The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television just landed at No. 9 on The Wrap’s Top 50 Film Schools and No. 2 behind behemoth UCLA for public film schools.
In its 2024 listings released Monday, Nov. 4, The Wrap, an online and print publication that covers the business of entertainment and media, bumped UA’s film program up 15 spots from its 2023 ranking.
“This is a fantastic ranking result and the best we’ve ever had,” said Kerryn Negus, the school’s spokeswoman.
“It’s this really great acknowledgement of the hard work of many different faculty, the passion of ours students and the determination of our alumni,” said Skyler, an award-winning filmmaker whose films have been internationally distributed and featured in prestigious festivals, including Sundance and New York Film Festival.
The Wrap cited the UA’s “bargain” tuition ($12,000 for residents, $39,000 for non-residents) and rate of financial aid (94% of students get some sort of aid) among the reasons it ranked so high. Other factors included a strong Latinx faculty presence, alumni working in the industry and the school’s senior thesis film screening program “I Dream In Widescreen.”
The publication also highlighted the UA’s plans to have a presence in Los Angeles next year. Negus would not elaborate on what that would look like because details are still being finalized, she said.
The Wrap has been compiling its film schools list since 2015, basing its rankings largely on information provided by the schools. This year, the news site teamed up with Screen Engine/ASI to consider a host of other considerations, including graduation rates; student-to-faculty ratios; faculty qualifications; distinguished guest speakers that included Academy Award winners Cord Jefferson (“American Fiction”) and Paul Rogers (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”); notable alumni, including actor Craig T. Nelson, who will act in a UA thesis film next year; and student experiences including how many films students make over the course of their program and internships and mentoring programs.
Sixty colleges completed ASI’s survey, sent out in August, and answers were tabulated using a point system to determine the rankings, according to a statement explaining the methodology posted on The Wrap.
“It’s this really great acknowledgement of the hard work of many different faculty, the passion of ours students and the determination of our alumni,” said Skyler, an award-winning filmmaker whose films have been internationally distributed and featured in prestigious festivals, including Sundance and New York Film Festival.
Skyler said the ranking also is validation that could bring more students to the Tucson campus; the school currently has 545.
The Wrap ranking is the latest nod for the School of Theatre, Film & Television. In September, three of its seven nominees across multiple categories walked away with National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Student Production Awards for senior thesis projects.
UA student films over the years have been screened at a variety of festivals, including New York’s Urbanworld, the Palm Springs International ShortFest, London’s BFI Flare and San Diego Comic-Con.
