIL 5853 Cinematic Forms (3 credit hours)
- FIL 5165 Visual Storytelling (3 credit hours)
- FIL 5810 Transmedia Story Creation (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6614 Domestic and International Models of Distribution (3 credit hours)
Required Courses—12 Credit Hours
Select a minimum of 12 hours from the following list or from relevant courses from other units with prior approval of the Head of the Film Division.
- GEB 6115 Entrepreneurship (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6640 Microbudget Production Management (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6619 Guerilla Marketing (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6546 Previsualization and Concept Development (3 credit hours)
Restricted Electives—9 Credit Hours
Select a minimum of 9 hours from the following list or from relevant courses from other units with prior approval of the student’s adviser.
- FIL 6454 Microbudget Production Design (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6475 Advanced Cinematography (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6596 Advanced Directing Workshop for Film and Digital Media (3 credit hours)
- FIL 6938 Special Topics: From Screenplay to Deal (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6487 Principles of Visual Language (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5565C Digital Asset Management Systems (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5366 Creating Interactive Characters (3 credit hours)
Program Electives—15 Credit Hours
Select a minimum of 15 hours of course work from either the School of Film and Digital Media or relevant courses from other units with prior approval of the Head of the Film Division.
Thesis Project—18 Credit Hours
- FIL 6971 Thesis (18 credit hours)
Before undertaking the thesis project, candidates must meet with the thesis advisory committee to submit and discuss the proposed project and obtain the committee’s approval. The thesis project will consist of a feature length project, including evidence of research, a completed production, and a marketing/distribution plan. The thesis must be reviewed by a faculty or professional adviser throughout the production process and meet agreed upon criteria. Once the thesis is completed, candidates must meet with the thesis advisory committee for final approval and oral defense.
Visual Language and Interactive Media Track
The Master of Fine Arts track in Visual Language and Interactive Media is based on an apprenticeship model. Students explore new media under the guidance of a faculty member and collaborate with this faculty member in creative and research projects that foster a unique contribution characterized as innovative in approach. This degree program builds on undergraduate knowledge to build a mature set of conceptual, design, and technical skills needed to communicate stories and messages in a single discipline or in an interdisciplinary environment. An eighteen-hour thesis project is required. A typical thesis might involve designing content that is imparted through integrating traditional media with computer-based and computer-enhanced formats where the content is enriched by the use of novel interactive modalities and techniques. Work in the thesis will extend the capabilities of interfaces and measure the effectiveness of new ways of telling stories and conveying messages.
This M.F.A. track is embedded in a rich environment of film and digital media work at UCF and in the surrounding community. The following are active areas of work at UCF:
- Digital media in instructional applications
- Experience design
- Interactive performance
- Sound and music design
- Cultural heritage preservation using new media
The School of Film and Digital Media faculty have extensive professional and academic experience in areas spanning film, video, multimedia, interactive and web design, human-centered interactive design, exhibition and theme park design, simulation and training, game development, broadcast design and motion graphics, animation, visual language, immersive design environments, database design, e-commerce, and educational technology and community development.
Students desiring admission to the Visual Language and Interactive Media Track should have an undergraduate degree in a media-related creative or technical field such as art, film, animation, theater, music, digital media, computer science, English, or education in the arts. Students will be admitted on the basis of a portfolio review or compelling plan of action for the creation of new knowledge in a profession or field of study by the addition of Digital Media. Desirable background skills for this degree include computer and software literacy. Examples include mastery of Macintosh and PC workstations that are configured with a diverse range of hardware and software for production and editing of images and sound for stories and messages.
During the first academic year, the student pursues core courses and electives recommended by the student’s designated mentor/professor. The student also takes intensive short (possibly noncredit) courses in software and technical skills to complement the skills with which he/she enters the program.
During the second year, the student concentrates on course work in his or her chosen field, as well as thesis research. Students must be accepted by a faculty member for thesis supervision in order to carry out the required thesis. Students are encouraged to begin this process immediately upon entering the program by meeting faculty who work in areas of interest to the students.
During the third year, the student focus is on completing his or her thesis work.
Minimum Requirements for M.F.A., Visual Language and Interactive Media Track—72 Credit Hours
Core Requirements—12 Credit Hours
- DIG 5647 Science and Technology of Dynamic Media (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5810 Ways of Seeing: Cultural and Technological Perspectives (3 credit hours)
- FIL 5165 Visual Storytelling (3 credit hours)
- FIL 5810 Transmedia Story Creation (3 credit hours)
Required Courses—9 Credit Hours
- DIG 6165 Principles of Interaction (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6137 Information Architecture (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6487 Principles of Visual Language (3 credit hours)
Program Electives—33 Credit Hours
All graduate-level Film or Digital Media courses can be used as electives, based on an adviser-approved program of study. In addition, other graduate courses may be used in place of those listed above, with permission of the adviser. These courses must be selected so as to ensure that at least one-half of the courses in the students program of study are taken at the 6000 level.
Thesis—18 Credit Hours
- DIG 6971 Thesis (18 credit hours)
Each candidate for the Master of Fine Arts must submit a thesis proposal and preliminary bibliography on a topic selected in consultation with the adviser. The formal thesis is initiated by the preparation of a proposal that will meet both departmental and university requirements for the thesis. Prior to enrollment into thesis, the adviser, in consultation with the student, will designate a Thesis Committee to be further approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies for the College of Arts and Humanities. This committee is chaired by the adviser and includes two or more additional faculty members from the School of Film and Digital Media.
The members of the student’s thesis committee will judge the proposal as the preliminary step to beginning the thesis. This committee must approve the Thesis Proposal before academic credit can accrue.
A Visual Language M.F.A. thesis project involves creating innovative applications of digital media to serve artistic, entertainment, commercial, and/or educational needs. The thesis consists of three parts: (1) the creative project (that utilizes digital media); (2) the production journal (documenting the process of developing the project and evaluating its effectiveness); and (3) dissemination (the work is presented in a juried exhibition, a refereed publication, or other venue that demonstrates development in connection with a professional partner).
The thesis is a formal written document. The introduction cites similar, related, and antecedent work; the body explains the purposes of the project, the method of its production, and any evaluation that was performed; and it concludes with plans for future work. The thesis will also include an archival copy of the resulting creative product. Both the thesis and the creative product must be delivered in a digital form, acceptable by the UCF library according to its standards for digital dissertations and theses.
Thesis Defense
In addition to a written thesis, the final step in completing the thesis requirement is an oral defense before the thesis committee. Candidates must present their creative or research work and explain its creation in an oral defense. These presentations are made to the student’s committee, in a public meeting that other faculty and students may attend.
Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment
The Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA) offers an immersive, project-based gaming education that is as active as it is interactive. Students become part of a team of fellow students who work together as producers, programmers, and artists on real-world projects with milestones and tight deadlines.
The foundation of the degree is the three-course core sequence that focuses on team-based learning. This sequence is designed to provide declarative, procedural, and strategic knowledge in a variety of issues related to game design. These include creative collaboration, rapid prototyping, 3-D animation and modeling, documentation, software engineering, legal and ethical issues, preproduction, and postmortems.
Specialization classes help prepare students in their chosen field (Programming, Art or Production) by covering the details of each discipline. Programming classes focus on software engineering techniques as they apply to interactive entertainment products, while production classes focus on the specifics of game design as well as project management. Art classes help students develop aesthetic and technical skills necessary to create compelling visuals for the entertainment industry.
The immersive, team-based approach of this track is emphasized by the many projects students undertake that require communication and collaboration. Students become part of a team composed of producers, programmers, and artists and work on projects that mimic segments of the production processes found in the interactive entertainment industry.
The degree concludes with a capstone experience, where students work on a final large-scale project under the supervision of the faculty involving new research developments or partnerships within the industry. These partnerships could result in an internship, where course credit will be awarded based on work performance and a presentation about what the student learned during the internship experience. This experience serves as a capstone that ties together the knowledge and expertise gained to make a lasting contribution to research within interactive entertainment.
The 30-hour program requires 12 hours of core courses, 9 hours of specialization courses, a practicum and a capstone experience.
Minimum Requirements for M.S. in Interactive Entertainment—30 Credit Hours
Core Requirements—12 Credit Hours
- DIG 5136C Production for Media (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5548C Rapid Prototype Production I (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5549C Rapid Prototype Production II (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6546C Preproduction and Prototyping (3 credit hours)
Specialization Requirements—9 Credit Hours
- DIG 5327C Principles of Interactive Entertainment I (3 credit hours)
- DIG 5551C Principles of Interactive Entertainment II (3 credit hours)
- DIG 6946C Advanced Interactive Entertainment (3 credit hours)
Capstone Experience—3 Credit Hours
- DIG 6718C Interactive Entertainment Project (3 credit hours)
The capstone experience applies the concepts and theories learned to produce a large-scale project. The target deliverable is a playable demonstration of a game that simulates the core experience and demonstrates the key features of the project’s vision. The course concludes with a special event premiering the final project to the FIEA community and invited guests.
Practicum Experience—6 Credit Hours
- DIG 6944C Game Design Practicum (6 credit hours)
The practicum is a supervised experience supplementing theoretical and practical experiences involving new research developments or partnerships within industry. Students may participate on a research team exploring new ideas in interactive entertainment with industry partners, work on an on-site internship with a game company, or develop their own interests by working with faculty on a personal research area of interest.
Financial Support
Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loans. For more information, see Financing Grad School, which describes the types of financial assistance available at UCF and provides general guidance in planning your graduate finances. The Financial Information section of the Graduate Catalog is another key resource.
Key points about financial support:
- If you are interested in financial assistance, you are strongly encouraged to apply for admission early. A complete application for admission, including all supporting documents, must be received by the priority date listed for your program under "Admissions."
- You must be admitted to a graduate program before the university can consider awarding financial assistance to you.
- If you want to be considered for loans and other need-based financial assistance, review the UCF Student Financial Assistance website at http://finaid.ucf.edu and complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) form, which is available online at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov. Apply early and allow up to six weeks for the FAFSA form to be processed.
- UCF Graduate Studies awards university graduate fellowships, with most decisions based on nominations from the colleges and programs. To be eligible for a fellowship, students must be accepted as a graduate student in a degree program and be enrolled full-time. University graduate fellowships are awarded based on academic merit and therefore are not affected by FAFSA determination of need.
- Please note that select fellowships do require students to fill out a fellowship application (either a university fellowship application, an external fellowship application, or a college or school fellowship application). For university fellowship applications, see Financing Grad School.
- For information on assistantships (including teaching, research, and general graduate assistantships) or tuition support, contact the graduate program coordinator of your major.
Contact Info
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Media
Patricia Hurter
Phone Number: 407-823-2845
phurter@mail.ucf.edu
Master of Science in Interactive Entertainment
David Verble
Phone Number: 407-823-2121
admission@fiea.ucf.edu
Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema Track
Patricia Hurter
Phone Number: 407-823-2845
phurter@mail.ucf.edu
Visual Language and Interactive Media Track
Natalie Underberg, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Phone Number: 407-823-1140
gradcoordinator@dm.ucf.edu