Course structure.
Academic year 1: Acquiring skills in the areas of staged and documentary filmmaking
You will attend classes and lectures on research, material development, design, and techniques and planning, after which you will shoot a documentary and a fictional project. You will work together with students in the other Major programmes (Directing Fiction, Screenwriting, Documentary Film, Film Editing and Creative Producing) and will receive individual support from mentors and lecturers in our department of Cinematography.
Academic year 2: Building on your knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of filmmaking by working on individual film projects.
You will attend seminars on the methodological, technical, and creative aspects of filmmaking and will learn about film studies at the University of Zurich. You will begin working on your master's thesis in the third semester and mentors will support you throughout the concept development, planning, shooting, and post-production stages.
The Masterโs in Film degree programme comprises a total of 120 ECTS credits. You will earn 90 credits from your Major and 30 credits from your Minor, which can be a specialization of your Major or a subject that expands on or supplements your main programme of study. You can find more information about the major-minor study model here.
As a general rule, the course extends over four semesters (full-time study).
Provided the head of the programme agrees, it is possible to combine the course with work outside of your programme of study. Only the first semester must be completed on a full-time basis. All compulsory session dates are communicated well in advance.