Top 10 Online Film Schools

Can you go to film school without moving to New York or Los Angeles? Today you can. These online film schools let you earn an accredited film, screenwriting or entertainment degree from home, with real cameras shipped to your door, live classes with working professionals, and in some programs the chance to direct on a studio set over video. For each school below you will find the website, address, contact information, the online degrees offered, the department and department head, and accreditation, so you can compare programs side by side. Every detail was checked on each school’s official website in November 2026; always confirm with the school before you apply.

Here is our Top Ten Online Film School List

#1. Asbury University

Website: https://www.asbury.edu
Address: One Macklem Drive, Wilmore, KY 40390
Contact: (859) 858-5214 | [email protected]
Online Degree: M.F.A. in Film & TV Production (42 credits)
Online Degree: M.F.A. in Screenwriting (42 credits)
Online Degree: M.A. in Digital Storytelling (30 credits)
Department: School of Communication Arts
Department Head: Jim Owens, Ph.D., Dean and Department Chair
Accreditation: SACSCOC

Asbury University’s School of Communication Arts in Wilmore, Kentucky, offers an online M.F.A. in Film & TV Production, an online M.F.A. in Screenwriting and an online M.A. in Digital Storytelling. It is one of only two ARRI Certified Film Schools in the nation, with a 6,400-square-foot sound stage and an indoor backlot film set in the Miller Center for Communication Arts. Students can also earn Steadicam and underwater cinematography certification, and Asbury reports its graduates have worked on 450 nationally distributed films and more than 700 television series.

“Asbury helped me in my career of 30-plus years by elevating my professional expertise, insight, and film knowledge to a new level.” — Randy Halbig ’23, M.F.A. in Film/TV Production

#2. Arizona State University (ASU)

Website: https://film.asu.edu
Address: 1001 S. Forest Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281
Contact: 866-277-6589 | [email protected]
Online Degree: Online B.A. in Film, Filmmaking Practices (120 credits)
Online Degree: Online B.A. in Film, Film and Media Studies (120 credits)
Department: Sidney Poitier New American Film School
Department Head: Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Founding Director
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, led by founding director Cheryl Boone Isaacs, offers a B.A. in Film that can be earned fully online. The Filmmaking Practices track combines screenwriting and film production with the producing, business and legal side of the industry, with an option to spend a semester in Los Angeles interning with an entertainment company. Online students earn the same Arizona State University degree as students on campus.

#3. California State University, Northridge (CSUN)

Website: https://tsengcollege.csun.edu/programs/EIM
Address: 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330
Contact: (818) 677-3192 | [email protected]
Online Degree: Online M.A. in Entertainment Industry Management (36 units)
Department: Cinema and Television Arts, with The Tseng College
Department Head: Jared Rappaport, Department Chair
Accreditation: WASC

CSUN’s Department of Cinema and Television Arts, which CSUN reports consistently ranks in The Hollywood Reporter’s Top 25 American film schools, offers a fully online M.A. in Entertainment Industry Management through The Tseng College. The two-year cohort program, limited to 45 students, covers production management, script analysis, entertainment law, media analytics, and animation, virtual production and VFX, with an industry internship and a final limited-series proposal presented to network, cable and streaming executives.

#4. Academy of Art University

Website: https://www.academyart.edu
Address: 79 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Contact: 1-800-544-2787 | [email protected]
Online Degree: A.A., B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Motion Pictures & Television
Online Degree: B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Writing for Film, Television & Digital Media
Department: School of Motion Pictures & Television
Department Head: Randy Levinson, Director
Accreditation: WSCUC (on warning since February 2026)

Academy of Art University in San Francisco offers one of the widest choices of online film degrees, from an associate degree to an M.F.A. with a thesis film, plus online screenwriting degrees. Remote students can direct or produce over Zoom through an iPad on set, working with the same crews, actors and eight soundstages as students on campus, and faculty include Oscar- and Emmy-winning professionals. The university reports that its accreditor placed it on warning in February 2026, so check its accreditation page before you enroll.

“The teachers have real working experience, and I still stay connected with many of them as I grow in my career.” — Rain Zheng, M.F.A., Production Manager/Line Producer at Paramount Global

#5. Full Sail University

Website: https://www.fullsail.edu
Address: 3300 University Boulevard, Winter Park, FL 32792
Contact: 800-226-7625
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM ET
Online Degree: Digital Cinematography B.S. (online)
Department: Film & Television
Accreditation: ACCSC

Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, offers its Digital Cinematography bachelor’s degree online, with new classes starting every month. Students learn camera, lighting, field production, editing and color on ARRI, RED and Sony FX6 systems and DaVinci Resolve, and Full Sail’s Project LaunchBox sends home an Apple MacBook, a Sony Cinema Line FX6 camera, a light kit, a tripod and a shotgun microphone. Graduates finish with a portfolio that includes a narrative short, a mini-documentary and a client commercial.

#6. The Los Angeles Film School

Website: https://www.lafilm.edu
Address: 6363 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028
Contact: 323-860-0789 | 888-688-5277
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM PT
Online Degree: B.S. in Digital Filmmaking (120 credits, 29 months)
Online Degree: B.S. in Writing for Film and Television (online)
Department: Digital Filmmaking
Department Head: Charles Kanganis, Program Director
Accreditation: ACCSC

On Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, The Los Angeles Film School offers its Digital Filmmaking bachelor’s degree fully online, moving students through directing, cinematography, screenwriting, editing, sound, production design, visual effects and color grading to a capstone short film. Its Digital Film TechKit includes an Apple MacBook, a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Rode microphones, an iPad, Final Draft and Adobe Creative Cloud. Alumni include cinematographer Brandon Trost and directors Kyle Newacheck and Hannah Lux Davis.

#7. Regent University

Website: https://www.regent.edu
Address: 1000 Regent University Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464
Contact: 833-581-5837 | [email protected]
Online Degree: M.F.A. in Screenwriting (54 credits)
Online Degree: M.A. in Film Producing & Management
Online Degree: M.A. in Screenwriting · M.A. in Film & Media Culture
Department: School of Communication & the Arts
Department Head: Simon Tarr, MFA, Ph.D., Dean
Accreditation: SACSCOC

Regent University’s School of Communication & the Arts in Virginia Beach offers four online graduate degrees for writers and producers, including an M.F.A. in Screenwriting in which students build a portfolio of full-length scripts. Regent reports more than 700 national and international student film awards and more than 100 student films produced each year in its $35 million Communication & Performing Arts Center, and its graduates have worked at Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Disney, Industrial Light & Magic, HBO and ESPN.

“Regent helped me sort out my future and set me on a path I never dreamed of before.” — Joshua Overbay, M.F.A. 2010, filmmaker

#8. Berklee Online (Berklee College of Music)

Website: https://online.berklee.edu
Address: 855 Boylston Street, 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116
Contact: 1-866-237-5533 | [email protected]
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET
Online Degree: Master of Music in Film Scoring (36 credits)
Online Degree: B.A. in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games
Department: Berklee Online, Berklee College of Music
Department Head: Alison Plante, Program Director, Film Scoring
Accreditation: NECHE

Berklee Online, the online school of Boston’s Berklee College of Music, offers an online Master of Music in Film Scoring and an online bachelor’s degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games. Students record their own compositions in live sessions with a professional orchestra, prepare record-ready Pro Tools sessions, scores and parts, and learn from instructors such as orchestrator and conductor Jon Kull, whose credits include Black Panther, A Quiet Place and the Hunger Games films. Newsweek ranked Berklee Online number five on its 2026 list of America’s top online schools.

#9. Maharishi International University (MIU)

Website: https://www.miu.edu
Address: 1000 North 4th Street, Fairfield, IA 52556
Contact: (641) 472-1110
Online Degree: B.A. in Cinematic Arts & New Media (online)
Department: Cinematic Arts and New Media
Department Head: Amine Kouider, MFA, Department Chair
Accreditation: Higher Learning Commission (HLC)

Maharishi International University, a nonprofit university in Fairfield, Iowa, offers an online B.A. in Cinematic Arts & New Media with real production coursework, including Intro to Filmmaking, Cinematography, Video Editing, Film Equipment Mastery, Directing Actors, Documentary Filmmaking and Music Video. Courses are taken one or two at a time in focused blocks, and U.S. students can choose a hybrid path with time on campus.

#10. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

Website: https://www.snhu.edu
Address: 2500 North River Road, Manchester, NH 03106
Contact: 800-668-1249 | [email protected]
Online Degree: Online B.A. in Creative Writing, Screenwriting concentration
Department: Liberal Arts
Accreditation: NECHE

Southern New Hampshire University offers an online path to a bachelor’s degree focused on writing for the screen: a B.A. in Creative Writing & English with a concentration in Screenwriting, including intermediate and advanced screenwriting workshops. It is a writing degree rather than a production degree, so pair it with hands-on shooting through your own projects, workshops, or StudentFilmmakers courses and webinars. New terms start several times a year.

FAQ

Q: Can you get a film degree online?

A: Yes. Accredited universities now offer online bachelor’s and master’s degrees in filmmaking, cinematography, screenwriting and entertainment management. Many ship cameras and laptops to students, hold live online classes, and assign real productions you shoot where you live.

Q: Are online film degrees respected?

A: An accredited online degree is a real degree; at some schools, such as Arizona State University, the diploma does not even say “online.” In film, your reel, your scripts and the people you have worked with matter most, so choose a program that has you making work from the start.

Q: How do online film students get hands-on experience?

A: Through projects shot on your own gear or on equipment kits the school sends, remote participation in on-campus shoots, internships, summer productions, and collaborating with classmates and local filmmakers.

Q: Can you study film scoring online?

A: Yes. Berklee Online offers an online Master of Music in Film Scoring in which students write for picture and record their own compositions with a professional orchestra, plus an online bachelor’s degree in Music Composition for Film, TV, and Games.

Q: Can I work while going to film school online?

A: Yes. Many online programs offer part-time schedules or short eight-week courses, and some start new classes every month. Plan your shoots and deadlines carefully, and ask the school about the weekly time commitment.

In Conclusion

Choosing the right online film school should align with your goals, your schedule and your budget. Visit each school’s website, attend a virtual information session, ask admissions to connect you with current students, and look at what recent graduates have made. Wherever you study, keep shooting, keep writing, and keep sharing your work with other filmmakers.

Additional Resources

Top Ten East Coast Film Schools

Top Ten West Coast Film Schools

Top Ten Screenwriting Schools

Top Ten Cinematography Schools

Student Filmmakers Forums

Filmmakers Network

Photos: Asbury University (used with permission); ajay_suresh (CC BY 4.0); English315, Comb4ckszn, Clyde Charles Brown, Steve Lux, Jr. (CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped); Clotee Pridgen Alloc., Wgreaves, Fourbuttons, DebateLord (CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped); Daderot (CC0); Jhillis, Keithbob (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.