No Introductory Course may be substituted for any other course at any level.
First Year
- Fall Quarter
- Winter Quarter
- CP 440
- CP 442 (2 credit hours)
- CP 444 (2 credit hours)
- SCWR 442
- Spring Quarter
Second Year
- Fall Quarter
- Winter Quarter
- Spring Quarter
- CP 450
- CP 452
- CP 480
- CP 499
MFA Thesis
Students in the MFA for Creative Producing will be required to complete a final thesis project that involves creating a professional creative report for a feature-length film or television series. The thesis project will entail optioning and developing source material such as an original screenplay or teleplay and creating a comprehensive report detailing the potential talent attachments, financing plan, and distribution strategies, as well as a detailed development path to production. In addition, all MFA candidates will craft a professional story pitch for their individual thesis projects. The purpose for the thesis is for the students to have a viable project they can work to set up at a production company or produce on their own independently after graduation.
Student’s MFA Advisor Committee
All MFA candidates will be assigned two thesis committee members plus their thesis instructor. These three faculty members will be the MFA Advisor Committee. The MFA Advisor Committee will offer suggestions and feedback on the student's thesis report and help guide the student during the final phase of the program. They will ultimately judge the final thesis project as pass or fail.
Thesis Timeline
In the fall quarter of the second year, students will enroll in CP 511 Creative Producing Thesis I, in which they will select, option and begin to develop their thesis project. Students will enroll in CP 512 during the winter quarter, in which they will be expected to create their professional reports for their selected thesis script. The candidate will not be able to enroll in CP 512 unless they have optioned their thesis script or teleplay by the beginning of the winter quarter.
The first draft of the thesis project must be submitted to the Advisor Committee by the first day of the spring quarter. Producers will get notes from their committee during week 2 or week 3 of the spring quarter. The final draft of the thesis report must be sent to the committee by the last day of mid-term exams for the spring quarter. The committees will meet during the following weeks of the spring quarter to evaluate thesis projects. In addition to the written thesis report, the candidate is also required to present their project via a story pitch session with their thesis committee members, which will serve as their defense of their project. Thesis chairs will then notify each student as to whether they received a "pass," or a "fail" decision based on a points system outlined in the thesis rubric. If a student passes, they must then complete their coursework in order to graduate. If a student does not pass, the candidate must resubmit their thesis by an assigned due date determined by the thesis advisor. The re-defense will take place no later than Friday of week 10 of the spring quarter. If the student passes, they can move on to graduation assuming all courses are complete.
If the student has a second non-pass, they must enroll in CP 701 Thesis Continuation (a zero-credit hour and zero cost class) to remain enrolled for the summer session after completion of the year two coursework. The reworked professional report is due by the last day of final exams for Summer I Session. The defense will take place before the end of the Summer II Session. If the student passes, they may apply for the next round of graduation. If the student does not pass, they may elect to speak with the advising office about applying their course credit hours to an M.S. in Cinema Production degree.