With New Global Joint Degrees, Emerson Sees No Borders

Emerson College is deepening its commitment to global education and becoming a “borderless campus” through a first-of-its-kind partnership with Paris College of Art (PCA), allowing students to earn a Global BFA in Film Art in three years at campuses in Boston, Paris, and the Netherlands.

The program will soon be followed by other “Global Portals”: joint degree programs with universities in Barcelona, Spain, and Lugano, Switzerland. The College is also planning to launch programs in Sydney, Australia, and Hong Kong by 2022.

“Emerson is known internationally as the premier institution of higher learning for creative leaders in communications, the arts, and the liberal arts,” said President Lee Pelton. “To continue to fulfill our mission in an increasingly global world, Emerson is creating a borderless campus—which we see as vital to educating the world’s future generations of artists and storytellers.”

Learn more about the Emerson College/Paris College of Art Global BFA in Film Art. 

The Film Art Global BFA program leverages the strengths of each institution: Emerson’s top-ranked film program and PCA’s expertise in fine art and artistic processes.

“We’re really excited about the new joint BFA program with PCA, which will be distinct from any other program in the world,” said Brooke Knight, chair of Emerson’s Visual and Media Arts Department. “Combining an innovative, interdisciplinary approach with intercontinental experiences, the Film Art BFA is designed for students who want to explore the possibilities between film and fine art: installation, experimentation, manipulation, creation, and exhibition.”

Students will create experimental film, gallery installations, and public media art, as well as study film and art history, liberal arts, and French language and culture. They will work toward a signature exhibition, film, or project.

Classes during the academic year will be held at PCA’s campus in the 10th arrondissement; summer classes will alternate between Boston and Kasteel Well, Emerson’s 14th-century castle in the Netherlands. All classes will be conducted in English by faculty from both PCA and Emerson. French language classes will also be part of the program.

Admission to the Global BFA in Film Art program will be the same as other programs in Emerson’s Visual and Media Arts Department with one exception: Applicants to the new joint degree will need to submit an essay explaining why they want to study in an intercontinental program. Successful applicants will be eligible for financial aid.

Applications open in August 2018, with the first class starting in Summer 2019 in Boston.

Learn more about Paris College of Art.

“The opportunity to study film in multiple countries will broaden students’ understanding of contemporary art discourses and practices, allowing them to create new and compelling film art,” Emerson Provost Michaele Whelan said. “Students will interact with and learn from artists and filmmakers from around the world, expanding their intercultural competence and communication abilities, and challenging them to analyze their own assumptions and frames of reference.”

Emerson has long offered its students a wide range of possibilities to live, work, and study in locales around the world.

At Kasteel Well, students spend a semester immersed in liberal arts and European travel. While at Emerson Los Angeles, they intern with some of the biggest studios and agencies in the entertainment industry. Sixteen summer Global Pathways programs allow students to study special topics in culturally significant locations in Europe, Africa, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. And students in a number of programs are frequently given the opportunity to attend and present at conferences around the U.S. and the world.

But Emerson’s partnership with PCA marks the first time the College is offering a new degree in conjunction with an international institution, allowing students a truly intercontinental college experience.

It won’t be the last time.

Emerson is planning to build on its longstanding relationship with Blanquerna School of Communication and International Relations–Ramon Llull University in Barcelona, Spain, to offer a new double degree program, with students receiving a three-year bachelor’s degree from Blanquerna and a yearlong master’s degree from Emerson.

Emerson is working with Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland, on joint undergraduate/graduate degrees, with the bachelor’s degrees offered through Franklin and the master’s degrees through Emerson.