The Department of
Film & Digital Arts
Film Production. Cinema Studies. Gaming and Animation.
Find your voice. Tell your story. Transform the moving image.
Become a director, cinematographer, screenwriter, video game designer, animator, visual studies theorist, film historian, experimental artist, or movie producer.
Albuquerque:
Ranked the best place for filmmakers to live and work by Moviemaker magazine
Adopted by Netflix as its only US production hub.
New Mexico:
Ranked a “film hotspot” by Hollywood Reporter
Famous for the unique light and landscape that attract artists and scholars from around the globe.
Our graduates:
are enjoying success at renowned institutions such as Lucasfilm, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), Google, Netflix, and Warner Bros. Many are instrumental in the growth of New Mexico’s thriving film industry.
Our faculty:
are screenwriters, computer graphics experts, filmmakers, photographers, cinematographers, virtual reality pioneers, cultural theorists, and film historians.
Degrees in Film & Digital Arts
The degree plans in Film and Digital Arts allow you to choose a focus in Film Production; Gaming and Animation; or Film History and Criticism. The department also offers minors in Film Production; Gaming; Animation; and Film History and Criticism. You may choose a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Digital Arts (formerly BFA in IFDM) or a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Digital Arts (formerly BA in Media Arts).
Professor Matt McDuffie on the art of film production.
“Education in the arts will continue to have a vital, necessary role into the twenty-first century. Study in the Fine Arts—in the area of studio practice, as well as history and criticism—is an essential undertaking in preparing students to meet the increasingly complex challenges that are before us. In the area of media study (in studio practice as well as critical studies), students can practice teamwork and attain practice in problem-solving that will apply to a wide variety of creative enterprises and employment opportunities. They will also attain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural currents that have informed the ways they use media, as spectators and as creators of moving image and sound works. Attaining these literacies is vitally important today, and will be essential in the long-term.”
-Professor Nina Fonoroff, Cinematic Arts, UNM
UNM film course hopes to highlight local talent with new series
The film industry is booming in New Mexico, but some locals are finding it’s hard to land those coveted top jobs without going to places like LA or New York first. “We’re treating this as if we were shooting for a network,” said Matthew McDuffie, a UNM...
Film & Digital Arts Movie Night
Twenty years after its debut in theaters, The Matrix remains an exhilarating experience, not simply an homage to cyberpunk novels and Hong Kong martial arts films but a technical marvel of truly inventive filmmaking. Directors Lana and Lilly Wachowski drew...
Introduction to Game Development Final Project
Video clip from a final game project created by IFDM majors Krystal Telford and Danae Gentry in the Introduction to Game Development class, taught by Jon Whetzel, in Fall 2018. Students must then apply to the College of Fine Arts as...
Contact Film & Digital Arts
How to Apply
- All students must be admitted to the University, whether as an incoming freshman, transfer student, or non-degree student. Apply online through the Admissions Department at UNM.
- You must also apply to the College of Fine Arts as a pre-major or a major.
- In addition IFDM majors must apply to become a major. There is no separate application for Media Arts majors.
Major and Minors
- The College of Fine Arts Advisement Office can help with questions about requirements, guidelines, and other advisement matters. To speak with a CFA advisor, call 505-277-4817, or check out information on our advisor’s Walk-In Hours.
Scholarships
Scholarships and Financial Aid are available through the University: