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General graduate application requirements

Regardless of program, each graduate application requires the following:

• Transcript(s) from all colleges/universities attended
• Interview
  • Your admissions director or graduate program director will contact you directly about a potential interview after initial review of application materials.

Additional requirements, by program

• Arts, Entertainment and Media Management (MAM)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Spring 2027:
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Final: Monday, November 30, 2026 

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, February 1, 2027

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Personal Statement
    
    • Your personal statement should be approximately 750 words and include the following: career goals; reasons for pursuing the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, MAM; examples that demonstrate your level of understanding of arts management; examples of leadership potential, interpersonal and communication skills, analytical and reasoning capabilities, and personal qualities such as maturity, judgment, and individual initiative; and knowledge and experience with spreadsheets and other business-related software and technologies.
      We ask each applicant to write a personal statement in their own words. We want to read your story to help us better understand your personal journey, goals, and unique perspective. Your authentic voice matters and we ask that you do not use AI in your personal statement and other materials. If your application materials suggest AI usage, we may ask for a revised submission. 

   

  Optional materials

  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Portfolio
    • We encourage you to upload a portfolio that demonstrates your professional and creative work related to the arts, and arts, entertainment, and media management. This work may include a link to your professional website, links to organizations you have collaborated with, and examples of creative and professional practice e.g., performances, designs, photographs, compositions, business or marketing plans, audio recordings, and videos.
• Business Innovation (MBI)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, February 1, 2027
    • Final: TBD

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Personal statement:
    • Your personal statement should be approximately 750 words and include the following: your current career trajectory and the specific innovation, and/or entrepreneurial goals this degree will help you achieve; reasons for pursuing a Master of Business Innovation at this stage in your career; examples that demonstrate your established management or administrative experience within the creative industries; examples of leadership, interpersonal/communication skills, analytical and strategic thinking, and other professional qualities; and knowledge and experience with business-related software and technologies.
      We ask each applicant to write a personal statement in their own words. We want to read your story to help us better understand your personal journey, goals, and unique perspective. Your authentic voice matters and we ask that you do not use AI in your personal statement and other materials. If your application materials suggest AI usage, we may ask for a revised submission.
  • Portfolio:
    • Please upload a portfolio that demonstrates your professional or creative accomplishments. These may include: a link to your professional website; links to creative work, e.g., photographs, designs, performances, compositions; a business or marketing plan; a video of a pitch-session you conducted; a proof-of-concept demo or illustration.
• Combined Degree (BA|MA)

  The application for the Combined Degree program is for current ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ juniors only. The application is separate from our other degree programs. More information about this program is available on the Combined Degree website.

• Entrepreneurship for Creatives (MA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Spring 2027:
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Final: Monday, November 30, 2026 

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, February 1, 2027

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Personal Statement
    
    • Your personal statement should be 750 words and use specific examples to answer the following questions:
      • Why are you interested in the MA program, and why at this point in your life?
      • What entrepreneurial goals are you pursuing now or hope to pursue?
      • What have you done that demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively, solve problems, engage in purposeful research, and lead people?
      • What have you done that reveals your individual initiative, judgment, and maturity?
      • In what ways have you used business-related software and technologies effectively?
      • What else would you like the committee to consider when reviewing your application.
    • We ask each applicant to write a personal statement in their own words. We want to read your story to help us better understand your personal journey, goals, and unique perspective. Your authentic voice matters and we discourage the use of AI in your personal statement and other materials.

   

  Optional Materials

  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Portfolio

    • We encourage you to also upload a portfolio that demonstrates your professional or creative accomplishments. These may include: a link to your professional website; links to creative work, e.g., photographs, designs, performances, compositions; a business or marketing plan; a video of a pitch-session you conducted; a proof of concept demo or illustration.

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• Film and Television Directing (MFA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Thursday, January 14, 2027
    • Final: TBD

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Personal Statement
    
    • Your personal statement should include the following: a concise but in-depth investigation of your need to work in a personal medium, focusing on particular motives, attitudes, thematic material, and perspectives that lie behind your urge to create; and a description of special interests, experience and strengths you would bring to the program.
  • Portfolio
    • Your portfolio should contain each of the following:
      • Creative Portfolio: Strong work samples containing visual or written material that demonstrate the potential for successful creative work. Work samples should exhibit your creativity, talent, visual storytelling ability, personal themes, and depth of content. These may include, but are not limited to, films, videos, sculptures, paintings, drawings, graphic art, photographs, scripts, treatments, poetry, short stories, and/or expository writing.
      • Visualization Project: Construct a narrative in 8-12 frames. You can draw pictures, shoot them with a still camera, or use existing shots. If you use existing frames, from a video or from the internet, you must not simply duplicate a scene from an existing film, but must tell an original story, using material from more than one source. What is important is that the pictures you use tell a clear, cohesive, original story with a beginning, middle, and end. Do not use text, titles, shot descriptions, or captions. This is strictly visual. Do not use more than two frames per page.
      • Case Study Exercise: Select ONE of the two short films provided. In 500 words or fewer, describe how you would approach directing that film if you were able to remake it?

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  • • • Short Film Thesis Statement: This is a brief description of an idea you have for a short cinema project that might eventually serve as your short film thesis. Briefly tell us the story what is the beginning, middle and end? The statement should also include your feelings about why you are compelled to tell this story. It should display your potential for developing personal subject matter in the medium and is used by the admissions committee to assess your maturity and ability to communicate your ideas. This document should be between 250-500 words, typed, double-spaced, and labeled: "Cinema and Television Arts Short Film Thesis Statement." You will need to upload this within the application under your "Work Sample Upload" in addition to your Creative Portfolio and Visualization Project documents.
• Global Beauty Management (MA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, March 1, 2027
    • Final: TBD

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Personal Statement
    

    • Your personal statement should include the following: Your understanding of global beauty management, sustainable beauty or inclusive beauty; the experience and strengths that you would bring to the program and what you hope to gain from the program. Your statement should also include reference to career-related work in beauty.  Your statement should be approximately 500 words.  We ask each applicant to write a personal statement in their own words. We want to read your story to help us better understand your personal journey, goals, and unique perspective. Your authentic voice matters and we ask that you do not use AI in your personal statement and other materials. If your application materials suggest AI usage, we may ask for a revised submission. 

   

  Optional Materials

  • Portfolio
    • We encourage you to upload a portfolio that demonstrates your professional and creative work related to global beauty management, sustainable beauty or inclusive beauty. This work may include a link to your professional website, links to organizations you have collaborated with, and examples of creative and professional practice.
• Inclusive Beauty Management (Certificate)

  Required Materials

  • Personal Statement
    

    • Your personal statement should include the following: Your understanding of inclusive beauty management, sustainable beauty or inclusive beauty; the experience and strengths that you would bring to the program and what you hope to gain from the program.

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• Music Composition for the Screen (MFA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2027
    • Final: Wednesday, January 6, 2027

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Two letters of recommendation
  • Personal Statement
    
    • Your essay should answer the following questons in 500 - 800 words: Why are you interested in composing music for film, TV, games, AR/VR and other visual media? What do you expect from our MFA program? What are your future plans and career goals, and how do you see our program fitting into those? What kinds of creative collaborations have you been a part of in the past, what have you liked about them, and what have you disliked? How do you rate yourself as a collaborator, and why? Please also describe your musical background and qualifications, discuss your strengths as a creator of original music (and perhaps also your weaknesses), and include any other information you feel is important to give us an idea of who you are, as a composer, as a creative artist, and as a team member.
  • Portfolio
    • Your portfolio should include video or audio files of EXACTLY FOUR original pieces of music composed within the last two years, TOTALING NO MORE THAN 12 MINUTES. At least one of these four pieces should be music written to picture (or video game play, or dance, or a stage play), and submitted as a video. Your portfolio should be a true, thorough representation of your voice as a music creator. Make it sound like you. Be sure to include a selection from across a number of musical styles that are important to you and that you excel at, but there is no need to include styles that you do not feel represent your voice. When selecting pieces to include in your portfolio, please give preference to instrumental pieces created for storytelling media (film, games, theater, dance), and if you are submitting pieces that are not created for film or other media, choose those with an obvious dramatic character: Music that tells a story without words, or represents emotional arcs, or imitates actions.
      • If a submitted video has the music mixed low, (i.e. under dialog or other noises in the soundtrack), please also submit a music-only video in addition to the original video. This additional music-only video does NOT count toward the total time or total number of pieces.
      • At least TWO of the pieces should feature an ensemble of acoustic instruments (i.e. orchestra, chamber ensemble, big band, or a small number of acoustic instruments) and include a full concert score in PDF format. Live recordings by professional or student ensembles are acceptable; however, digital mockups showcasing your ability to use a DAW and samples are preferred.
      • At least TWO of the four pieces should highlight your capabilities of creating music using a Digital Audio Workstation as a production tool, including use of electronic/digital sounds; and at least ONE of the four pieces should be produced and mixed entirely by you.
      • With your portfolio submission, you MUST include a credit sheet listing for each piece submitted:
        • The composer
        • The arranger (if applicable)
        • The MIDI programmer (if applicable)
        • The recording engineer (if there was live recording involved)
        • The mixing engineer (if applicable)
        • The score preparer (who created the score PDF, if applicable)
        • The main software(s) or other tools used in the production (i.e. the DAW, and/or any featured sound design tools or synths, or sound design processes, if applicable)

  
  

  • Additional Information
    • Incoming MFA students will be required to bring a recent Mac computer with recent OS, a recent version of a professional Digital Audio Workstation (Logic, Digital Performer, Cubase, Reaper, Ableton Live, or ProTools), a recent version of a professional notation program (Sibelius, Finale or Dorico), a MIDI keyboard, a pair of headphones, and a pair of powered speakers. We will provide support and tips regarding these items to admitted students well in advance of their arrival.
• Screenwriting and Development (MA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, March 1, 2027
    • Final: TBD

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Two Letters of Recommendation 
  • Personal Statement
    
    • In 500 - 750 words, your personal statement should include the following: a concise but specific investigation of your goals as a screenwriter, the types of stories you hope to tell, how these stories relate to your personal voice, life, and interests, and what you would like your audience to get out of them. Also, discuss what strengths you bring to your work as a screenwriter and why it’s important to get your work on screen.
  • Portfolio
    • Your portfolio should include: 1 film or TV proposal and 1-2 samples from screenplays for a total maximum of 15 pages:
      • Your film or TV proposal should include a logline (1 to 2 sentence short summary of the story) and a one paragraph minimum project description that goes into greater detail.
      • Your screenplay writing sample(s) can be completed short scripts, scenes from a larger work or a combination of the two. Please indicate if it is a complete work or an excerpt on the cover page of the script.
• Strategic Communication (MA)

  Application Deadlines:

  • Spring 2027:
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Final: Monday, November 30, 2026 

  • Fall 2027
    • Early Decision: Monday, November 2, 2026
    • Priority Scholarship Deadline: Monday, March 1, 2027

   

  Required Materials

  • Resume
  • Personal Statement
    
    • Your personal statement should address the following questions in an essay format (750 words max.):
      • Why are you interested in the MA in Strategic Communication at this point in your life?
      • How do you think this degree will augment your current skills and expertise, both short and long term?
      • What special skills and perspectives do you bring to the field of Strategic Communication?
      • What do you think are the biggest challenges facing communication professionals today?
        We ask each applicant to write a personal statement in their own words. We want to read your story to help us better understand your personal journey, goals, and unique perspective. Your authentic voice matters and we ask that you do not use AI in your personal statement and other materials. If your application materials suggest AI usage, we may ask for a revised submission.
  • Portfolio
    • Please upload a portfolio that demonstrates your accomplishments. This may include a portfolio link or materials from the areas outlined below:
      • Research papers, white papers, point of view letters, journalistic writing, creative briefs, backgrounders, pitches, data analyses and interpretation, speeches, and media alerts. If the work was collaborative, please indicate what role/s you played in the communication development.
      • Photography, illustration, performance, design, poetry, short fiction or non-fiction writing, social media, advertising, and event promotion materials. If the work was collaborative, please indicate what role/s you played in the communication development.

   

  Optional Materials

  • Two letters of recommendation

Submit Transcripts

In addition to your , you'll need to submit transcripts for application review. The preferred method for submitting transcripts is via email to gradstudy@colum.edu. We accept both unofficial and official transcripts to begin the application review process.

You may receive a conditional offer of admission based on unofficial transcripts from the institution that issued your bachelor's degree. If an admissions offer is made, official transcripts must be received before you can enroll. Official copies must be emailed directly from your institution. 

If you are an international student who received their bachelor’s degree outside of the United States, you will need to submit an international transcript evaluation that states you have earned the equivalent of a US bachelor’s degree to enroll. More information on this requirement can be found here.

We also accept transcripts by mail to the address below. All transcripts received by mail must be in the original sealed envelope from the school to be considered official.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ 
Graduate Admissions
618 S. Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605

Letters of Recommendation 

Letters of recommendation should be written by people with whom you’ve had a professional, collaborative, or academic relationship. Former supervisors, colleagues, or professors all make good letter writers.

We understand that our applicants might not have access to faculty from their undergraduate institution, so anyone who can speak to your potential for success as a professional, student, or artist makes a good candidate to write your letter of recommendation. We do not accept letters from family members.

Letters should be one page. We recommend letter writers explain their relationship with the applicant and speak to the applicant’s potential to succeed in a graduate program.