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To qualify for admission consideration, applicants must meet the general university minimum admission requirements AND the MFA in TVFT program minimum admission requirements.  Applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements might not be considered for review by the program admission committee(s).

The general university minimum admission requirements are:

• Completion of a four-year Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Completion must occur by the end of Summer for Fall admission, or by the end of Fall for Spring admission;
• Good academic standing at the last college or university attended;
• Grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.5 in an acceptable earned Bachelor's degree (or a GPA of at least 2.5 (out of 4.0) in the last 60 semester (or 90 quarter) units attempted);
• Meet English Language Proficiency if the Bachelor’s degree was not earned at an accredited college/university where English is the only language of instruction.

The MFA in TVFT program minimum admission requirements are:

• Grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.0 in an earned Bachelor's degree
• Submission of completed application materials through CSU Apply, which includes application, cover letter, CV/resume, personal statement, unofficial transcript(s), two references, and submission materials for your chosen option (Acting, Content Creation, or Writing)

Our next admission cycle is for the Fall 2026 semester.
Applications for Fall 2026 will open in October 2025. 
The deadline to apply is FEBRUARY 15, 2026.

By the deadline listed above, you must submit the following through CSU Apply:

• Cal State Apply application 
• Cover letter 
• Resume and/or curriculum vitae (CV) 
• Personal statement 
• Unofficial transcripts 
• Two references
• Submission materials required for your chosen Option
  • ACTING OPTION: Link to your reel and/or audition video 
  • CONTENT CREATION OPTION: Links to and/or uploaded samples of your work 
  • WRITING OPTION: Two samples of your writing 
• OPTIONAL: Additional submission materials
  • Applicants are welcome to also upload submission materials for one or both Options they are not applying to. 
    • For example: an Acting Option applicant might choose to also submit 15 pages of a script they’ve written and/or a link to an online design portfolio. 
• PLEASE NOTE: Finalist applicants will need to be available for either in-person or online (Zoom) interviews with the Admissions Committee. Dates for these interviews are TBD. Applicants who advance to final interviews will be contacted directly via email to sign-up for dates and times. 

After submitting your application, you will also be required to submit the following:

• Official transcripts: Submit official U.S. academic records/transcripts and other requested information to the Admissions Office. 
  • For more information about how to submit official documents, please visit https://www.calstatela.edu/admissions/submitting-documents

International Applicants must also submit:

• Foreign credential evaluation report – Submit official non-US transcripts, including the issuing institution’s grading scale, to either the International Education Research Foundation (https://apply.ierf.org) or to World Education Services (https://www.wes.org)
  • For more information, visit our IERF/WES page at https://www.calstatela.edu/admissions/ierfwes
• TOEFL, IELTS, PTE, or Duolingo (DET) test scores – This is required if you do not possess a Bachelor’s (or advanced) degree from an accredited college/university where English is the only or primary language of instruction. 
  • For more information, visit the English Language Proficiency page (https://www.calstatela.edu/admissions/english-language-proficiency)

Questions? Contact us: mfatvft@calstatela.edu

COVER LETTER
Your cover letter should be one page or less and should briefly answer the following questions:

• What should we know about you?
• Why grad school now?
• Why this program?

PERSONAL STATEMENT
Your personal statement should be no more than two pages long (12 pt font, 1 inch margin, double spaced) and should focus on answering both of the following prompts:

• What will you bring to our program?
  • Clearly and concisely, tell us what we should know about you as an artist and a scholar – what personal and/or professional point(s) of view inform and motivate your work?
• Pitch us something.
  • Include a brief but clear pitch of a story, script, production, or project that demonstrates your creative aesthetic and contains an explanation of what you need to execute your vision.

UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS
Upload one unofficial transcript from the college/university where you earned your most recent degree (e.g., bachelor's, master's, doctorate) to the ‘Unofficial Transcript’ slot. Up to four recent transcripts from other colleges/universities attended may be uploaded to the ‘Additional Unofficial Transcript’ slots.

Your name and the name of the school must appear on the first page of each file. Any unofficial transcripts missing this information will not be considered and will delay the processing of your application.

If the transcript is not in English, it must include an ATA-certified direct English translation.

ACTING OPTION REQUIRED SUBMISSION MATERIALS – DIGITAL AUDITION*
*NOTE: You MUST provide a digital audition regardless of participation in URTAs, USITT Links, or any other off-site auditions.

Choose one of the following three audition options 

• A: Copy/paste the link for a prepared audition video.
  • Prepare and record an audition video consisting of a slate and two contrasting monologues, each a minimum of 1 minute long.
  • The total length of the video should be 5 minutes or less.
  • Be sure to include the title of the play, playwright, and character in your slate.
  • You can upload to YouTube, Vimeo, or your own website, but the link you provide must be viewable (not password protected).

OR

• B: Copy/paste the link to your reel.
  • Already have an actor’s reel? Great! You’re welcome to simply submit a link to your reel.

OR

• C: Do both Options A and B. Copy/paste a link to a prepared audition video AND copy/paste a link to your reel.

CONTENT CREATION OPTION REQUIRED SUBMISSION MATERIALS - SUBMIT LINKS AND/OR UPLOAD CONTENT
We are looking for examples of your work that highlight your skills and/or your personal creative viewpoints. Because Content Creation is such a wide-reaching umbrella, there are many types of sample work we will accept, including (although not limited to) the types listed below:

• Your personal and/or professional website
• Link(s) to social media account(s) that you manage and/or work on in some capacity (such as graphic design, content generation, caption writing, script creation, etc.)
• Videos you have worked on in some capacity (actor, director, editor, cinematographer, grip, AD, sound designer, special effects, producer, line producer, etc.)
• Websites you have designed and/or worked on
• Video game content (graphic design, character concepts, storyboards, dialogue, etc.)
• Design portfolios – scenic, costume, lighting, sound, projection, FX, art direction 

WRITING OPTION REQUIRED SUBMISSION MATERIALS – UPLOAD TWO WRITING SAMPLES

• Writing Sample 1:  a 1-3 page synopsis/beat sheet of a full­ length work (e.g., screenplay, spec script, pilot script, or play).
• Writing Sample 2: 15 pages of the same screenplay, spec script, pilot script, or play for which you submitted a synopsis/beat sheet.
• All writing sample submissions need to be in English.
• Your spelling, grammar, formatting, and structure will be considered for acceptance into the program.
• OPTIONAL: You may also upload up to three additional writing samples (can be previously published or unpublished).