THE MISSION
The mission of the Department of Cinema and Television Arts (formerly Radio-Television-Film) is to instill in students the knowledge, expertise, and creative skills that will help them to achieve their goals in the fields of radio, television, film, or multimedia, and to promote the critical, analytical, and conceptual thinking that will enrich their academic and professional careers.
The Cinema and Television Arts major provides students with academic and professional training for careers in the entertainment industries and educational/corporate media fields. The major prepares students for creative and management careers in commercial or educational radio, television, film, and multimedia positions, as well as related scholarly areas. The program is strongly committed to a balance between theoretical and practical education.
Our full-time faculty number is sixteen, and is a healthy mix of academics and professionals, responsible over the years for having written, directed or produced approximately 5,000 feature motion pictures, television shows, stage plays or industrial films. They have functioned in every capacity from screenwriter to executive producer to network vice president, and have received most of the industry's major honors: the Emmy, Peabody, Cindy, Golden Mike, and Voice of America awards, among others.
The College's proximity and close ties to the area's entertainment industry have allowed the Department use of a variety of industry locations and facilities, and make it possible for us to offer student internships undreamed of outside of Southern California. Our annual showing of senior student films, held at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences or the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, continues to attract accolades from leading film professionals. The hosts of these programs have been Academy Award-winning directors and producers, including Robert Wise and William Friedkin. Several of our courses are regularly taught on the lot at CBS Studio City, and the Department's annual banquet has been held on the Seinfeld Street at the studio. Additionally, each semester we offer more than 100 internships at a variety of entertainment companies. Our internship program is acknowledged to be among the finest in the country. We have placed students in some of the best radio, television and film companies on the West Coast. CTVA students have earned an excellent reputation in the media world and are in much demand. To quote an internship host: "Our average is excellent." A high percentage of our internship students find paying positions with their host companies. Many others find related work soon after graduation based on recommendations or contacts made as a result of their internships.
The Department of Cinema and Television Arts has been evaluated by a distinguished panel of outside educators who were "overwhelmed by the potential of Department of Cinema and Television Arts at California State University, Northridge, to expand its current academic influence beyond the boundaries of Southern California to verily reaching around the globe with its educational impact". We anticipate the move into our new building, complete with state-of-the-art studios, classrooms, post production facilities and 130-seat screening room, will be a large step towards reaching our future potential. The CTVA Department is affiliated with the University Film and Video Association, the Society for Cinema Studies, the Broadcast Education Association and the National Association of Broadcasters.
DEGREES OFFERED
B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts (seven options); M.A. in Screenwriting.
Click here to view a complete description of courses offered by CTVA.
LOWER DIVISION REQUIRED COURSES
Students are accepted into the department as Pre-CTVA majors. After completion of the Pre-CTVA course requirements, students may petition for entry into the Option area for which they are quali
SPECIAL GRADE REQUIREMENT
Students admitted to the upper division CTVA major must complete the 33 upper division units with a grade of C or better in each course.
The CTVA undergraduate major prepares students in academic and creative aspects of the media disciplines through study in one out of seven options. Click on an option to view the required courses for that program of study.
Articulation Agreements
(courses at the local Junior Colleges that are transferable for credit to the CTVA major and pre-major)
Four-Year and Five-Year Degree Programs