London to Los Angeles
Spring Semester
option within the MA Film: Science Fiction & Fantasy programme
Applications to this Programme have been suspended for Fall 2023
Have you ever wanted to go to Los Angeles and interested in taking your sci-fi and fantasy career to the Hollywood film industry in the USA? If so, then the MA Film: Science Fiction and Fantasy with Los Angeles Study Abroad Spring Semester option is a fantastic opportunity for you!
Spend a semester in Los Angeles with our partner Mount Saint Mary’s University and gain experience in any aspect of filmmaking and production you want to specialise in. Situated in the iconic Hollywood Blvd, Mount Saint Mary’s has state of the art facilities and an extensive selection of science fiction and fantasy courses.
Perfect for anyone that wants to develop their film training while looking to gain an impressive addition to their CV, this London to LA Study Abroad option is designed to complement your studies in London – building up a great network of contacts to help set your career on the right track.
No practical background is necessary for the Hollywood semester classes as students can choose to be enrolled onto the FLM 205 Introduction to Digital Video Production course that will cover basics of camera, lighting, and sound. However, students with previous (and sufficient) background in utilizing production equipment are able to take an alternate advanced class in lieu of the intro class, on a case-by-case basis. All students will be able to check out equipment they have been trained on and/or are able to demonstrate previous mastery.
About the programme
This Spring programme is perfect for anyone that wants to develop their film training while looking to gain an impressive addition to their CV, this London to LA Study Abroad option is designed to complement your studies in London – building up a great network of contacts to help set your career on the right track.
No practical background is necessary for the Hollywood semester classes as students can choose to be enrolled onto the FLM 205 Introduction to Digital Video Production course that will cover basics of camera, lighting, and sound. However, students with previous (and sufficient) background in utilising production equipment are able to take an alternate advanced class in lieu of the intro class, on a case-by-case basis. All students will be able to check out equipment they have been trained on and/or are able to demonstrate previous mastery.
For information on accommodation options, please visit the Mount St Mary’s Residence Life & Housing webpage.
What you will study
The Los Angeles Study Abroad Spring Semester will take place during your second semester of the Science Fiction and Fantasy MA programme, which means that you will begin your study experience in London in the Fall (from September to December) and then travel over to Los Angeles in the Spring (from January to April).
In the Fall semester in London, you will take the Richmond courses and in the Spring semester in LA, you will take courses in the US that are the equivalent to Richmond’s spring class catalogue (Edutainment Video Essays; Sci-Fi and Fantasy Storytelling; and Visual Cultures).
In the Summer semester, you will then return back to London to complete your final research project or film with an internship, or an extended research dissertation if you prefer.
Fall Semester (London)
|
Spring Semester (Los Angeles)TWO Edutainment video essay options
ONE Sci-Fi and Fantasy storytelling option
ONE Visual Cultures option
|
Summer Semester (London)plus EITHER
OR
OR
|
Entry Requirements
At Richmond our postgraduate degree programmes, which are based on the US educational approach, are available as 1 year (full-time) or two year (part-time) options with some programmes offering even more flexibility.
The entry requirements for all postgraduate programmes at Richmond are the same, regardless of your chosen study option, excluding our International Business (MSc) programme
Academic Entry Requirements
- UK first Degree minimum second class honours (2.2)
- US Degree with a minimum CGPA of between 2.5 and 3.0
- or international equivalent
- Academic Interview
*All other equivalent eligible transfer credits will be determined by Admissions.
English Language Entry Requirements
For more information on English Language Requirements visit our How to Apply webpage.
Fees & funding
Postgraduate tuition fees for students starting their programme this academic year can be found in the table below.
UK |
EU / International / US |
|
| Spring / Fall 2023 | Spring / Fall 2023 | |
| MA Film: Science Fiction & Fantasy, London
(per year) |
£9,000 | £13,250 (Spring 2023) £13,750 (Fall 2023) |
| MA Film: Science Fiction & Fantasy, London & Los Angeles
(per year) |
£10,500 | £13,250 (Spring 2023) £13,750 (Fall 2023) |
Students who are refused a US Visitor (B) visa will be entitled to take the second semester in London and will be refunded the difference in cost between tuition fees in LA and London. Fees exclude any visa costs.
Travel and accommodation in LA will be additional. Scholarships are not available for the LA semester. Please contact us for more information, enquiries@richmond.ac.uk.
How to apply
You can apply for Postgraduate study using our online application form.
Whilst most of our courses do not set an exact deadline for applications, you are advised to apply early to secure your place and organise any sponsorship or funding.
Register for a 1-2-1 consultation with a programme academic >>
Learn more about our Postgraduate degrees, scholarship opportunities and career prospects.
Mount Saint Mary’s
The Mount Saint Mary’s faculty includes Kelby Thwaits, an award winning Actor, Singer, Musician and Multi-Media Artist whose work includes Mass Effect 2: Sci vs. Fi (2010), Dead Space: Downfall (2008), Gears of War 2: Sci vs. Fi (2008) as well as content creation for SyFy Channel, Disney, Sony Online Entertainment, EA Games, OnDemand and Microsoft; and Charles Bunce, who has over 25 years of expertise in video, audio production and post-production spanning commercial and promotional video, narrative film and television, music video and documentary. Their most recent work includes the supernatural horror feature The Black String (2019) followed by a new science fiction horror feature, currently in production (2021).
Mount Saint Mary’s Hollywood Blvd campus offers an impressive choice of equipment and facilities, including: a 20 Station computer lab, an edit suite with 5.1 surround & colour station, a music production/sound recording and mixing studio with Iso/vocal booth, a creative lab and production shooting stage, all tied together on a high-speed network with central storage.
Students can receive training on high end cameras from Canon, Arri, RED Digital Cinema, Sony, and BlackMagic Design. Lab computers are equipped with the latest production software including AVID Media Composer, Pro Tools, Adobe Creative Suite, BlackMagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, and Logic Pro X. Sound recording, editing and surround mixing are beautifully managed in the Sound Studio on an AVID S3 console played though mastering grade ATC monitors.
“Science Fiction Film isn’t just about science, fiction or film. It’s also about political and social dream-making. Bellamy’s Looking Backwards (1888) helped to usher in global ideas about nationalisation. The Frankenstein monster became the touchstone for debates about humans playing God. And Star Trek helped to usher in the Space Age. By combining the UK and US, two of the world’s leading educational approaches with film and science fiction experts, this new and exciting MA Film: Science Fiction & Fantasy is the vehicle to launch new imaginative worlds.”
– Professor Dominic Alessio, Professor of History, Vice President of International Programmes
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