2023-2024

Fall Quarter Start Date: October 2, 2023
Fall Quarter End Date: December 7, 2023

Winter Quarter Start Date: January 8, 2024
Winter Quarter End Date: March 14, 2024

Spring Quarter Start Date: April 1, 2024
Spring Quarter End Date: June 6, 2024

Closing Ceremony: Takes place online on June 10, 2024

2024-2025

Summer Quarter Start Date: June 17, 2024
Summer Quarter End Date: August 22, 2024

Fall Quarter Start Date: September 30, 2024
Fall Quarter End Date: December 13, 2024

Winter Quarter Start Date: January 6, 2025
Winter Quarter End Date: March 17, 2025

Spring Quarter Start Date: March 31, 2025
Spring Quarter End Date: June 6, 2025

Closing Ceremony: Takes place online on June 9, 2025

Students applying for admission to our Screenwriting, Producing, Directing or Writing for Television programs will hear from us, either way, by email, within 20 business days after we have received their application regarding their admission status.

Students applying to our Acting for the Camera program will only hear from us if they advance to the callback level. After callbacks, students are generally notified, either way, by email, within two weeks following their callback. Exact notification dates will be given at the end of each callback.

Has it been more than 20 days since you applied?

• The application consideration clock does not start for our yearlong programs until mid-January when our updated applications are posted. If you sent in an application after the fall deadline, and are really applying for the following year's program, please reapply once the new applications are available on our site in January.
• Check your spam filter for a message from one of our tft.ucla.edu email addresses.  Hotmail, msn and other hosts often send our emails to your spam filter.
• Check to make sure that you correctly submitted ALL of the required elements for your application. Reread the requirements for your Statement of Purpose, your writing samples or reels, your proof of degree, etc. Did you adhere to the requirements? Was your statement of purpose too short to be considered? Is the link to your acting reel broken, or is your password incorrect? The twenty day clock begins when we have received all of the required elements correctly. 

There is no application fee for any of our programs.

If a student is accepted into one of our Professional Programs in Screenwriting, Producing, Writing for Television, Directing or Acting for the Camera, the student will be required to pay a $2000 tuition deposit to hold their spot. The remaining tuition balance will be due before the program begins. Accepted students will be notified of their tuition balance due date.

All of our yearlong programs have a competitive admission process.

Merely applying to these programs in no way guarantees admission.

Applications require supporting material, usually including: proof of undergraduate degree, statement of purpose, resume or writing sample or reel. Check each program for their specific requirements.

Although our programs are graduate-level, they do not earn academic credit. For this reason, we know of no loans, financial aid, scholarships, or military waivers that are available for our applicants. 

We would love to be able to work with the US Department of Veteran Affairs to allow students to use the GI Bill for our graduate-level certificate programs. Unfortunately, because our graduate-level Professional Programs do not earn academic credit, we have never qualified for approval by them in the past. It is their decision, not ours. 

If you’ve already spoken the VA Office, and they said you would be approved, they may have confused us with UCLA Extension, which does offer academic credit. You’ll want to make sure that whatever waiver office you're connected with understands this, and understands that they should not confuse us with UCLA Extension.  

If you are a non-native English-speaking student, please be advised that our professional programs are intensive and that all work must be practiced in English. A sufficient command of the English language is necessary to participate in our on campus courses. A TOEFL score of 560 (paper based) or 87 (internet based iBT) or IELTS overall band score of 7 or higher will be necessary to participate in this course.

The only visa approved by the U.S. government and UCLA for the Professional Programs is the F-1 visa. No other visas will be accepted.

Participation in TFT Professional Programs is prohibited under the B1/B2 visas/ESTA visa waiver program (WT/WB).

If you are going to enroll in the Professional Programs and need an F-1 student visa, you will first need to apply for a UCLA I-20 document. The I-20 is the document that you will bring to your local U.S. Embassy/Consulate in your home country in order to obtain the F-1 student visa.

First, apply for the UCLA Professional Program of your choice per the admission instructions. If you are admitted, only then you can request an I-20 application from UCLA. At that point, you will need to complete the I-20 application and provide several supporting financial documents, as well as a copy of your passport biographical page. We will send you the specific instructions in an email.

To allow enough time to obtain the F-1 student visa, you must apply to our programs by the posted International Student Application Deadline. International students are strongly encouraged to apply for the Professional Programs as early as possible. The longer the wait, the less likely it will be that you will have enough time to secure your student visa before the course begins. International students may not arrive late for the program.

Please be advised that there is a non-refundable of $340 I-20 processing fee payable to UCLA’s Dashew Center. You will be charged this fee once you decide to enroll in the program and go through with the I-20 request process. In addition, please be aware that students entering the United States on a F-1 student visa must first pay for the I-901 SEVIS fee (www.FMJfee.com) to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. There will also be a DS-160 student visa application fee (https://ceac.state.gov/ceac) to pay to the U.S. Department of State.The mentioned fees are non-refundable.

There are NO off-campus employment authorizations through Curricular Practical Training (CPT) and/or post-degree completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) available for our Professional Programs students studying on the F-1 visa status for any of our programs. They may not work in the U.S. after the program ends under OPT work authorization. During the program, F-1 students may only work on-campus, for up to 20 hours per week, in jobs that are paid through the UCLA payroll system. F-1 students cannot engage in off-campus employment, paid by other companies. Please note that our students are considered Guest Affiliates/UCLA Guests, and are not eligible for MyUCLA accounts, which can make finding a job on-campus difficult. The UCLA Professional Programs and the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars are not able, in any way, to help students search for or secure employment.

If you have any questions, feel free to email us at professionalprograms@tft.ucla.edu.

Most industry internships require academic credit as part of their mandate. Because our Programs are not for academic credit, we cannot provide internship course credit.

Students are eligible for paid internships if they do not require academic credit.

Students are responsible for securing their own internships. We do not secure internships for students.

It is possible that late applications may be considered after the posted deadlines, but only if a spot is still available in the program.

Please email us at professionalprograms@tft.ucla.edu if you would like to submit an application after the posted deadlines. Do not submit a late application without emailing us first.

The Professional Programs are not affiliated with UCLA Extension.

The main differences between the Professional Programs and the Extension courses are:

The Professional Programs are under the umbrella of the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television.

While the Professional Programs are considered graduate-level, they are not for academic credit.

Professional Programs students must go through a competitive admission process. One can not just sign up for a Professional Program.

For Professional Programs in Screenwriting, Producing, Directing and Writing for Television, students must have already earned an undergraduate degree in order to be eligible to apply.

For the Professional Program in Acting for the Camera, students must be 21 years old by the time the program begins in order to be eligible to apply.

Upon completion of our Screenwriting, Producing, Writing for Television, Directing or Acting for the Camera programs, our students receive a certificate from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television.

Our students come from all backgrounds and all ages. Many have career experience in other fields and are looking to transition into ours.

We look for students who are committed to becoming professionals in the film or television industry, students who wish to study with established professionals to bring their work to the next level.

If you were waitlisted for one of our programs, you are eligible to secure a spot for the following year. In order to secure your spot, please contact our office as soon as the new applications for the following year are posted on our website. If you wait until after the posted application deadlines to contact us, your spot will not be secure.

If you did not complete an undergraduate degree, you are welcome instead to upload a letter to the Program Director, with your application, that explains why you believe your life (or industry) experience should be considered the equivalent of an undergraduate degree.

There are generally one or two students who are accepted this way each year, but there is no guarantee as this program is a competitive admission program.

Your five pages can be from anywhere in your script as long as the pages are consecutive.

Professional Program in Screenwriting - Original TV pilot and feature screenplay samples are acceptable.

Professional Program in Writing for Television - Original TV pilot, TV specs and feature screenplay samples are acceptable.

Samples not submitted in proper screenplay or teleplay format will not be considered. Please do your research on formatting before submitting your application.

Short stories, articles and plays will not be accepted. Take the time to adapt those samples into proper screenplay or teleplay pages before submitting.

Remember, admission is competitive.