Emerson Ranked #6 Best Film School by Hollywood Reporter

Emerson College continued its climb up the Hollywood Reporter’s annual list of the “Top 25 Film Schools in America,” jumping from #9 to #6 this year.

“It’s always affirming to see the work of the department recognized and acknowledged,” Visual and Media Arts (VMA) Chair Cristina Kotz Cornejo said. “The VMA faculty and VMA and [Media Technologies and Production] staff put their heart and expertise into our programs. To see us move up in the ranks makes us especially proud after this challenging pandemic year.”

THR noted that Emerson will unveil a visual and media arts directing studio during the 2020-21 academic year in the Boston campus’ Paramount Center, as well as the Emerging Media Lab, recently opened to support virtual and augmented reality curriculum.

THR also cited Emerson’s satellite campuses, Emerson Los Angeles and Kasteel Well, as well as its multiple international partnerships, including the Global BFA in Film Art with Paris College of Art, and the Global Pathways program with FAMU in Prague.

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In addition, the ranking gave a nod to alum Erik Messerschmidt’s (’02) 2021 Oscar win for Cinematography for Mank.

“We’re very pleased that the Hollywood Reporter recognizes the incredible education Emerson provides its Visual and Media Arts students,” School of the Arts Dean Rob Sabal said. “And it’s not just our traditional undergraduates. Emerson has an MFA program in Film and Media Art in Boston and a low-residency MFA in Writing for Film and Television that has residencies in both Boston and Los Angeles.

“With our outstanding and caring faculty and staff; superb equipment and facilities; and an unrivaled network of alumni in the entertainment industries, Emerson is one of the top programs the world over,” Sabal added.

In 2019, Emerson partnered with the Hollywood Reporter on the Young Executives Diversity Initiative, a fellowship that recruits promising high school students from disadvantaged neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, and provides them with mentoring, coaching, and internships in order to help them with the college application process. 

The goal of the initiative is eventually to increase diversity among entertainment executives.