{{Short description|Private media school at the University of Southern California}} {{Infobox university | name = USC School of Cinematic Arts | image_name = USC School of Cinematic Arts logo.svg | image_size = 250px | established = {{start date and age|1929}} | parent = University of Southern California | motto = ''Limes regiones rerum''<ref name=NYT021009>Michael Cieply, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/movies/09film.html A Film School’s New Look Is Historic], ''The New York Times'', February 9, 2009, Accessed February 10, 2009.</ref> | mottoeng = Reality ends here<ref>''The New York Times'' reports the motto as meaning "Reality ends here", but a more direct translation of the Latin approximates as, "The border is the regions of things".</ref> | type = Private film school | dean = Elizabeth M. Daley (1991–present) | faculty = 96 full time<br />219 part time<ref name=SCABrochure>{{citation | url = http://cinema.usc.edu/admissions/documents/SCABrochure2013.pdf | title = USC Cinematic Arts | year = 2013 | publisher = University of Southern California, School of Cinematic Arts | access-date = January 27, 2017}}</ref> | administrative_staff = 144 full time<br />499 student workers<ref name=SCABrochure/> | undergrad = 876<ref name=SCABrochure/> | postgrad = 715<ref name=SCABrochure/> | city = Los Angeles | state = California | country = U.S. | website = {{URL|cinema.usc.edu}} }} '''USC School of Cinematic Arts''' is the film and media school of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.<ref name="USCHome">{{cite web |title=USC Cinematic Arts |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/ |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> Founded in 1929, it developed from USC's early film instruction into a separate academic unit and took its current name in 2006.<ref name="LAT90">{{cite news |last=King |first=Susan |title=From Douglas Fairbanks to George Lucas: USC’s School of Cinematic Arts turns 90 |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-usc-film-school-90-20190406-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2019-04-06 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref><ref name="USCHistory1929">{{cite web |title=History from 1929 to 1941 |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/about/history/1929-1940.cfm |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref><ref name="USCHistory1971">{{cite web |title=1971-1992 |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/about/history/1971-1992.cfm |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref><ref name="USCRename2006">{{cite web |last=Tella |first=James |title=Record-Breaking Groundbreaking: School of Cinematic Arts Celebrates New Name and Complex |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/news/article.cfm?id=9635 |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |date=2006-10-05 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> The school offers undergraduate and graduate programs in animation, cinema and media studies, film and television production, interactive media and games, media arts and practice, producing, screenwriting, and business-related study in cinematic arts.<ref name="USCPrograms">{{cite web |title=Programs |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/programs/index.cfm |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>
==History== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | width = 200 | image1 = 052707-024-SCA-USC.jpg | image2 = USC_School_of_Cinematic_Arts_03.jpg | caption2 = The George Lucas Instructional Building (top) was demolished in 2009 after the opening of the new Cinematic Arts Complex (bottom). }}
The school traces its origins to 1929, when the University of Southern California introduced the course ''Introduction to the Photoplay'' in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.<ref name="LAT90" /> Early instructors and guest lecturers included Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Ernst Lubitsch, Irving Thalberg, and Darryl F. Zanuck.<ref name="LAT90" />
In 1932, USC introduced a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in cinema.<ref name="USCHistory1929" /> The program developed within the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences as the Department of Cinematography and was renamed the Department of Cinema in 1940.<ref name="USCHistory1929" /> By the late 1970s it had become the Division of Cinema-Television, and in 1983 it became an independent academic unit as the USC School of Cinema-Television.<ref name="USCHistory1971" /> In 2006, the school adopted its current name, the USC School of Cinematic Arts.<ref name="USCRename2006" />
In 2006, USC announced a US$175 million gift from alumnus George Lucas to support a major expansion of the school.<ref name="USCRename2006" /> The resulting Cinematic Arts complex opened in 2009.<ref name="USCOpen2009">{{cite web |last=Cowan |first=Mel |title=And Action! New Cinematic Arts Complex Opens |url=https://cinema.usc.edu/news/article.cfm?id=9765 |website=USC School of Cinematic Arts |date=2009-01-16 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>
In 2020, the school announced that it would remove an exhibit devoted to actor and former USC student John Wayne. According to the ''Daily Trojan'', the materials were to be transferred to the school's archives for research and reference.<ref name="DailyTrojanWayne">{{cite news |last1=Rapada |first1=Raymond |last2=Yamamoto |first2=Kacie |title=SCA to remove John Wayne exhibit |url=https://dailytrojan.com/2020/07/10/sca-to-remove-john-wayne-exhibit/ |work=Daily Trojan |date=2020-07-10 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>
== Campus and facilities ==
The school is based on USC's University Park campus in Los Angeles.<ref name="USCHome" /> Its present facilities are centered on the Cinematic Arts complex, a four-acre, six-building development that opened in 2009.<ref name="USCOpen2009" /><ref name="Architect2014">{{cite web |title=University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/university-of-southern-californias-school-of-cinematic-arts |website=Architect |date=2014-05-07 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> The complex houses production, post-production, screening, classroom, and administrative spaces.<ref name="Architect2014" />
The school previously operated from an earlier complex dedicated in 1984, which included the Harold Lloyd Motion Picture Sound Stage, the George Lucas Instructional Building, the Marcia Lucas Post-Production Building, the Steven Spielberg Music Scoring Stage, and the Johnny Carson Television Center.<ref name="WaPo1984">{{cite news |last=Shirley |first=Don |title=USC's New Film Factory |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1984/11/19/uscs-new-film-factory/137949f3-4ba5-4284-be4a-670e472b3c11/ |work=The Washington Post |date=1984-11-19 |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref>
== Leadership ==
Since 1991, the school has been led by dean Elizabeth M. Daley.<ref name="Daley">{{cite web |title=Elizabeth M. Daley |url=https://www.usc.edu/profile/elizabeth-m-daley/ |website=University of Southern California |access-date=2026-03-22}}</ref> Under her tenure, the school was renamed the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 2006 and moved into its current complex in 2009.<ref name="USCRename2006" /><ref name="USCOpen2009" />
== Academic structure ==
The school offers undergraduate and graduate study across a range of disciplines in film, television, animation, games, writing, producing, and media studies.<ref name="USCPrograms" /> According to USC, its divisions and programs include the following:<ref name="USCPrograms" /><ref name="USCHome" />
* John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts * Division of Cinema & Media Studies * The Kevin Feige Division of Film & Television Production * Interactive Media & Games * Media Arts + Practice * Peter Stark Producing Program * John Wells Division of Writing for Screen & Television * The John H. Mitchell Business of Cinematic Arts Program * Expanded Animation Research + Practice
==See also== * The Dirty Dozen (filmmaking), a group of students in the 1960s
==References== {{reflist|30em}} ==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|USC School of Cinematic Arts}} {{University of Southern California}} {{authority control}} {{coord|34.023056|-118.285833|region:US_type:edu|display=title}}
School of Cinematic Arts Category:Film schools in California Category:Animation schools in the United States Category:Universities and colleges established in 1929 Category:1929 establishments in California