Aug 01, 2013
Hollywood Reporter ranks DePaul among top 25 film schools
Hollywood Reporter ranks DePaul among top 25 film schools
CHICAGO — DePaul University was recognized as one of the country’s best academic institutions for film and media education by The Hollywood Reporter. It was ranked 21st out of the top 25 film programs.
In developing their third annual film school rankings, The Hollywood Reporter consulted industry professionals, asking them to rate graduate and undergraduate film programs nationwide. In addition, more than 600 online ballots were cast by members of the Writers Guild of America West, American Cinema Editors, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which also were factored into the final rankings.
“DePaul’s cinema program is relatively young, so to be included among the nation’s top university film programs is a great accolade. It’s a testament to the hands-on learning experience we strive to give our students every day,” said David Miller, dean of DePaul’s College of Computing and Digital Media, where the School of Cinema and Interactive Media is housed.
This past April, DePaul announced an alliance with Cinespace Chicago, the city’s premier movie studio, to create a learning environment that provides students with film and television production experience in the midst of a working studio.
Under the arrangement, Cinespace Chicago provides an exclusive cinema production stage and design space for DePaul’s cinema students— only a few doors down from where the TV show “Chicago Fire” and several other productions and movies are being filmed this summer.
The university’s production space has a ground-level 20,000-square-foot footprint, including a 10,000-square-foot soundproof stage and a second-level instructional support space. Additional space houses a prop shop, offices and set storage.
“DePaul students are experiencing a truly unique opportunity, where their classroom — their dedicated stage — is on an active studio lot,”said Matthew Irvine, director of the school and an associate professor who teaches screenwriting and directing.
Miller noted, “Our cinema program develops complete filmmakers, with experience ranging from screenwriting through post-production and distribution. With this Cinespace alliance, our students will have access to the latest professional film and television production equipment on a stage located in the center of one of the largest film and TV studios in the country.”
About 600 of the 1,000 students enrolled in DePaul’s School of Cinema and Interactive Media are film majors. The school offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in digital cinema. Graduate students may choose Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation, cinema and screenwriting or a Master of Science degree in cinema production.
Film students at DePaul University shoot a scene under the direction of Matt Irvine, right, director of the School of Cinema and Interactive Media, which was just ranked by The Hollywood Reporter among the nation’s top 25 film schools. (Photo by Jeff Carrion)