Syracuse University S.I. Newhouse School

Overview

Syracuse University operates two parallel film and media programs: the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (broadcast, television, radio, and digital media) and the College of Visual and Performing Arts (BFA and MFA in Film). Students at both schools share production facilities, equipment, and a semester-long Los Angeles program at the Dick Clark Los Angeles Program center in North Hollywood.

Undergraduate tuition for the 2025-26 academic year is $66,580 for full-time students (12-19 credits per semester), with total cost of attendance estimated at $87,549 including housing, meals, fees, books, and personal expenses. The 2026-27 tuition increases to $69,180, with total cost of attendance rising to approximately $95,676 for students living on campus. Syracuse allocated more than $391 million to financial aid and scholarships in its 2025-26 budget, a 7% increase over the prior year.

Students who want a university-based media education with access to both broadcast journalism infrastructure and independent film production equipment, plus a structured LA immersion semester, should consider Syracuse. Students seeking a conservatory-style program focused exclusively on film production from day one should look at dedicated film schools like AFI, Chapman, or UNCSA instead.

Programs Offered

Film and media degrees at Syracuse are split across two schools:

College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) - Department of Film and Media Arts:

• BFA in Film - a four-year undergraduate production program covering directing, cinematography, editing, sound design, and screenwriting. Students work with both digital and 16mm/Super 16mm film formats.
• MFA in Film - a graduate production program requiring 60 credits, with concentrations in directing, screenwriting, and documentary. Estimated total tuition for the MFA is approximately $120,900 over two years at $2,015 per credit, plus VPA program fees of $450 per semester.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications:

• BS in Television, Radio, and Film (TRF) - a broader media program that includes film production within a television, radio, and digital media context. Newhouse charges a program fee of $200 per semester for first-year TRF students, scaling to $385 per semester for seniors.
• MA in Media Studies - a scholarly program in media theory and criticism with a one-time program fee of $248.
• MFA in Film and Television - a 36-credit graduate program with an estimated total cost of $76,687 including tuition, fees, and health insurance across summer, fall, and spring terms.

Facilities and Equipment

The Department of Film and Media Arts is housed in the Dorothea Ilgen Shaffer Art Building on main campus. The Equipment Cage manages over 14,000 assets available for student checkout. The inventory includes:

• 4K and 6K digital film cameras from Canon, Sony, and Blackmagic Design
• Zeiss and Canon cinema lenses
• 16mm and Super 16mm film cameras: Aaton, Arri, and Bolex
• Location lighting and grip gear from ARRI, Aputure, Quasar Science, Kino Flo, Dedolight, and Matthews
• Animation studio with Cintiq workstations (2D, 3D, stop-motion)
• Post-production suite with finishing room and editing lab
• Cinematography stage and green screen studio (recently renovated)
• Sound mixing room, sound recording room, and color grading facilities with Flanders Scientific professional broadcast monitors
• Non-linear editing running Adobe Creative Cloud, DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer, Logic, ProTools, and Final Draft

Los Angeles Program

Syracuse University operates the Dick Clark Los Angeles Program at 5250 Lankershim Boulevard in the North Hollywood Arts District. The 22,000-square-foot facility opened in 2024 and includes classrooms, screening and production spaces, a sound stage, two finishing suites, and color grading facilities.

The VPA LA Semester places film majors in Los Angeles for a spring semester during their senior year. Students complete FIL 520 (Film Practicum: Professional Practices) and FIL 420 (Filmmaking: Senior Project) while interning at production companies, studios, and post houses. The practicum course brings in industry panelists and takes students onsite to sets, sound recording studios, camera and lighting rental houses, and production design mills.

Newhouse LA runs a parallel program for TRF students with its own internship placements and coursework. The LA program fee is $1,500, with an optional housing fee estimated at $6,000.

Tuition and Financial Aid

For the 2025-26 academic year:

Graduate tuition is $2,015 per credit for all Newhouse and VPA programs. The university offers merit scholarships and need-based financial aid. Prospective students can access the net price calculator on the Syracuse University financial aid website. Detailed tuition breakdowns are available in the 2025-26 Tuition and Fees Bulletin.

Cost of living in Syracuse is significantly lower than Los Angeles or New York City. Median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Syracuse is approximately $1,200 per month, compared to $2,800+ in LA or $3,500+ in NYC.

Standout Faculty

Syracuse's film and media faculty span both Newhouse (broadcast, television, digital media) and VPA (film production, documentary, cinematography). The dual-school structure means students learn from both communications-industry professionals and working filmmakers.

• Tula Goenka - Professor. Editor for Mira Nair, Spike Lee, and James Ivory. Director of Dancing On Mother Earth (PBS) and El Charango. Teaches multimedia storytelling, film production, and Indian cinema.
• Shaina Holmes - Professor. VFX artist and supervisor on Chicago, The Notebook, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and True Detective. Teaches visual effects and post-production.
• Keith Giglio - Professor. Producer of A Cinderella Story, Christmas Reservations, and A Very Nutty Christmas. Teaches screenwriting and producing.
• Robert Thompson - Trustee Professor and Founding Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. Author and editor of television books, widely quoted media scholar. Teaches television and popular culture.
• Taylor Lasley - Assistant Professor. Writer and creator on Netflix's Family Reunion and Marvel's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Teaches screenwriting.
• Richard Breyer - Professor. Director of Freedom's Call, North of 49, and 300 Miles to Freedom (documentaries on PBS). Teaches documentary filmmaking.
• Michael Schoonmaker - Chair and Professor. Started career at MTV, covered the 1988 Olympics for NBC, author of Cameras in the Classroom. Teaches television production.
• Ben Frahm - Assistant Professor, TRF program. Developed The Writers' Room course, where students write spec screenplays for Hulu under a development deal with Jeremy Garelick at American High. Co-creator of the DEIA Filmmaking Award at Newhouse. Teaches screenwriting.
• Milton Santiago - Assistant Professor of Visual Communications. Former Academy of Television Arts and Sciences cinematography apprentice and ASC Vision Program honoree. Sixteen-year career as a freelance cinematographer in Los Angeles with work screening at Tribeca, SXSW, and Copenhagen International Film Festival. His students have won first place in the Hearst Multimedia Narrative Storytelling national competition and back-to-back Best of Festival at the BEA Media Arts Festival. Teaches cinematography.
• Alex Mendez Giner - Associate Professor and program coordinator of film in the Department of Film and Media Arts. Mentor to ASC-nominated cinematographer Kimberly Edelson. Teaches film production.

Notable Alumni

• Aaron Sorkin - Academy Award-winning screenwriter of The Social Network, creator of The West Wing. Sorkin graduated from Syracuse with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from VPA.

• Erin Westerman (TRF '04) - Named President of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group in August 2025. Westerman previously served as President of Production at Lionsgate.
• Taye Diggs - Actor in Rent, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Private Practice. Graduated from VPA with a BFA in Musical Theatre.
• Bob Costas - Broadcaster, 28-time Emmy Award winner, former host of NBC's Olympics coverage and Later with Bob Costas.
• Kimberly Edelson (VPA '25) - Nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers George Spiro Dibie ASC Student Heritage Award in 2025 for her narrative short The Wren in the Wood. Now working as a freelance filmmaker in the camera department in Los Angeles.

Student Film Examples

Syracuse student films screen at the annual Syracuse International Film Festival and the VPA Film Festival. The BFA in Film program produces senior thesis films in both narrative and documentary, with students working in digital and 16mm/Super 16mm formats. Award-winning student documentaries have screened at the BEA Media Arts Festival. Syracuse student films are typically hosted on Vimeo or the school's internal platforms rather than YouTube.

See Also

Syracuse's film programs are not conservatory programs. Undergraduate students complete general education coursework alongside production classes through the university's liberal arts core. This produces graduates with broader academic foundations but means fewer total hours on production compared to dedicated film schools.

The BFA in Film (VPA) and the BS in Television, Radio, and Film (Newhouse) are distinct degrees with different admission processes, faculty, and curricular requirements. Prospective students should research both programs carefully, as they share facilities but have different cultures and career trajectories. VPA Film leans toward independent film, documentary, and cinematography. Newhouse TRF leans toward television, broadcast, and digital media production.

The LA semester is a significant advantage. Students gain industry exposure, internship credits, and networking opportunities in the entertainment capital. However, students spend the majority of their four years in upstate New York, where the production industry is smaller than in LA or NYC.

Syracuse's alumni network is particularly strong in television news, broadcast production, and documentary. The Newhouse network in entertainment has grown in recent years, with alumni like Erin Westerman reaching executive positions at major studios.

See Also

For comparing communications-school film programs with dedicated film schools, see Choosing a Film School. To estimate the total cost of a film degree including living expenses, see Film School Costs Explained. For planning your production workflow on student films, use the Post-Production Timeline Calculator.