Curriculum

The Certificate in Documentary Media Studies is awarded for successful completion of six courses—five required and one elective, for a total of 18 credits. During one year in residence, students produce, direct, and edit an original short documentary video based on a subject in or near New York City. All students are required to attend bi-weekly Doc Talk events, which feature filmmakers, editors, sound designers, indie lawyers, festival programmers, distributors, researchers, archivists, and others.

Program Schedule

Classes and other program-related activities occupy a minimum of three weekdays each week. In addition, students must devote a significant amount of time outside of class to their documentary project and to assigned readings and papers. In the fall semester, production shooting typically includes weekend days as well. (We recommend that students with jobs not work more than ten hours weekly.)

Students typically work in crews of three and contribute to their crewmates' documentary projects as directors of photography, sound recordists, or production assistants. Students have access to state-of-the-art cameras, lighting kits, sound kits, and editing stations. All necessary technical skills are taught as part of the core production. The production period concludes in December; post-production is the focus of the spring semester.