New film degree helps students hone in on careers in multimedia storytelling

With 10 years of training multimedia storytellers already to its name, the Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center at Liberty University has enhanced its ability to prepare students for their desired niche in the industry by creating the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Film Production and Creative Development, a professional-level degree that launched this fall.

Students now have the opportunity to take classes in one of nine disciplines tailoring their education to different facets of filmmaking. These disciplines include producing, directing, cinematography, screenwriting, production design, sound design, editing, showrunning, and visual effects.

Students with multiple interests can customize their degree by selecting classes from more than one focus area.

“We formalized those specializations we were already doing, and now students can go through our program and, when they get into the upper-level courses, have an instructor who has that predominant skillset and can train the students in that specific area,” said Stephan Schultze, executive director of cinematic arts. “The goal of this is really to make students professionals in their chosen area.”

The department will continue to provide its two-year immersive cohort education in which cinematic arts students work together on a professional-level feature film project in their junior year and create their own short film during their senior year.

With state-of-the-art equipment and a faculty of active professionals, the Cinematic Arts, Zaki Gordon Center prepares students for careers in movies, TV, and more while also mentoring them to impact their industry and culture for Christ. In its 10-year history, the department has completed eight feature films and one television pilot with crews largely made up of current students and professionals, some of whom are successful alumni who have returned to share their wisdom and contacts with students.

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Development

Areas of Focus

• Producing
• Directing
• Cinematography
• Screenwriting
• Production Design
• Sound Design
• Editing
• Showrunning
• Visual Effects