Biola University’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts is one of the top 50 film schools in the nation according to entertainment news site, The Wrap. For the third year in a row, Biola has been recognized as a premiere film school by the publication.

“I’m thrilled to see that Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts is once again named one of the top 50 film schools in the country by The Wrap,” said Tom Halleen, dean of Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts. “We’re also the highest ranked Christian film school in the country. This is an exciting validation of the work of our faculty and staff and the quality of our students, and a reflection of our amazing alumni, who continue to be a daily voice in this industry through their excellence in work and character.”

The Wrap noted Biola’s high enrollment growth in the last two years, the hiring of Halleen who left his post as EVP of Programming Strategy at AMC Networks in 2020 to lead Biola’s film school, and plans to build a $76-million studio facility as reason to recognize Biola.

Positioned just 25 miles outside of Hollywood, the world's entertainment epi-center, Biola students have easy access to the industries of film, television, digital media and video game design, together with the studios, agencies, networks, production companies, and the corporations which operate them. This provides students with access to internships, industry leaders, guest speakers, networking, tours, and other industry experiences. The school’s in-house internship department assists students in landing internships at places like Disney, Sony, DreamWorks, Marvel Animation, Twentieth Century Fox, PBS, The Television Academy, AMPAS, Television City and many other organizations.

“The professors here work really hard and work with their students to make sure that we’re well-prepared and really fine-tune our craft,” said Meaghan Doore, a senior Cinema and Media Arts major at Biola. “They’re passionate and they care about us, which makes us even want to work harder, and they fuel that passion.”

According to The Wrap, the rankings are created by collecting data points on different aspects of the school ranging from class size to networking opportunities as well as new programs, facilities, faculty, and alumni success in addition to reaching out to industry experts and other film schools for their input.

Biola prioritizes creating excellence in craft and character with faculty encouraging students to not only hone their craft, but grow in their personal character.

Biola was also named as a top film school by Variety earlier this year: “30 Top Film Schools in North America.”

Read the Biola Magazine article, “30 to Watch (Literally)” to read about where recent Cinema and Media Arts program alumni are now.

Learn more and apply to Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema and Media Arts.

Written by Emily Marsh, public relations intern. For more information, contact media.relations@biola.edu.