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The Hollywood Reporter just released its annual review, and Los Angeles' Loyola Marymount's School of Film and Television has been ranked No. 9 of the of the top 25 film schools in the U.S. shaping the future of cinema. (In 2012, the school was ranked No. 13 of U.S. film schools and No. 18 in the world.)
According to The Hollywood Reporter:
"LMU's School of Film and Television ... is all about the internships. One-third of its students regularly find them, and they've worked in 400 companies, including Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, DreamWorks, Disney and the Sundance Institute. LMU is growing its documentary program by placing students at Ken Burns' company in New Hampshire. And thanks to a $1 million grant from the Walter Lantz Foundation -- Lantz was the creator of Woody Woodpecker -- LMU's animation department cracked the top 20 in Animation Career Review's annual list of great programs, beating out five schools on THR's own film school list, including NYU. Animators, take warning: Applications have tripled this year. Gaming is another hot program: The New York Times recently hailed a game alum Leonard Menchiari is developing that's inspired by street demonstrations in Italy and Europe. LMU also has struck an alliance with Film Independent's Screenwriting Lab to mentor grads, and, last January, it hosted the 10th annual Golden Globe Foreign Language Film Symposium, featuring Globe and Oscar winner Michael Haneke. It also partnered with LACMA for last summer's James Bond exhibit, but that shouldn't have come as a surprise because Bond producer Barbara Broccoli is an LMU alum."
According to Julie Porter, communications and media manager for LMU's School of Film and Television, there is a 12-1 student to teacher ratio. Almost 670 students from 18 countries were enrolled in the 2012-2013 academic year (544 undergraduate and 120 graduate) and 792 student productions were completed last year, with almost 2,000 shooting days around the world, contributing at least $1 million to the local economy. Porter calls the student production office "stellar" because of its record of helping students with budgeting, insurance, forms and permits.
The school's website reflects its Catholic ethos, stating, "True to the Loyola Marymount tradition, we seek to remind students of the ethical and social responsibilities that go with the power of these media, and we encourage them to have a reflective mind and generous spirit as they seek to create works that inform, enlighten, and entertain."