College Creates New School of Film, Television, and Media Arts

This fall, Visual and Media Arts students will return as part of the new School of Film, Television, and Media Arts, a new academic structure that elevates VMA and will offer new pathways to the creative industry.

The new school builds on Emerson’s leadership in storytelling through communication, the arts, and media, and advances the priorities of Extraordinary Emerson 2030, the College’s new strategic plan adopted this spring.

“The creation of the new school reaffirms Emerson’s commitment to global leadership in communication and the arts,” President Jay Bernhardt said. “This is an overdue recognition of our largest academic program that has long shaped global storytelling and has produced some of the most talented creators and professionals in the industry.”

With its two US locations and multiple international programs and partners, Emerson is positioned at the heart of the domestic and global creative economies.

The new academic structure will promote future growth and excellence in one of the College’s most successful academic programs. It will be led by a Dean in Boston, who will work closely with the inaugural Dean of the Emerson Los Angeles campus. Associate Professor Shaun Clarke, the current chair of the VMA department, will serve as interim Dean of the new school.

Clarke noted that with this move, Emerson is investing not just in the future of arts education, but in the creative health of the entertainment industry.

“We recognize the need for an ever-evolving curriculum and student experience to match the fast-paced changes in film, television, and media arts industry of the future. The creation of this school builds on our successful and innovative hands-on curriculum and our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, all led by our world-class faculty from around the globe.”

Associate Professor Shaun Clarke
Interim Dean, School of Film, Television and Media Arts

“We recognize the need for an ever-evolving curriculum and student experience to match the fast-paced changes in film, television, and media arts industry of the future. The creation of this school builds on our successful and innovative hands-on curriculum and our state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, all led by our world-class faculty from around the globe,” said Clarke.

He added, students will benefit from access to cutting-edge equipment, virtual production studios, ARRI certification, courses grounded in emerging technologies, and a world-class faculty of creators and experts. Production facilities for XR, VR, AR, and game design, all grounded in storytelling, equip students to thrive in an evolving media landscape.

“This new School is an example of Emerson leading in academic innovation, enabling our students and faculty to continue to thrive at the forefront of creativity and scholarship.” said Provost Alex Socarides.

Students will see new and revised courses launching this fall, including Immersive Media in the AI Era, Music Video Production, Accessible Cinema, Visual Programming for Games, Virtual Production, Writing and Developing the Microbudget Feature Film, Forms of Resistance, and Structural Script Analysis of Writers, Directors and Producers.

The new academic structure builds on Emerson’s decades-long track record in preparing students for success in film, television and media arts and launching the careers of hundreds of award-winning creators and industry legends, including actress Jennifer Coolidge, who was Emerson’s commencement speaker this spring.

Emerson alumni expressed their excitement about the new school.

“Emerson was the first step in my journey to becoming a screenwriter and filmmaker, so it’s exciting to have this new school established as a portal for aspiring storytellers everywhere.”

Adele Lim ’96, LHD ’22
Emerson trustee and filmmaker

“Emerson was the first step in my journey to becoming a screenwriter and filmmaker, so it’s exciting to have this new school established as a portal for aspiring storytellers everywhere,” said Adele Lim ‘96, LHD ‘22, Emerson trustee and a director, producer and screenwriter known for co-writing the groundbreaking film Crazy Rich Asians, developing the animated film Raya and the Last Dragon, and directing and producing the 2023 comedy Joy Ride.

The creation of SOF is more than a new name, said Emerson trustee Seth Grahame-Smith ‘98, writer and film producer of the novels and films Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.

“It’s a statement of the renewed focus and energy being poured into making those programs better than they’ve ever been, and making sure Emerson is built for the future,” Grahame-Smith said.

Emerson has produced dozens of notable alumni in the film and television industry, including producers Pamela Abdy, Randy Barbato, Kevin Bright, Vin Di Bona, Doug Herzog and Norman Lear; comedians and actors, including Bill Burr, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Coolidge, Jay Leno, Denis Leary, Iliza Shlesinger, and Henry Winkler; directors, including Oscar winners Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (The Daniels); and writers such as Stefani Robinson and Gary Grossman.

Trustee Doug Herzog ’81, LHD ’08, believes Emerson’s greatest strength is its ability to attract and inspire up and coming storytellers, performers, and industry leaders.

“Emerson has always been one of the nation’s premier film and television programs, and this new school takes that legacy to the next level,” Herzog said.

The new school becomes the third Emerson school, joining the School of Communication and the School of the Arts. Emerson has offered Los Angeles-based courses since 1984 and opened its Sunset Boulevard campus in 2014. The ELA campus serves all Emerson majors in the School of Arts and the School of Communication, with opportunities, for instance, in sports communication, public relations, journalism and BCE.  Students also benefit from the College’s campus in the Netherlands and other global programs.   

As VMA departs the School of the Arts, the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies will join that School, alongside the College’s strong programs in Writing, Literature, and Publishing, and Performing Arts. Jan Roberts-Breslin will serve as the Interim Dean of the School of the Arts, and Amy Ansell will continue to lead the Institute, also serving in an advisory role to the Provost, helping to oversee these transitions.