THE SCHOOLS AT A GLANCE

Facts and figures from four major film and TV schools. The alumni lists are illustrative only, and don’t include all working alumni or screen credits associated with each school. Key: d--denotes director, w--writer and p--producer.

Columbia University

School of the Arts, film division.

Established: 1965. (First film course offered in 1916.)

Enrollment: 150 graduate students.

Administrators: Richard Brick and Milos Forman, film division co-chairmen; Peter Smith, School of the Arts dean.

Degrees: MFA in screenwriting, directing, producing or history of film, three years. (No undergraduate degree.)

Features: Focuses on screenwriting. Short on production facilities and equipment compared to other major schools. Relies heavily on working film makers as adjunct professors. Students finance own films.

Alumni: w-d Ron Nyswaner (1981, “Mrs. Soffel,” “Swing Shift”); w Alice Arlen (1981, “Silkwood,” “Alamo Bay”); w Joseph Minion (1986, “After Hours”); d Tina Rathborne (1985, “Zelly and Me”); w-d Jay Russell and w-p John Wohlbruck (1985, “End of the Line”); d Kathryn Bigelow (1985, “Near Dark”). New York University

Tisch School of the Arts, The Institute of Film and Television

Established: 1965. (Film courses first offered in early 1940s.)

Enrollment: 1,500 graduate and undergraduate students.

Administrators: Charles Milne, film and TV chairman; David Oppenheim, Tisch School dean.

Degrees: Undergraduate: BFA in film and TV, cinema studies, dramatic writing, four years. Graduate: MFA in cinema studies, dramatic writing and film, three years.

Features: Heavy on production. Students shoot a lot of films but carry the cost themselves. The school annually brings best commercial bets to Hollywood for screenings.

Alumni: w-d Oliver Stone (1971, “Platoon” and “Wall Street”); w-d Martin Scorsese (1968, “Raging Bull,” “Color of Money”); w-d Spike Lee (1982, “She’s Gotta Have It,” “School Daze”); w-d Todd Solondz (1986, three-picture deal with Columbia); w-d Andy Fleming (1986, “Bad Dreams,” upcoming Fox release).

University of California at Los Angeles

Department of Theater, Film and Television.

Established: Theater Arts Dept. in 1949. Became the Department of Theater, Film and Television in 1985, under the College of Fine Arts. To be restructured as the School of Theater, Film and Television.

Enrollment: 437 graduate and undergraduate students.

Administrators: George Schaefer, chairman. Bernard Kester, acting dean, fine arts college.

Degrees: Undergraduate: BA in film and television, four years. Graduate: MA in film, one year. MFA in screenwriting, animation, film and television, three years. MFA in the producer’s program, two years. Ph.D. in critical studies, three years.

Features: Relatively low tuition for California residents. Students finance their own films. Especially strong graduate screenwriting program.

Alumni: w-d Francis Coppola, (1968, “The Godfather,” “Tucker”); w Neal Jimenez (1983, “River’s Edge”); w-d Alexander Cox (“Repo Man”); w Shane Black (1983, “Lethal Weapon”); w Michael Miner (1986, “RoboCop”).

University of Southern California

School of Cinema-Television.

Established: 1929. Became the Department of Cinema in 1932. In 1974, it became the Division of Cinema-TV and, in 1983, became the School of Cinema-TV.

Enrollment: 1,135 graduate and undergraduate students.

Administrator: Frantisek Daniel, dean.

Degrees: Undergraduate: BFA in filmic writing and BA in film production & critical studies, four years. Graduate: MA in film/video production and critical studies, two years. MFA in film and video production and in movie producing, two years. Ph.D. in critical studies, three to eight years.

Features: Hotly competitive. The school funds movies for a small number of students. Others may finance their own films.

Alumni: w-d-p George Lucas (1966, “American Grafitti,” “Star Wars”); w-d Robert Zemeckis (1973, “Back to the Future”); w-d Phil Joanou, (1985, “Three O’Clock High”); w Todd Slavkin (1987, sold “Paging Mr. President” to Fox).