We are looking for the next generation of non-fiction storytellers – you need not have prior professional experience, but you must have a passion for filmmaking, strong story ideas, and a desire to fully immerse yourself in the industry and art of documentary filmmaking. The MFA SocDoc program has a rolling admissions process, which means that we accept applications throughout the spring for fall 2012 admission (space permitting).

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree, or its equivalent, from an accredited college or university.

Receipt of the following materials by the Office of Graduate Admissions constitutes a completed application.

NOTE: Applicants may submit only one active graduate or undergraduate program application for admission per academic year. Entry to the graduate programs takes place in the fall semester only.

Application and Fee:

All graduate applicants are required to complete the online application form and submit the $80 application fee. The application form can be found through our Web site at www.applyweb.com/apply/svag.

Official Transcripts:

Applicants must submit one official transcript from each college or university attended, whether or not it reflects enrollment in a degree program; and all transcripts for credits transferred to degree-granting institutions. Transcripts should be sent in their original envelopes (with the seal unbroken and the registrar’s signature intact to remain official) with all other application materials. Individuals who have made a name change since attending a college or university should make certain that the transcript indicates the current name as it appears on the application for admission.

Transcripts from Foreign Institutions:

Applicants who have academic documents from institutions outside of the United States are required to provide original, attested or certified true copies of academic records for each year of study. These records should be in the original language issued. If transcripts are not issued in English, applicants must also submit an official translation of all academic documents. Translations must be a complete, literal, word-for-word translation of the original academic document.

All foreign transcripts must be converted to U.S. educational equivalencies. Those records that are not converted to U.S. equivalencies by the issuing educational institution must be evaluated by an approved external evaluation agency. The evaluation must be a course-by-course evaluation of university work and include:

• Name of educational institution
• Location and address of institution
• Length of study
• Equivalent U.S. degree (two- or four-year college or university degree)
• Area of concentration
• Courses studied per academic year
• Conversion of course hours into U.S. semester hours of credit for each course evaluated
• Credits earned for each course evaluated
• Conversion of grades/marks into equivalent U.S. grades of A, B, C, D or F for each course evaluated
• Overall grade point average (GPA) equivalent to 4.0 grading system

The School of Visual Arts strongly recommends that international academic records be evaluated by one of the following approved external evaluation agencies:

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers(AACRAO)/Foreign Education Credential Evaluation Service, or the World Education Services (WES)

NOTE: When requesting a credential evaluation, make sure that the School of Visual Arts is listed as the recipient of the evaluation. All documents become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned. Credit evaluation can take six to eight weeks; please plan accordingly.

Permanent Resident – If you are not a US Citizen, but instead hold the status of “permanent resident” you must submit a photocopy of your alien registration card.

Statement of Purpose:

A written statement (200–250 words) of the applicant’s intent and reason for pursuing graduate study may be submitted online or via mail.

Résumé:

Applicants must submit a résumé, which should include professional experience as well as related activities such as research, awards and exhibitions. The résumé may be submitted online or via mail.

Letters of Recommendation:

Ideally, three letters of recommendation from instructors or practicing professionals should be received in an envelope sealed and signed by the person issuing the recommendation. The recommender should seal the envelope, sign across the seal, and return it to the applicant. Recommenders should indicate the applicant’s full name and department of interest at the beginning of the letter. Applicants should send letters of recommendation in their original envelopes (with the seals unbroken and the recommender’s signature intact to remain official) along with all other supplementary application materials.

However, letters can be received separately if they are clearly labeled with the applicants name, department of interest and date of birth.

Letters of recommendation may also be emailed to SocDoc Director of Operations – Niki Bhattacharya at mbhattacharya(at)sva.edu – they should be on letterhead with proper contact information for the recommender and clearly list the applicants name.

NOTE: Letter of recommendation forms are not provided.

Portfolio (Treatment and Visual Submission):

• Applicants must write a concise treatment for a documentary film they might wish to make (two to three double-spaced pages in length). Be specific in detailing the nature of the issue to be addressed and describe the stylistic approach to be taken. Please be precise about what the audience will see on the screen.

Tips for writing the treatment (**content adapted from the ITVS treatment guidelines):

• In the treatment section we ask you to communicate your passion and to explain how you envision translating your story from page to screen – taking into account structure, theme, style, format, voice and point-of-view. What do these words really mean? Here, members of the programming staff offer notes on writing an effective treatment. Remember, these are only suggestions; your treatment will undoubtedly be unique – tailored to the specific demands of your story.
  • PASSION - When writing the treatment, don’t be afraid to infuse your words with passion. Your excitement and sense of urgency should be contagious.
  • STRUCTURE - Like the frame of a house, or a human skeleton, structure holds up all the parts of a story, supporting and organizing the elements into a coherent and interrelated dramatic whole. Structure determines how the story will unfold dramatically, how it will build – moving through moments of tension and conflict – from beginning to middle to end. Structure is the road a reader takes through the dramatic terrain of the program. One obvious structural framework is chronology – for example, following a character through an event in their life from start, through transformative changes, to finish. But there are as many possible structures as there are stories. The key is to find the one that fits, so that the reader/viewer is drawn in, compelled to stay, to discover the outcome. If you don’t know the outcome of your story, you can help the person evaluating your treatment by speculating a little, spelling out possible twists, turns and endings. Tell us what the overall story is, what happens in the course of a half hour or an hour, what we will have learned by the end that we didn’t know at the beginning. Try describing a key dramatic moment in detail, and locate it in the context of the whole story, so we get a sense of the program’s emotional trajectory.
  • THEME - Theme is what your story is really about – the underlying point your story is making. While your program tells a specific story rooted in a particular time and place, it no doubt addresses an overarching societal issue or universal human concern. Like a cell’s DNA, this theme should be embedded in every scene of your show, keeping it focused and on track.
  • VOICE AND POINT-OF-VIEW - ”Voice” can be a many-layered thing. When considering voice, you have to ask, Who is the storyteller and whose story is being told? The answers to these questions determine not only the viewer’s sense of intimacy with the characters, but the director’s point-of-view. In a truly personal story, the teller and subject are one and the same. When a director represents another character or community, it is useful to be conscious of the ways storytelling can mediate the voice of the subject or main character.
• Please submit ONEof the following:
  • Video: DVD (region 1 only) format. Work must not exceed ten minutes in length.
  • Still imagery: 20 images on CD (jpeg format for the Macintosh platform). Files must be labeled as follows: First initial, last name, project title (or number) of image, e.g., jdoe-project.jpg. Digital images must be 1500 pixels in width or height at 72 dpi. The images should express the concepts of the central theme. A brief written commentary may accompany the images.
  • Applicants without prior filmmaking experience or photos may create a visual documentation of a subject. using A visual vocabulary—video, photographs, graphics, animation or mixed media —create a body of work that fully explores a documentary subject.

Interview:

Applicants may be scheduled for interviews (via phone or in person) by the committee on graduate admissions after all required application materials have been reviewed. However, interviews are not required for admittance nor are they common practice.

English Proficiency:

All applicants whose primary language is not English must demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English. Applicants must submit one of the following:

• Official score report showing a minimum score of 213 on the computer-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL cbt). For information on taking the TOEFL, call 609.771.7100 or visit www.toefl.com.
• Official score report showing a minimum score of 79 on the Internet-based version of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL ibt). For more information on taking the TOEFL, call 609.771.7100 or visit www.toefl.com.
• Official score report showing a minimum score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). IELTS is jointly managed by University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council and IDP Education Australia: IELTS Australia. For information on taking the IELTS, call 626.564.2954 or visit www.ielts.org.
• Official score report showing a minimum score of six (6) in all categories of the English proficiency exam from the American Language Institute. For more Information on this test, call 212.998.7040. In addition, students who have successfully completed the following course work may also submit official transcripts to be considered as demonstration of English proficiency: one year of full-time study at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university, including two semesters of English composition, with a minimum grade of B each semester; or graduation from a U.S. college or university.

NOTE: Course work taken in conjunction with English as a Second Language (ESL) is not applicable. The committee on graduate admissions will determine if further proof of English language proficiency is required. During the summer, students who have met the English proficiency requirement and are interested in further development of their English language skills may enroll in SVA’s Advanced English as a Second Language course. Designed to enhance verbal expression and the use of current, sophisticated and precise vocabulary of arts professionals, this course will help students prepare for their graduate studies. For more information on this course, contact the English as a Second Language coordinator at 212.592.2621 or e-mail: hrubinstein@sva.edu.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Apply online at: www.applyweb.com/apply/svag

All materials should be sent to:

When submitting application materials via post, we strongly advise applicants to request delivery confirmation.

Most applicants will receive an admissions decision, in writing, by April 1, 2012. The College does not disclose admissions decisions via phone, fax or e-mail. All application materials become the property of the School of Visual Arts and will not be returned.

Deferred Application and Readmission

Admission cannot be deferred to another academic year. Applicants who delay enrollment must reapply to the program by submitting a new application and fee, and resubmitting all application materials.

Tuition and Expenses:

The estimated tuition fee for the academic year 2012-2013 for the Social Documentary Film program is $20,200 per semester for four semesters. This includes all course fees and 24/7 facilities access (facility and advisory access during May-Aug summer months are not additional costs).

**It is strongly suggested that students enrolled in the MFA Social Documentary program have a MacBook Pro laptop, equipped with Apple Final Cut Pro and an external hard drive with at least 1 Terabyte. If you are an incoming fall 2012 student please DO NOT purchase any equipment or software for school without consulting with Grace Kline (gkline@sva.edu) the department Systems Admin.

Note: Tuition includes registration, student activities, technology, student accident insurance, locker rental, library, and buildings and grounds.

For those who miss the scheduled fall info sessions we give tours throughout the year – please email mfasocdoc@sva.edu or call 212-592-2919 to schedule a visit or an informational call.