Admissions

APPLICATION DEADLINE for FALL 2025 Admission: March 15th, 2025  
HS Applicants - February 15th, 2025

City College's BFA Film Program is one of the oldest film schools in the U.S. and the only public institution in New York City to offer a BFA in Film & Video. The competitive program picks twenty-five students a year to follow a rich, intensive two-year curriculum with emphasis on single camera fiction and documentary production.

Please note that this is a second-tier admission program with a separate admissions process from City College. Fall classes are not repeated in the spring so students can apply only once a year in April to start the following fall.

To apply students must have a video portfolio, a personal statement, three college level prerequisites and a writing sample. Most students enter their junior year, some enter in their sophomore year.  We do not accept students fresh out of H.S.

Please address any questions about the application process to David Ranghelli, Assistant to the Chair & Coordinator of BFA in Film & Video Program Admissions at:
dranghelli@ccny.cuny.edu | 212-650-5726

The BFA in Film & Video is a second-tier admission program that takes only 25 students a year. Interest in film and admittance to City College does not guarantee entrance into the program. All students must apply separately to the program in April for admittance the following September. There are no admissions spring semester. 

Please note that students admitted to City College as "BFA Film majors" in their freshman year have only provisional status so they can take the 3 pre-requisite courses. Students must then apply to the program and be accepted in order to continue as a Film & Video major.

To apply students must submit a creative portfolio, write a personal statement and have taken three pre-requisite courses MCA10500 (Intro to Media Production), MCA 12100 (Intro to Film Studies) and MCA10100 (Intro to Media Studies).

Transfer students from other media programs may receive transfer credits for all or some of the pre-requisite courses subsequent to a transcript evaluation done by the BFA program.

If you are not a student at CCNY or you are a transfer student, please see an adviser in the Office of Admissions. (Transfer students read detailed information at the bottom of this page).

Email us at  BFAFilm@ccny.cuny.edu  to receive our Application Form. The Application contains all the instructions you need to prepare it and submit it to the BFA Film and Video Program.

When ready to submit, please keep in mind:

• Save your application in the original Microsoft WORD format. Do not send it as a PDF, Pages, or any other format.
   
• Please be sure the YouTube or Vimeo links that you listed are accessible and viewable.
   
• Create an e-mail and in the subject line write: BFA Application 2023 With Your Last Name.
   
• Attach your application, academic transcripts, essays or script sample (only for fiction track applicants), and any other supportive documents to the e-mail and send it to  BFAFilm@ccny.cuny.edu .

Admissions Criteria and Creative Portfolio

Students are evaluated and admitted to the program based on the following criteria:

1- Creative Portfolio: The creative portfolio should consist of film and video work that you have had major creative input on. Having a polished, professionally created portfolio is not a criterion but material should demonstrate basic technical ability, a sense of visual storytelling and if possible, your unique voice and visual style. Material for the video portfolio can come from projects created in CCNY’s MCA 10500, in other courses, programs or schools, or produced outside of school. The portfolio must not exceed 10 minutes and it should represent your best work. Quality of work, not quantity, is valued most.

2- Personal Statement: In one page or less, tell us a little bit about yourself. What makes you want to be a visual storyteller? What unique perspective do you bring, what stories do you want to tell and why? Are you interested in the documentary or fiction track? Include any relevant personal, academic, or professional information that will give us a greater understanding of who you are and your potential to succeed in the program.

3- Essay Writing and Screenwriting Samples: Two-page writing sample (class paper or academic essay). The essay should be a composition you wrote for one of your academic courses and submitted, with proper essay formatting (MLA or Chicago Style).

4- Short Screenplay Sample (for fiction track applicants only): The sample short screenplay should be properly formatted and focus on a story with a main character who needs or wants to solve a situation by taking action.

5- Grade: "B" or better in MCA 10100, MCA 10500 and MCA 12100. 

6- GPA: A cumulative G.P.A. of 2.7 (B-). Your GPA is determined after grades are posted at the end of the spring semester.  You will be submitting your application before those grades are turned in, so simply put down your current cumulative GPA. The BFA program will double check your academic transcript once spring grades are submitted.

7- Interview

Transfer students must also apply to and be accepted by City College. This is a separate application. For information about applying to City College, please visit: https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/admissions/transfer-students

Prior to applying to the program: Transfer students need to make sure that film/video classes they have taken are equivalent to the three pre-requisite courses needed to apply to the program.

Students should first get a transcript evaluation of their general education courses through the academic advisors in the Division of Humanities and Arts. Then if you are transferring from another film and video program or have taken courses related to the BFA program, you must get this course work evaluated by an academic adviser in the BFA program to determine if any transfer credits can be applied.  All students must have the three pre-requisites (or approved equivalents) in order to qualify for admission.