Emerson College (BA/BFA) Reviews & Admissions Statistics

3.25 star(s) 3.25 Stars (4 Reviews)
School Website
http://www.emerson.edu/visual-and-media-arts/undergraduate-programs/film
Degrees Offered
  1. 4 Year BA
  2. 4 Year BFA
Concentrations
  1. Film & Television Production
  2. Film Studies
Tuition Range
$50k to $60k

Film School details

Application Fee
$65
SAT or ACT Required?
  1. Yes
Portfolio Required?
  1. No
Notification of Decision
Early Decision I, Early Action I - Mid-December
Early Decision II, Early Action II - by February 1
Regular Decision - April 1
At Emerson’s Department of Visual and Media Arts, the process of transforming your vision into reality is fast-paced, exciting, and rewarding. You’ll dive right in and start working with talented mentors, collaborators, and crew members from day one.

We're all about learning by doing. Is your medium film or video? The Internet or animation? Studio television or audio? Are you drawn to fictional narratives or documentaries? Commercial or experimental projects? Writing, directing, or post-production? Whatever your passion, our department offers unlimited opportunities to grow, collaborate, and thrive—plus access to sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities that help your creativity take flight.

You’ll learn from experienced faculty members who are teachers, doers, and industry players, collaborate with talented classmates, and benefit from studying in a city that ranks among the top five U.S. media markets. Boston’s prominence as an increasingly popular location for major feature film shoots provides limitless opportunities for internships, jobs, and freelance assignments. The area also boasts dozens of theaters, television and radio stations, film festivals, and art museums and galleries that offer outlets for your work. Once you graduate, you’ll benefit from Emerson’s extensive alumni network, which spans every medium—and every market—in the entertainment industry.

*Portfolio not required but encouraged
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Latest Film School Reviews

Go Lions
Reviewed by: Alumni
Degree: BA/BS/BFA
Pros
  • community - finding the good people is possible and makes it worth it
  • networking - the "emerson mafia" is real and great for career help
  • experience - I felt prepared for the industry after classes
  • location - boston can be <3
Cons
  • cost! would not have gone if I didn't have a scholarship
  • cringe vibes but that comes from most liberal arts programs
  • lots of pretentious rich white students.... but not all of them!
  • it has the main cons that all major private institutions have
I loved my time at Emerson. I was a Screenwriting concentration, and once I got to the level where I could really take writing classes, I sunk my teeth in. The key to Emerson is drive - you get out what you put in. It's expensive (luckily I was in the Honors College and had a great scholarship through them) so you have to make it count. Emerson can have the toxic hustle-culture mentality of Who Is Working The Hardest, but it doesn't have to be that way. Attach yourself to extra circulars and projects that you care about and go for quality over quantity. The friends and networking opportunities are huge. Since Emerson I have had two internships and a job, all of which I got through the school. I also loved living in Boston for college, especially since I knew I'd likely end up in LA anyway. Students definitely come out prepared for the real world.
Affordability
2.00 star(s)
Alumni Network
5.00 star(s)
Campus
4.00 star(s)
Career Assistance
4.00 star(s)
Coursework
4.00 star(s)
Facilities & Equipment
4.00 star(s)
Professors
4.00 star(s)
Scholarships
4.00 star(s)
Anonymous recommends this film school
Last edited by a moderator:
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Reactions: Chris W
Go if you have a sizable scholarship
Reviewed by: Alumni
Degree: BA/BS/BFA
Pros
  • Decent alumni network
  • Solid cinematography courses
  • Good access to film equipment
  • Campus location is very convenient, being in the heart of Boston
  • Office of international student affairs can be friendly and helpful
Cons
  • Lack of ethnic diversity
  • Lack of gender diversity in production classes; the ultra-masculine "film-bro" culture doesn't help either
  • Can't honestly remember a class or professor that left a lasting impression
  • The only good thing about ELA is the fact that you'll be in LA, but in hindsight I would've just dropped out and moved there
  • Orientation week can be very overwhelming and cringe-worthy
  • The price of tuition does not feel justified
  • Social life is very reminiscent of high school, with a hierarchy and everything (Don't know if that's specific to Emerson or if all undergraduate programs are like that)
Ultimately glad I went, but my overall experience at Emerson felt very lackluster. The courses were good, but nothing really worth sinking almost 150,000 for.
Affordability
2.00 star(s)
Alumni Network
4.00 star(s)
Campus
3.00 star(s)
Career Assistance
3.00 star(s)
Coursework
3.00 star(s)
Facilities & Equipment
2.00 star(s)
Professors
3.00 star(s)
Scholarships
3.00 star(s)
Anonymous is undecided about recommending this film school
One member found this helpful.
Last edited by a moderator:
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Reactions: Deborahevents
Reviewed by: Alumni
Pros
  • Boston is a great college town
  • Have built an okay network there, a foundation for the network I have now
  • Awesome study abroad programs -- the Castle, Prague, Greece, etc
  • Employment office does try to help you prepare for job hunting, they can look over your resumes & host mock interviews
  • You have access to Emerson's film equipment (but you're often not really taught how to use them because you can only check the EQ out if you're shooting a class project)
Cons
  • Campus isn't super accessible for students w disabilities
  • Not a lot of great professors, just a lot of average ones (have definitely had a professor advertise his book to us in a lecture before)
  • My whole experience felt half-baked
  • ELA is useless, internships aren't guaranteed and the classes they have there are awful + the campus is GAUDY
  • You really need to join clubs/extracurriculars to build your network/get experience but you end up having to be interviewed by your peers to get in; weird environment
  • Can only take 4 classes per semester -- rip off?
  • Dorms are disgusting
  • Transfers are treated lesser than 4 year students
  • You have to take a lot of useless classes that Emerson requires to make you a "more well rounded student" but you can only take 4 classes per semester so there's less time for more concentrated classes
  • Some professors are just salty that they're teaching film students rather than making films themselves
I went to Emerson for my undergrad for VMA (Visual media arts, just generally the film program) and...it was a lot of fun, I certainly learned some things, but it's truly what you make of it. There are plenty of really good professors that care and want to share their knowledge with you, but a lot of classes felt useless to me. You're also only able to take 4 classes per semester which felt like a rip off. You do have smaller class sizes and Boston is an awesome college town, but I'd be lying if I said that Emerson doesn't have it's flaws. Take advantage of all the extracurriculars and clubs, sometimes you learn more from those than actual classes. Like they have comedy shows you can write/act in and be able to work in a studio, they also have the EVVYs award show you can work on (I didn't but I wish I can been a part of a big production like that). I didn't have a concentration when I was there because I didn't know what I really wanted to do yet, so I feel like I lost time while I was there (I also transferred in as a sophomore and they don't treat transfers the same as freshmen, plus you cannot attend the Castle study abroad program). The Boston classes feel like a lot of film history and not a lot of practical stuff unless you find that diamond in the rough production class (only had about 2 production classes where I actually learned things, otherwise you just kinda have to volunteer to be on student film sets).

Luckily, I was able to go to the Prague summer study abroad program and study at FAMU (the world's oldest film school) and produce my own short film, that alone made the entire Emerson experience worth it; great people and great professors there. I also did the ELA program on their Los Angeles campus my final semester and got an internship (you really have to get your own internship, not a lot of help from their network), the classes at ELA were ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE and USELESS to me, but I did end up getting a job out of my internship -- only a handful of people actually get work out of their internships so don't bank on this. The job was AWFUL (I was an assistant in a small production house and they treated me like shit, plus I felt like I was wasting my time there because I wasn't learning about preproduction, I was just an admin) and I left after a few months. I left LA altogether bc it's a terrible environment and moved in NYC, which has a much better film industry in my opinion because there's less competition than LA. However, the "Emerson Mafia" didn't help me land ANY jobs in NYC, I got all of those on my own and was successful there (before Covid rip).

This was just MY experience with Emerson, luckily I was only there 2 and a half years since I was a transfer so I got what I wanted out of it (kinda, it felt half-baked at times), but people that went there all 4 years absolutely hated it. It's a very small community but it's realistic to predict your future career in film in the way that everything relies on your reputation, if you work well with others, and if you have talent. But there's definitely a popularity hierarchy at a school this small, you really do have to find your niche. There were a lot of people who truly utilized all of Emerson's resources and came out with a lot of great student films but plenty of people just scraped by with nothing to show for it.

*note: I came in as a transfer so I wasn't able to get into the dorms, I had to move into a shitty and expensive apt near campus at the last minute bc Emerson didn't help me AT ALL.

Not the best faculty, looking back, just some diamonds in the rough. I'm sure the same things can be said for any small arts school. But they do have an employment office that helps you with resume building and interviewing, they still helped me after I graduated which was nice.
Affordability
2.00 star(s)
Alumni Network
3.00 star(s)
Campus
4.00 star(s)
Career Assistance
4.00 star(s)
Coursework
3.00 star(s)
Facilities & Equipment
3.00 star(s)
Professors
3.00 star(s)
Scholarships
1.00 star(s)
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Film School information

Category
Massachusetts
Added by
FilmSchool.org
Views
11,259
Watchers
6
Reviews
4
Last update
Rating
3.25 star(s) 4 ratings

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