Course Information

Start Date: June 16, 2025
Days: Monday – Thursday
Time: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pacific Time
Duration: 10 weeks
End Date: August 21, 2025

Classes will not take place on University holidays: Juneteenth (June 19), Independence Day (July 4).

This program is only offered in the SUMMER quarter each year. It is not offered in the fall, winter or spring.

 

Location: The Professional Program in Directing will take place, in two parts, over the course of ten weeks. Part one takes place online, part two takes place on campus 

Part One - Weeks 1 through 7

The first seven weeks will take place on Zoom. 

Part Two - Weeks 8, 9 and 10 

For the last three weeks, all students will be required to attend the program on campus, as the final classes will take place in TFT studios and outside locations around campus. 

Students must attend both the online weeks, and on campus weeks, and can miss no more than four total classes, in order to be eligible to receive a certificate of competition. 

 

PLEASE NOTE:

The Professional Program in Directing is NOT a hands-on program where students shoot projects to add to their reel. Modeled after our Professional Program in Producing, it was designed as a lecture, Q&A, and demonstration series to provide an overview of the scope of the director’s creative and technical process.

This program is for the new up-and-coming director: someone who has never commanded a proper, fully funded, indie or industry film or television set before, and wants to make sure they have a full understanding of the scope of their responsibilities before they arrive on the job.

The program covers the basics of directing, introduces students to the above and below-the-line industry partners they will be working with, and delves deeper into the director’s artistic and technical responsibilities to these people and to themselves. 

Over two dozen special guest instructors will not only provide their technical expertise, but their words of both wisdom and warning for navigating the directing process: including the choices new directors must make, and the pitfalls they should avoid, to begin and sustain a long and successful career. 

 

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DEADLINES & TUITION

International students: May 5, 2025. 

US students: May 19, 2025

Tuition: $6,750

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APPLICATION PROCEDURE OVERVIEW

The Professional Programs feature an admissions process based on supporting application materials.

The prerequisite for this program is that applicants must possess an undergraduate bachelor's degree, in any field.

For early applicants (applying before December 21), please note that the soonest applicants will hear back from us regarding admission to this program is January 10. We will not be accepting students before then, but we strongly encourage early applications, as they will receive priority consideration. If you are an early applicant, and January 10 has passed, and you have not heard from us, make sure to check your spam folder before contacting us regarding your application status.

For all applications received after January 10, applicants will be notified of their admission status, either way, via email within 20 business days after we have received their application. If you applied after January 10, and have not heard from us after 20 days have passed since sending in your application, make sure to check your spam folder before contacting us regarding your application status. 

You are welcome to email us at professionalprograms@tft.ucla.edu to confirm that your application was received, or with any other application questions. 

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APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

VERY IMPORTANT - BEFORE YOU UPLOAD ANY FORMS OR TRANSCRIPTS, make sure that you have blacked out your social security number, home address, student ID#, or any other private information that could be compromised during transit from your server to ours. Applicants who do not follow these instructions will not be considered. 

 

Before beginning the application process, please have the following prepared to upload:

Professional Resume: Your resume should include your career and educational background, as well as any extra-curricular activities, awards, or interests that you feel would be pertinent.

One-page Statement of Purpose: The Statement of Purpose is simply a short essay in which we'd like you to tell us a little about yourself, your creative background, and your industry goals. Take your time with this. Very short responses will not be considered.

A Link to Your Directing Sample (2 to 5 mins.)
Students are required to submit a link to a sample of their directing work. Please note:

• If your link is broken, your application won't be considered.
• We will not open attachments. We will not download videos. You must upload your sample to a public or private Youtube, Vimeo, IMDB or personal web page and include the link and password information needed to view it in the proper box on the application page. (Do not send us your personal passwords—only the password we need to view your reel.)
• Samples can be reels, short films or web series.
• If you do not currently have a sample, please take the time to shoot a scene with actors on your iPhone, from multiple angles, and edit it. You may use that as your sample.
• At UCLA TFT we are especially interested in work that inspires social change. If you're shooting something new for this application, we encourage you to shoot a scene with that in mind.

Undergraduate Bachelor's Transcript or Copy of Degree Certificate or DegreeVerify Certificate from National Student Clearinghouse: Although we do not take college grades into consideration, we require proof that an undergraduate Bachelor's degree has been conferred. Please provide a copy of your transcript (an unofficial copy is acceptable), OR a copy of your degree certificate, OR a DegreeVerify Certificate from National Student Clearinghouse. Alternatively, if you have an advanced degree such as an MFA, we will accept that transcript or certificate.

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TUITION PAYMENT PROCESS

If you are accepted into the program, you will be contacted with instructions on how to pay your $2000 tuition deposit.  A deposit must be paid to hold your spot in the program.

The full tuition balance will be due a few weeks before the start of the program. Tuition must be paid in full before the program begins. 

Our UCLA tuition payment portal can only accept payments by credit or debit card. Tuition cannot be paid by check or money order. 

There is no application fee for our programs.

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Financial Aid

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.

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REFUND POLICY AND SCHEDULE

as of October 21, 2024. 

Applicants who would like to withdraw from any of our courses must do so in writing. Students may simply email us at professionalprograms@tft.ucla.edu.

The following refunds are based on the full tuition price, whether or not the student has finished paying the full tuition: 

100% refund if the student withdraws by the the first day of the second week of classes. 

70% refund if the student withdraws after the first day of the second week of classes, and up to and including the first day of the fourth week of classes.

0% refund if the student withdraws after the first day of the fourth week of classes.

We understand that life can intervene, and a student may be forced to withdraw from the program beyond these deadlines. Please note that in such cases students may defer their enrollment to a future program—when a spot is open in a future program—rather than receive any of these withdrawal penalties. 

Please email ProfessionalPrograms@tft.ucla.edu with any questions.

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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS - VISA INFORMATION

International students will be eligible to apply for the F-1 visa to attend the final three weeks on campus. (See below for more information.)

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.