Editing and Post-Production Degrees: Options and How They Differ

Editors shape a film after it is shot: they choose performances, set rhythm and structure, and often find the story in the footage. Post-production also covers sound, color and visual effects. Some schools award a degree in editing itself; others let you specialize in it inside a broader film degree. Knowing whether a program offers a dedicated degree, an officially named emphasis, or simply a few editing courses inside a broader film degree tells you how much of your time will actually go to the cutting room. This guide sorts out those options using official program pages.

Three ways a program can teach editing

A dedicated editing degree

Here the degree itself is in editing. AFI Conservatory awards an MFA in Editing as one of its disciplines, and the Savannah College of Art and Design lists an MA in Editing within its Film and Television department, offered in Savannah and Atlanta. Your coursework, projects and final work center on editing.

An officially named emphasis inside a broader degree

Many production MFAs and BFAs let students specialize, and some name editing as one of the options. Chapman University's MFA in Film Production has a named Editing Emphasis alongside Directing and Cinematography, and applicants choose their specialization when they apply. Florida State University's MFA in Production includes a Post-Production specialization, which the college describes as training picture editors and sound designers. The awarded degree is still the broader one — an MFA in Film Production or in Motion Picture Arts — with editing as the named concentration.

At the undergraduate level, Chapman's BFA in Film and Television Production gives students a general grounding in their first two years, then has them specialize in one track — directing, cinematography, editing, sound or production design — for the last two.

A broader film degree with editing courses

Most general film production degrees teach editing to everyone, because every filmmaker needs it. That is not the same as a specialization. One editing elective, or a required post-production course, does not make a program an editing concentration. If editing is what you want to do, look for an officially named pathway or a dedicated degree.

MA or MFA in editing?

Do not judge an editing degree by its letters alone. An MA in film studies is an academic degree, but SCAD's MA in Editing is a practice-based program built around editing, color and post-production courses with a final project. AFI's MFA in Editing is a two-year conservatory program. The two differ in length and structure:

Read the curriculum and final-project description rather than the award name. Our guide to MA vs. MFA in film covers the general distinction.

What an editing curriculum covers

Program pages show a few recurring elements.

• Volume of cutting. AFI says its editors cut up to three narrative short films and serve as assistant editors on at least three more in the first year, then edit one thesis film and assist on another in the second. How many projects you edit, and at what length, is one of the best measures of training.
• Theory and craft. SCAD's course list includes a course in the theory of motion picture editing as well as hands-on post-production courses.
• Color. SCAD requires a color correction course. Ask other programs whether color grading is taught to editors or left to a separate specialization.
• Sound. SCAD requires sound design for film and video and offers sound effects and dialogue editing as an option; FSU groups picture editing and sound design in a single Post-Production specialization.
• Collaboration. In production programs, editors cut films made by classmates in other specializations. FSU caps each specialization cohort, including Post-Production, at six students per year, with crew rotations across projects.

Visual effects is usually separate. FSU, for example, runs Visual Effects as its own specialization with its own cohort, distinct from Post-Production.

Applying as an editor

Editing applicants are generally judged on cut work, and the rules are specific.

• AFI asks editing applicants for two original examples on which they were the sole editor, each no longer than 20 minutes, showing editing ability and an understanding of narrative storytelling. It does not accept editor reels, allows one piece per link, and asks that non-English work carry English subtitles.
• Chapman asks applicants to its production MFA to choose their emphasis when they apply, and its graduate admission FAQ notes that certain emphases require sample work.

Practical points that apply broadly: send complete scenes or films rather than montages when a program asks for examples; be precise about your role on each piece; and choose material where editing choices — structure, performance selection, pacing — are visible. Confirm the current requirements on each program's official admissions page, as they change by cycle.

Questions to ask programs

• Is editing a dedicated degree, an officially named emphasis, or a few courses within a general degree?
• How many projects will I edit, and will I cut a thesis film?
• Do editing students also learn sound, color and assistant-editor workflows?
• How large is the editing cohort, and how are editors paired with directors?
• What edit suites, software and storage are available, and outside class hours?
• Is the program on campus, and are any production costs or fees charged to editors?

You can compare programs by specialization on our editing major page. Program pages there show whether editing is the degree itself or a named concentration, with links to the official sources.