UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television (TFT) is widely regarded as one of the most competitive film programs in the world, sitting inside a university that is already the most applied-to in the United States. The BA in Film and Television gives students direct access to the entertainment industry clustered across Los Angeles's Westside, minutes from Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica, and TFT alumni include Francis Ford Coppola, director of The Godfather. For international applicants weighing UCLA TFT against NYU Tisch, USC's School of Cinematic Arts, or other elite film programs, the pitch is a public-university price point relative to top private film schools, a deep industry alumni network, and direct proximity to working studios and production companies rather than a film program built at a remove from the industry it feeds.
This guide walks through exactly what it takes to get into UCLA's Film and Television program: acceptance rate realities, cost, requirements, English-test rules, and what graduates go on to do.
Acceptance Rate
UCLA does not publish a Film and Television-specific or School of Theater, Film and Television-specific acceptance rate. What we know, grounded in UCLA's own published data:
- UCLA's university-wide undergraduate acceptance rate was 9.4% for Fall 2025 (13,659 admitted of 145,085 applicants).
- TFT is one of UCLA's most talked-about and most applied-to programs, and film schools of this caliber generally layer additional creative-portfolio or supplemental-material review on top of standard academic review, which typically makes admission to a specific competitive arts program more selective than the university's headline rate rather than less. UCLA does not publish the exact TFT-specific admit rate, so this should be treated as a reasonable directional expectation, not a precise figure.
- Applicants should confirm TFT's current supplemental application requirements directly with the School of Theater, Film and Television, since exact portfolio or prompt requirements can change by cycle and are not detailed in UCLA's general admissions data.
Bottom line: treat the 9.4% university-wide figure as a floor on selectivity. TFT should be approached as one of the most competitive specific programs at an already highly selective university, not as an easier path in relative to UCLA's other majors.
Fees and Cost of Attendance
UCLA's undergraduate cost of attendance follows the standard UC nonresident/international schedule (2026-27 figures), and applies to TFT students the same way it applies across UCLA's other undergraduate majors:
| Cost Item | Amount (USD/year) |
|---|---|
| Tuition and fees (nonresident, incl. Nonresident Supplemental Tuition) | $55,700 |
| Living expenses | $29,070 |
| Total estimated cost of attendance | $84,770 |
For the standard four-year BA in Film and Television, this puts total sticker-price cost at roughly $339,000 before any scholarships or aid. UCLA's undergraduate application fee is $95. Students who go on to UCLA's MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media (a three-year graduate program) should budget separately, since UCLA does not publish one consolidated graduate cost-of-attendance figure comparable to its undergraduate budget page; tuition varies by department and this dataset was not able to confirm a single representative graduate figure with equal confidence.
Admission Requirements
UCLA Film and Television applicants go through UCLA's standard undergraduate UC Application process, the same one used across all UC campuses and all majors:
- UC Application (not the Common Application)
- Four of eight Personal Insight Questions (350 words each), replacing a single personal essay
- Official secondary school transcripts showing UC-required "A-G" coursework
- TOEFL iBT (87+) or IELTS Academic (7.0+) scores for applicants who don't qualify for a waiver
- No letters of recommendation are required or accepted for most applicants
- No SAT or ACT scores are considered; the UC system has been test-blind since 2020
- Applicants should confirm directly with the School of Theater, Film and Television whether any additional creative materials or major-specific prompts apply to their intended track, since UCLA's general admissions data does not itemize a separate TFT supplement
UCLA does not publish a minimum GPA; the median weighted GPA among Fall 2025 admits was 4.61. The Regular Decision deadline is November 30, with decisions released late March.
How to Get Into UCLA's Film and Television Program
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Use your Personal Insight Questions to show creative voice, not just academic achievement. With no letters of recommendation and no single personal essay, your four 350-word PIQ responses are where UCLA's holistic readers form their entire impression of you as a storyteller and creative thinker, not just a strong student.
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Build a visible body of creative work before you apply. Short films, writing samples, editing reels, or any independent production work give TFT applicants concrete evidence of craft and initiative that a transcript and test scores alone cannot show.
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Show specific familiarity with TFT's program, not just "Hollywood." Referencing UCLA's specific strengths (its faculty, its production facilities, its standing relative to peer film schools) signals genuine research into the program rather than a generic entertainment-industry pitch.
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Clear the English-proficiency floor comfortably, not exactly. UCLA's bare minimum (TOEFL 87 / IELTS 7.0) sits below the practical target (TOEFL 100 / IELTS 7.5) needed to avoid UCLA's mandatory ESLPE placement exam after enrollment, which matters even more for a program built around workshops, table reads, and verbal pitching.
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Apply well ahead of the November 30 deadline, and confirm current TFT-specific supplemental requirements directly with the school as early as possible, since additional creative materials (if required for your cycle) typically need more preparation time than the standard UC Application alone.
English Proficiency Requirement (IELTS/TOEFL)
UCLA Film and Television applicants follow UCLA's standard undergraduate English-proficiency policy:
- IELTS: minimum 7.0 overall, recommended 7.5
- TOEFL: minimum 87 overall (pre-January 2026 scale), recommended 100
- The ESLPE trap: admitted students scoring below IELTS 7.5 or TOEFL 100 must take UCLA's own English as a Second Language Placement Examination (ESLPE) upon arrival
- Waiver: generally available to applicants who completed at least three years of secondary or postsecondary education at an English-medium institution, or who hold citizenship in a UC-recognized English-speaking country
Strong spoken English matters more for TFT specifically than for most majors, since film and television coursework revolves around pitching, table reads, and collaborative production work from very early in the program. For the full breakdown of UCLA's testing policy, see UCLA IELTS requirements and UCLA TOEFL requirements.
Career Outcomes
UCLA does not publish outcomes data broken out specifically for Film and Television, but the university's broader undergraduate recruiting picture gives a strong proxy, since entertainment employers recruit heavily from UCLA generally:
- Top recruiters (university-wide undergraduate): Google, Amazon, Meta, Walt Disney Company, Deloitte, and Warner Bros. Discovery, with Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery specifically reflecting UCLA's deep ties to the Los Angeles entertainment industry
- Notable alumnus: Francis Ford Coppola, the Academy Award-winning director of The Godfather, earned his MFA at UCLA's film school, one of the clearest signals of TFT's long-standing industry pedigree
- UCLA's Westwood location, minutes from Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and the studios and production companies clustered across the Los Angeles Westside, gives TFT graduates a genuinely rare degree of physical proximity to the industry they're training for
UCLA does not publish a university-wide or TFT-specific graduate employment rate or average starting salary, and entertainment-industry compensation varies enormously by role and project, so applicants should treat this as directional context rather than a precise outcomes figure.
FAQ
Does UCLA publish a separate acceptance rate for Film and Television? No. UCLA only publishes a university-wide undergraduate acceptance rate (9.4% for Fall 2025). TFT is widely understood to be one of UCLA's most competitive specific programs, but UCLA does not release a program-specific admit rate.
Does UCLA's Film and Television program require a portfolio or supplemental application? UCLA's general admissions data does not itemize a separate TFT-specific supplement, so applicants should confirm current requirements directly with the School of Theater, Film and Television, since arts programs of this caliber often layer additional creative review on top of the standard UC Application.
Do I need to submit SAT or ACT scores to apply to UCLA Film and Television? No. The University of California system has been test-blind since 2020, and this applies to TFT applicants the same as every other UCLA major.
What IELTS or TOEFL score do I need for UCLA Film and Television? UCLA's published minimum is TOEFL iBT 87 or IELTS Academic 7.0. Admitted students scoring below TOEFL 100 or IELTS 7.5 must take UCLA's mandatory ESLPE placement exam upon arrival, so aim for the higher scores, especially given TFT's collaborative, discussion-heavy coursework.
How much does UCLA's Film and Television degree cost? Nonresident/international tuition and fees run $55,700/year, with total cost of attendance around $84,770/year, roughly $339,000 for the full four-year degree before any scholarships or aid.
Is there a graduate path in Film and Television at UCLA? Yes. UCLA offers an MFA in Film, Television and Digital Media, a three-year graduate program through the same School of Theater, Film and Television. UCLA does not publish a consolidated graduate cost figure comparable to its undergraduate budget page, so prospective MFA applicants should confirm current tuition directly with the school.