Indiana University Bloomington - The Media School

Website
https://mediaschool.indiana.edu/index.html
Location
601 E Kirkwood Ave, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
Degrees Offered
  1. 4 Year BA
  2. 4 Year BFA
Concentrations
  1. Film Studies / Critical Studies
  2. Film & Television Production
  3. Journalism
  4. Media Arts
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Film School details

The Indiana University Media School is a high-tech, multi-disciplinary powerhouse that fuses Big Ten resources with elite production facilities, offering students a unique "script-to-screen" education that spans from traditional 16mm celluloid filmmaking to cutting-edge virtual production and a premier "Semester in LA" industry pipeline.
Undergraduate Application Requirements
  1. Common Application Accepted
  2. Official High School Transcripts
  3. SAT/ACT Optional
  4. Portfolio Not Required
Undergrad Application Fee
$65
Graduate Application Requirements
  1. 3 Letters of Recommendation
  2. Official Transcripts
  3. TOEFL / IELTS (International Only)
  4. Personal Essay / Statement of Purpose
  5. School-Specific Short Answer Essay(s)
  6. Resume/CV
  7. Writing Samples
Graduate Application Fee
$70

Quick Facts

Nonprofit/For-Profit?: Nonprofit
Collaboration Model:
Cross-discipline collaboration encouraged
Residency Requirements:
On-campus required
Instruction Format:
Primarily In-Person

Deadlines, Decisions, & Enrollment

Undergraduate Deadlines:

Early Action: November 1
Regular Decision: February 1

Graduate Deadlines:

December 15

See FULL Admissions Statistics

Tuition & Cost of Attendance

Undergraduate Tuition (Annual): $10k to 30k

Scholarships

Copyrights & Production

Copyright Ownership:
Unknown
Start of Production Classes (Undergraduate):
Unknown
Production Funding:
Unknown
Avg. Out-of-Pocket Production Cost: Unknown

Equipment Access

Equipment Checkout Access:
Unknown
Equipment Access Tiers:
Entry-level gear for lower-class; advanced gear for upper-class
Mandatory Equipment & Lab Fees:
Unknown
Production Safety & Compliance:
Unknown / Not Specified
Production Insurance Coverage:
Unknown

Facilities

Filmmaking Facilities:
16mm Film Editing Equipment Dedicated Post-Production Labs Private Editing Suites Screening Rooms Sound Stage(s)

Facilities & Equipment Details:

Both Franklin Hall — our primary home — and the Radio-Television Building feature state-of-the-art equipment and labs, along with plenty of collaborative space. You can take virtual tours of the buildings to see everything The Media School offers.

From podcast studios to a soundstage and game design labs to a radio broadcast studio, students can access elite facilities to gain hands-on experience with professional-level equipment.

Cameras & Equipment

Camera Types Available:
DSLR / Mirrorless Cameras Professional Camcorders Digital Cinema Cameras Film Cameras (Super 8) Film Cameras (16mm) Virtual Production / Motion Capture Cameras
Camera Brands Available:
ARRI Bolex Canon Sony
Lens Access:
Photo / DSLR Lenses Professional Cinema Primes Mixed / Entry-Level Kits
Lighting & Grip Equipment Available:
Basic Location Lighting Kits (Portable LED or tungsten kits for small-scale shoots) Professional LED Systems (Modern, high-output color-controllable fixtures and tube lights) Studio Lighting Grid (Fixed overhead lighting systems in a soundstage environment) Standard Grip Package (Stands, flags, nets, sandbags, and mounting hardware) Manual Camera Movement (Dollies, track, and sliders) Specialized Camera Movement (Jibs, cranes, or stabilized vest systems like Steadicam)

Software Taught

Editing & Finishing Software Taught:
Avid Media Composer Adobe Premiere Pro DaVinci Resolve Final Cut Pro
VFX, Motion & 3D Software Taught:
Adobe Creative Cloud

Internship Opportunities

Internship Opportunities:
Career Services Support Internships for Academic Credit Semester-in-LA / NY Program Global / International Internships

Career Assistance

Job Placement & Career Services:
Career Development Training

Alumni Employment Data

Alumni Awards

Alumni Success

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Disclaimer & Data Accuracy

The information on this page is correct to the best of our knowledge as of the last update. Please verify all deadlines and requirements directly with the school, as they may have changed.

  • Financial Data: Statistics such as "Average Debt" and "Scholarship Awards" are self-reported or pulled from public records and vary significantly based on individual student profiles.
  • Due Diligence: We are not responsible for missed deadlines or rejected applications. Always confirm final costs, faculty status, and program details with the institution.

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Latest Film School Reviews

wardroberts
IU Media School has it all
Reviewed by: Alumni
Class Year: 2000
Degree: BA/BS/BFA
Concentration: Film Production & Drama
Pros
  • Friendly, experienced & knowledgeable faculty
  • State of the art facilities
  • Wide array of concentrations
  • Gorgeous campus
  • Semester in LA Program
  • Large & helpful alumni base in film industry
LOVE IU, LOVE the Media School. Great mix of classroom learning & hands on experience. The Semester in LA Program is amazing… internships by day, class in the evenings. Best possible way to learn about the entertainment industry while making invaluable connections. IU Bloomington is arguably the most beautiful campus in the nation, and the Media School is located at THE most picturesque spot… right next to the iconic Sample Gates. All in the ideal college experience.
Affordability
4.00 star(s)
Alumni Network
5.00 star(s)
Campus
5.00 star(s)
Career Assistance
4.00 star(s)
Collaborative Culture
5.00 star(s)
Coursework
5.00 star(s)
Facilities & Equipment
5.00 star(s)
Professors
5.00 star(s)
O
Owen Klee’s IU Film Program review
Reviewed by: Alumni
Class Year: 2026
Degree: BA/BS/BFA
Concentration: Cinema and Media Arts - Narrative Filmmaking
Pros
  • Hands on set experience + slack groups available for hiring PA positions professional on campus. Many opportunities for filming other schools/advertising
  • Gear available to rent
  • Professors who have worked in the industry
  • Specific concentration classes for multi or single cam film
  • IU live sporting events gave hands on experience with professionals in fast paced environments
  • Huge independent student groups used for staffing films.
  • Beautiful community for filmmaking - national parks nearby and unique locations that are easily accessible.
  • Semester/summer in LA internship program provides opportunities to establish yourself in LA
  • Huge alumni base anywhere in the US
  • Many lectures/weekend intensives with industry executives provided by Barry Snyder and Michael uslan, two very committed IU alumni in educating the IU film youth.
Cons
  • Thesis projects get very minimal funding & have max requirements for runtime.
  • Intro classes needed to be taken regardless of concentration. I never needed/wanted to take multi camera - would’ve preferred to take more narrative instead
  • Gear selection was limited - gear insurance is not provided to alumni
  • It seemed the program was based towards directors, screenwriters & cinematographers only. Would have loved more producing classes.
Overall, I had a wonderful experience at the Indiana University film program. While it was at the very beginning of the BFA program when I arrived, I was very happy to see them taking stances and believing in their filmmakers. It was often that professors would give us their personal gear when we couldn’t get it from the rental officers, or reach out to live event programmers to get us on field experience for basketball and football televised games. There was a very heavy influence in narrative filmmaking for the local independent student community, and even when classes didn’t have project assignments, there were always students making commercials, music, videos, and short films for themselves or for other entrepreneurial students. There was so much opportunity for collaboration at Indiana, and with so much help. It was very easy if you were a go-getter. The semester in LA internship program really opened my eyes to what I was capable of and Isabella Madejski continues to be a strong supporter of the alumni in LA community. While I had lots of setbacks in Film at IU; issues with renting gear personal projects and not being able to get certain equipment due to not being enrolled in classes, these are all issues that I would run into at exceptionally performing Film schools all over the country. What IU has that others don’t, is the natural and raw beauty of Indiana. I never ran into a single experience where homeowners, farm owners, restaurant owners of Bloomington, or the school ever gave pushback on locations for filming or trouble when it came to insurance policies. We shot in national forests, local farms ,and on campus restaurants with ease every time. I do feel that they missed out on teaching me necessary things like how to get insurance how to make a production company or other legal issues that you deal with when films get bigger budgets - like unions. The program pushed creativity and innovation as a director or cinematographer, over it being a business, which I understand is very important and necessary. After graduation me and over 15 students in my class, all moved to LA. Every year more and more students come and see the possibility that just because we are from Indiana, it does not mean we cannot thrive in the Film world. We’re such a tight knit community, everyone knows everyone and we all love working on each other’s projects. A beautiful film scene with a Midwest heart. I would not be where I am without this program.
Affordability
3.00 star(s)
Alumni Network
5.00 star(s)
Campus
5.00 star(s)
Career Assistance
3.00 star(s)
Collaborative Culture
5.00 star(s)
Coursework
3.00 star(s)
Facilities & Equipment
3.00 star(s)
Professors
2.00 star(s)
Scholarships
2.00 star(s)
Read more…

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Film School information

Category
Indiana
Added by
audrie.osterman
Views
1,810
Watchers
1
Reviews
2
Last update
Rating
5.00 star(s) 2 reviews
Location
601 E. Kirkwood Ave Bloomington IN 47405
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