Many American four-year universities and colleges offer degrees in film production and acting. Higher-learning institutes provide a well-rounded education in film studies for undergraduates. After graduating, students may also pursue master's degrees at universities and colleges. Master's degrees allow students to focus solely on aspects of film studies such as directing and screenwriting.
A large concentration of universities with film schools are in Los Angeles and New York City, with programs such as the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California (usc.edu) and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts (tisch.nyu.edu). Other universities in the United States with film schools include Florida State University (fsu.edu), the University of Texas at Austin (utexas.edu), Columbia College (colum.edu) in Chicago and Watkins College (watkins.edu) in Nashville, Tennessee.
Film acting conservatories are film schools that only offer acting-related courses. These schools provide classes for auditions, commercial acting, film acting and television acting. Sometimes film acting conservatories are called drama schools or acting studios; however, drama schools and acting studios usually provide classes in theater acting as well. These conservatories typically offer bachelor's and master's degrees in acting.
The two primary centers for film acting conservatories are New York and Los Angeles. In New York, aspiring actors may attend the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (sft.edu) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (aada.org). Los Angeles is home to the Stella Adler Studio of Acting (stellaadler.com) and the Gloria Gifford Conservatory (gloriagiffordconservatory.com). Actors in Dallas, Texas, have access to the Texas Actor's Studio (texasactorsstudio.com), while Chicago features Act One Studios (actone.com).
Film institutes, also known as film academies, are schools whose primary focus is film studies, as opposed to universities that offer non-film degrees. These schools usually provide one- and two-year programs, where students receive a certificate upon graduating. Some of the larger film institutes have courses for bachelor's and master's degrees. Film studies at these schools include acting, directing, production, producing and screenwriting.
In Los Angeles, some of the primary film institutes are the American Film Institute (afi.com) -- which offers master's degrees in editing, cinematography and production design -- and the Los Angeles Film School (lafilm.edu). The International Film Institute of New York (nyfilmschool.com) offers classes in screenwriting and film production. The Seattle Film Institute (seattlefilminstitute.com) is one of the premier film institutes in the Pacific Northwest, while Miami provides film students with the Florida Film Institute (flfilminstitute.com).
One of the newest forms of film studies is through online film schools. These schools offer opportunities for students to study film through the Internet. Online American film schools provide certificates, bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. When studying for these schools, students are required to purchase and use their own equipment for class assignments, as opposed to institutes that allow students to use the school's equipment.
Some online film schools are affiliated with existing film schools, including the Academy of Art University (academyart.edu), based out of San Francisco, and the department of theater, film and television at the University of California-Los Angeles (ucla.edu). Some online film schools, such as Ames Media Institute (amesmedia.org) -- based out of Tampa, Florida -- do not have a physical campus and only offer online courses.