Columbia University School of the Arts

Last updated
Columbia University School of the Arts
Columbia University School of the Arts Logo.png
Type Private
Established1965;59 years ago (1965)
Dean Sarah Cole
Students~835 students
Location,
NY
,
U.S.
Campus Urban
Website arts.columbia.edu

The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, Visual Arts, Theatre and Writing, as well as the Master of Arts (MA) degree in Film Studies. It also works closely with the Arts Initiative at Columbia University (CUArts) and organizes the Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF), a week-long program of screenings, screenplay, and teleplay readings. [1]

Contents

Founded in 1965, the school is one of the leading institutions for the study of visual and performing arts in the United States. [2] Among the school's distinguished graduates are sculptors David Altmejd and Banks Violette, visual artist Lisi Raskin, painters Marc Handelman and Dana Schutz, screenwriter Jennifer Lee and James Mangold, screenwriter and actress Gülse Birsel and directors Kathryn Bigelow and James Gunn.

History

Columbia University Bulletin School of the Arts 1978 1979.jpg

The history of the School of Arts can be traced back to the first courses in drawing offered at Columbia in 1881. In 1900, drama critic Brander Matthews was appointed professor of Dramatic Literature, first chair of drama at any university in the country. [3] Courses in creative writing, film, and painting followed. In 1921, the Department of Fine Arts was established for the study of architecture, painting, sculpture and scholarly works in those fields. The university's first sculpture classes were offered in 1936, followed two years later by graphic art classes. In 1947, the School of Painting and Sculpture, and the School of Dramatic Arts were established. [4]

In December 1965, the Trustees of Columbia established the School of the Arts to train both graduate and undergraduate students. In 1970, the school began offering only graduate courses. A year later, it moved into Dodge Hall at Broadway and 116th Street and Prentis Hall on 125th Street, where the school’s classrooms, rehearsal spaces and administrative offices are located. In 1988, the Miller Theatre, constructed in 1924, was established as Columbia's performing arts producer following renovations to the previous space known as the McMillin Academic Theatre. [5] In 2017, construction was completed on Renzo Piano's 60,000-square-foot Lenfest Center for the Arts, a multidisciplinary academic and performance space on Columbia's Manhattanville campus. The Lenfest also houses the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery. [6] [7]

In 2021, the School of Arts was the subject of a Wall Street Journal investigative report into prestigious universities that run programs that have lopsided costs for students relative to their expected earnings in the field. According to the Journal, "Columbia has more high-debt master's degree programs in low-paying fields than any other Ivy League university." The article further stated alumni carry a median debt of $181,000 USD, "the highest debt compared with earnings among graduates of any major university master’s program in the U.S." [8] [9]

Programs

Film

The School of the Arts' Film Program is well-regarded in the field and offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees with concentrations in Screenwriting/Directing and Creative Producing. The program also offers a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Film Studies.

In 2016, the MFA film program accepted 72 students out of approximately 600 applicants. [10] The Hollywood Reporter ranked it number four in the top 25 American film schools of 2020. [11]

Entrance to the Miller Theatre on the Columbia University Morningside Heights campus. Miller Theatre at Columbia University.jpg
Entrance to the Miller Theatre on the Columbia University Morningside Heights campus.

Theater

The School of Arts's Theatre Program offers Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degrees in theater with concentrations in acting, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, stage management, and theater management and producing. The playwriting concentration has been heralded by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage and Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang.

In 2018, applications to the acting concentration doubled with the appointment of former Yale School of Drama acting professor Ron Van Lieu. The acting concentration has emerged as one of the highest ranking graduate acting programs in the world [12] and is helmed by casting director James Calleri.

The Theatre Program also offers a Ph.D. and joint J.D./M.F.A. degree in association with Columbia Law School.

Visual Arts

In the Visual Arts Program at the School of Arts, students work in the fields of painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, digital media, drawing, performance, and video art.

Writing

The School of Arts's writing program offers degrees in creative writing, with concentrations in fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. One of its more notable features are "master classes", four-week courses for writers (as opposed to critical scholars) "designed to stimulate provocative discussions about literary craft and artistic choices." Master class faculty have included Helen Vendler, Jonathan Lethem, Colson Whitehead, James Wood, Richard Ford, Han Ong, Susan Choi and Jonathan Ames. The writing division also employs prestigious writers as seminar and workshop instructors; in recent years these have included Zadie Smith, Gary Shteyngart, Nathan Englander, Myla Goldberg, Adam Haslett, Jessica Hagedorn, Phillip Lopate, Marie Howe, Eamon Grennan, Paul LaFarge, David Gates, Francisco Goldman, Darcy Frey and David Ebershoff.

Deans of Columbia School of the Arts

Carol Becker
Dean from 2007-2023 Carol Becker 2020 (cropped).png
Carol Becker
Dean from 2007-2023

Notable alumni and attendees

Film

Theatre

Writing

Visual Arts

Music

Notable faculty

See also

Related Research Articles

The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York Film Academy</span> Private film and acting school in the US

New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, television and theater producer. It was originally located at the Tribeca Film Center. In 1994, NYFA moved to 100 East 17th Street, the former Tammany Hall building in the Union Square. After 23 years of occupancy, the academy relocated from Tammany Hall to 17 Battery Place.

<i>The Harvard Advocate</i> Art and literary magazine of Harvard College

The Harvard Advocate, the art and literary magazine of Harvard College, is the oldest continuously published college art and literary magazine in the United States. The magazine was founded by Charles S. Gage and William G. Peckham in 1866 and, except for a hiatus during the last years of World War II, has published continuously since then. In 1916, The New York Times published a commemoration of the Advocate's fiftieth anniversary. Fifty years after that, Donald Hall wrote in The New York Times Book Review: "In the world of the college—where every generation is born, grows old and dies in four years—it is rare for an institution to survive a decade, much less a century. Yet the Harvard Advocate, the venerable undergraduate literary magazine, celebrated its centennial this month." Its current offices are a two-story wood-frame house at 21 South Street, near Harvard Square and the university campus.

The Boston University College of Fine Arts(CFA) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of Boston University. Founded in 1872 with the establishment of the College of Music, it is an institution that trains artists, scholars of the arts, and filmmakers. Since the College of Fine Arts is integrated into Boston University, students at CFA may choose courses in the other undergraduate colleges at Boston University. CFA students can also apply for the Boston University Collaborative Degree Program (BUCOP), where students simultaneously earn undergraduate degrees at CFA and in one of 14 undergraduate colleges of the university. The college offers a study abroad program in London, England, and Dresden, Germany. Students can spend a semester at the Royal College of Music, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, or at the Hochschule für Musik "Carl Maria von Weber".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chopin Theatre</span>

Chopin Theatre is an independent performing arts venue located in Wicker Park, Chicago. Reopened in 1990 by Zygmunt Dyrkacz, a Polish immigrant, the theater has become a significant cultural hub known for its eclectic programming and commitment to avant-garde and experimental performances. Since 1990, Chopin Theatre has hosted over 2,100 presentations as well as its own productions, ranging from theater and dance to music and literary events. The venue is particularly renowned for showcasing international works, especially from Eastern Europe, and has played a crucial role in introducing Chicago audiences to innovative and challenging performances. The theater's influence extends beyond its productions, as it has been instrumental in fostering a vibrant arts community within Chicago, making it one of the city's best venues for theater.

The Michener Center for Writers is a Masters of Fine Arts program in fiction, poetry, playwriting, and screenwriting at the University of Texas at Austin. It is widely regarded as one of the top creative writing programs in the world. Bret Anthony Johnston is the current director of the program. Previously, James Magnuson ran the program for more than 20 years. UT Resident English Department faculty include Elizabeth McCracken, Edward Carey, Roger Reeves, and Michener Center faculty include Amy Hempel, Joanna Klink and rotating guest faculty.

Rebecca Chace is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and actor. She is the author of the novel Leaving Rock Harbor (2010), which was recognized as an Editors’ Choice by TheNew York Times, a June Indie Notable Book by the American Booksellers Association, and a finalist for the New England Book Award. Chace's novel Capture the Flag (1999), has been adapted for the screen with director Lisanne Skyler. The film was awarded the Showtime Tony Cox Screenplay Award at the 2010 Nantucket Film Festival. She has also published the memoir Chautauqua Summer (1993), and her first children's novel June Sparrow and the Million Dollar Penny (2017). Her plays include Colette and an adaptation of Kate Chopin's novel The Awakening

References

  1. "Programs of Study - Columbia School of the Arts".
  2. "Best Graduate Fine Arts Programs - US News Rankings". U.S. News & World Report .
  3. "Brander Matthews | American writer | Britannica".
  4. "History - Columbia School of the Arts".
  5. "About | Miller Theatre at Columbia University".
  6. Farago, Jason (June 2017). "Columbia's New Harlem Museum Opens, with Art from its Neighbors". The New York Times.
  7. "Renzo Piano's Columbia University arts center is nearly complete". 23 March 2017.
  8. Fuller, Melissa Korn and Andrea (2021-07-08). "'Financially Hobbled for Life': The Elite Master's Degrees That Don't Pay Off". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  9. "Defund Columbia". National Review. 13 July 2021.
  10. "FAQ". Columbia - School of the Arts. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  11. "2020's Top 25 American Film Schools, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2021-04-17.
  12. Abramovitch, Seth (10 June 2019). "Top 25 Graduate Schools for an Acting Degree, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  13. Naficy, Hamid (2012). A Social History of Iranian Cinema. Vol. 3: The Islamicate Period, 1978–1984. Duke University Press. p. 64. ISBN   978-0822348771.
  14. "Exploring Female Identity with Jane Zweibel". Create! Magazine. Retrieved 2021-01-29.

40°48′32″N73°57′47″W / 40.80896°N 73.96309°W / 40.80896; -73.96309