Creative Documentary by Practice MFA 24 months Postgraduate Programme By UCL |TopUniversities
Programme Duration

24 monthsProgramme duration

Tuitionfee

40,800 GBPTuition Fee/year

Application Deadline

25 Jun, 2027Application Deadline

Starting Month

SepStarting Month

Programme overview

Main Subject

Communication and Media Studies

Degree

MFA

Study Level

Master's

Study Mode

On Campus

The Creative Documentary by Practice MFA will train you in the craft and techniques of non-fiction filmmaking. You will develop your understanding of documentary as a creative research practice, making films which interrogate and explore the contemporary world. 


In the first year, you will produce three short films, supported by weekly workshops, seminars, tutorials and screenings. In the second year, you will produce your graduation project: a longer film exploring a subject of your choice, supported by an industry mentor. 


In addition to your core practical filmmaking, you will take three optional modules from a range offered within the department. From audio production to experimental cinema, you will specialize in the elements of public anthropology that interest you most. 


You will also take the MFA module on collaborative filmmaking and work with a researcher or practitioner from another field on a collaborative documentary project. This module is offered exclusively to students studying the MFA in Creative Documentary by Practice. 


You will learn to produce creative and compelling films and graduate an imaginative, risk-taking and intellectually engaged filmmaker, trained to produce your ideas to a professional standard and push boundaries in the field. 


Graduation films produced on the MFA Creative Documentary by Practice have screened internationally at BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying film festivals, and have been nominated for Grierson and Royal Television Society awards. 


Recent works include Dancing Palestine by Lamees Almakkawy, which received a Special Mention in the International Short Film Competition at Sheffield DocFest 2024, I Don’t Speak Dog by Rime Mahdi which premiered at Visions du Reel 2026 and Ma, Let’s Fly Together by Yash Zhang, which was selected for the Edinburgh Pitch Lab 2024. 

Programme overview

Main Subject

Communication and Media Studies

Degree

MFA

Study Level

Master's

Study Mode

On Campus

The Creative Documentary by Practice MFA will train you in the craft and techniques of non-fiction filmmaking. You will develop your understanding of documentary as a creative research practice, making films which interrogate and explore the contemporary world. 


In the first year, you will produce three short films, supported by weekly workshops, seminars, tutorials and screenings. In the second year, you will produce your graduation project: a longer film exploring a subject of your choice, supported by an industry mentor. 


In addition to your core practical filmmaking, you will take three optional modules from a range offered within the department. From audio production to experimental cinema, you will specialize in the elements of public anthropology that interest you most. 


You will also take the MFA module on collaborative filmmaking and work with a researcher or practitioner from another field on a collaborative documentary project. This module is offered exclusively to students studying the MFA in Creative Documentary by Practice. 


You will learn to produce creative and compelling films and graduate an imaginative, risk-taking and intellectually engaged filmmaker, trained to produce your ideas to a professional standard and push boundaries in the field. 


Graduation films produced on the MFA Creative Documentary by Practice have screened internationally at BAFTA and BIFA-qualifying film festivals, and have been nominated for Grierson and Royal Television Society awards. 


Recent works include Dancing Palestine by Lamees Almakkawy, which received a Special Mention in the International Short Film Competition at Sheffield DocFest 2024, I Don’t Speak Dog by Rime Mahdi which premiered at Visions du Reel 2026 and Ma, Let’s Fly Together by Yash Zhang, which was selected for the Edinburgh Pitch Lab 2024. 

Admission Requirements

5.5+
80+
7.5+
191+
A minimum of a lower second-class Bachelor’s degree from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard, or a pass at a non practice based Masters. We require an example of your film work to support all applications. We will accept applications from practitioners whose portfolio of work and CV demonstrates communicative and artistic achievement to the level of BA. We would like to see a portfolio of your film work. This could be single film work or multiple shorter films - but no showreels. Each film should include your role in the credits. Please also submit a short text about a film project you would like to make with illustrative images or photos. How to submit your portfolio: You can submit the film project proposal by attaching a PDF in your application. You can submit your film work by including a link to an external site of your choice at the end of your personal statement).

25 Jun 2027
2 Years
Sep

Tuition fees

Domestic
21,500 GBP
International
40,800 GBP

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