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SNHF Homepage arrowOverview
The Program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking

The graduate program in Science and Natural History Filmmaking at Montana State University is the first program of its type in the world and remains the largest and the most well-known.   

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MFA student, Rob Nelson, filming a lava flow in Hawai.
Students in the program have had their work broadcast in many major venues such as The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, The Science Channel, CNN, Sixty Minutes II, Larry King, CBS Evening News, and NBC Nightly News.  They have produced films for the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, NOAA, NASA, and such non-profit organizations including the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the Nature Conservancy.  Students’ work have appeared in major museums, schools, and cultural venues too numerous to count.    Our students literally travel the world with explorers and scientists to make films from the Pribilof Islands to Easter Island, the Galapagos, Australia, Japan, Mongolia, Africa, Chile, and under the sea as well. 

Students in the program continue to win an impressive array of major awards for their work, including 3 student Emmy, 1 Webby, Tellies, and the best of show in major film festivals. 

Our mission is to provide new generations of filmmakers with formal education and experience in science, engineering, or technology who have the knowledge to create accurate and interesting programs that advance the public understanding of science.

MFA students record the sound of a river.
MFA students, George Potter and Henry Harrison, record the sound of a river in Yellowstone.
Students in the program come from a wide variety of backgrounds including the physical sciences, the social sciences, engineering, technology, medicine, and law. Applicants are not expected to have formal film or video experience (although any experience, amateur or professional, may help your application). Applicants to the program must have either a degree in science, engineering, or technology or, for candidates with degrees from other disciplines, at least a declared minor in science, engineering, or technology. The applications committee will consider applications for individuals without a declared minor provided the candidate can adequately demonstrate having completed the equivalent of one. (A minor is defined as a minimum of thirty hours of study in a concentrated area.)

About a third of the students in the program have advanced degrees, including Masters, Ph.D.s, J.D.s and M.D.s. Many students have double majors, often combining science with liberal arts, including filmmaking, language, art, theatre, among other disciplines. Applicants who do not have advanced degrees should not feel discouraged; our first goal is to find people who are talented, bright, and dedicated.

Unlike a typical graduate program, virtually no two students will have the same educational background. This makes for a thriving and organic interdisciplinary environment. If you are seeking a graduate experience that is challenging and original, then this program will appeal to you.


 
View Text-only Version Text-only Last Updated ( June 11, 2008 )
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