School of Acting
Learn to act on camera in a program run by a multiple-Academy-Award-winning producer. Build a reel that demonstrates your skills and readiness to act at a professional level. Train on our soundstages, directed by experienced industry professionals. Develop the skills that all great actors share: free access to your imagination, the ability to act from your impulses and intuition, and command of your body and voice. Work in a collaborative environment with talented writers, directors, and producers, building creative relationships that will last a lifetime.
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Graduate Program
Take control of your own destiny. It’s our belief that the majority of working actors earn their living from on-camera work. To ensure you have the best shot at getting this work, our conservatory-inspired MFA program revolves around preparing you for the professional film, television, and voice acting environments.
You’ll train on our soundstages, directed by experienced industry professionals. At the end of your three-year MFA program, you’ll have built a reel that looks like you’ve been working in the film industry for years. You will have multiple opportunities to audition for projects that play at film festivals around the world.
Films you appear in will also be seen and critiqued by high-profile casting directors, writers, directors, and producers during our annual NXTUP Film Festival. Our digital showcase highlights your full range of talent as an actor for managers, agents, and producers around the world.
MFA Acting scholarships are available if you apply through URTA.
Allied Skills
Motion Pictures & Television
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Direct. Produce. Shoot. Edit. Production Design. Write. Crew up and follow your passion for creating entertainment. Master post-production software, acquire VR experience, delve into drone and VFX cinematography, explore documentary filmmaking, commercials and music videos…the choice is yours.
Writing
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If your goal is to create a body of work that could launch your professional writing career, our screenwriting degree program will give you the competitive edge you need. Tap into your imagination. Come up with great ideas. Find your unique voice. Take your writing skills to a new level.
Fashion
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The costume design emphasis combines a rigorous sewing program with industry-specific design courses, preparing students to work in theater and film. Students are given the opportunity to gain practical experience through collaboration with the School of Motion Pictures & Television and the School of Acting.
Reel Development
This three-year immersion in on-camera acting develops your ability to bring characters and conflict to life. You will star in multiple scenes specifically curated for you by our in-house casting director. Our professional production designers, cinematographers, directors, and editors will help you create your best performances in a professional working environment.
Student Work
The top three things I love about the Academy of Art are the community, the family-oriented vibe, and the opportunities—both in-school and out-of-school. I feel pretty spoiled as a student. We have our own sets and sound stages. We have top-notch camera equipment; we have literally everything we need to create our own high-quality films. Academy teachers are so well-connected. They can really help advance your career. My professors not only taught me the essentials of filmmaking, they’re giving me a head start in the industry.
Chelsey Coleman
School of Acting
