Chair's Welcome

Lights! Mics! Cameras! Action! Welcome to the Hofstra University Department of Radio, Television, Film (formerly Audio/Video/Film), where we prepare students to be part of the emerging, technologically enhanced, global setting of the 21st century. Working closely with our diverse, experienced, and award-winning faculty in a synergistic and converged multimedia environment, you will have many opportunities to express yourself creatively and responsibly through film, television, radio, and online media.

Undergraduate students can pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree (in Audio/Radio, Video/Television, or Film Studies and Production) or a Bachelor of Science degree in Video/Television, Video/Television and Film, or Video/Television and Business. In all our programs, storytelling is paramount. Depending on your major area of study within our department, you will become immersed in single and multi-camera productions, digital media, Avid and FinalCut Pro postproduction editing, graphic design, media aesthetics, media history, media theory, media industry, and producing, directing, and writing for film, radio, television, online, non-profit and corporate organizations. And, if you qualify, there are several scholarships and department grants opportunities.

Student productions and events include our annual Student Film Festival, Live from Studio A (local music talent – simulcast on TV, radio, and online), FYI (For Your Island – a community magazine program), the Community Radio Forum (current issues) and Midday Mania (opening of Basketball season). Whatever program you choose, you will emerge with a strong foundation in aesthetics, theory, production, creativity, technology, cultural understanding, critical thinking and creative problem solving. Our students are well-prepared for diverse and successful leadership roles and careers in many facets of the media industries.

Our internship program will enable you to take what you have learned in our programs into the professional work place of the number one media market that is New York City. While the number of internship sites available are too many to list here, some examples include MTV, "Saturday Night Live" (NBC), "Late Night with Conan O’Brien" (NBC), "All My Children" (ABC), MSG, Fox, Sony, Warner Bros., Sesame Street Workshop, WCBS radio, ABC Sports Radio, Atlantic Records, WPLJ 95.5, and ESPN.

At the graduate level we offer a Master of Fine Arts degree in Documentary Studies and Production. Combining studies and production, the program, which can be taken full time or part time, reflects a balance between critical inquiry and technical skill, while stressing the importance of aesthetics, ethics, and humanistic values through personal, creative expression. Our students come from local, national and international communities and are highly motivated and passionate about media. Opportunities for collaboration amongst students abound, and every one is encouraged to become involved in our many campus media outlets and clubs, including our 24-hour FCC licensed radio station WRHU 88.7 fm, HTV and HTV Interactive, the Hofstra Film Club (HFC), Hofstra Entertainment Access Television (HEATnetwork), and the Association for Women in Communications (AWC).

The Hofstra connection is strong and far-reaching, with our alumni working throughout the world to help shape the future of media everywhere. Closer to home, our alumni are found at companies such as NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX Sports, Nickelodeon, Sony/BMG, News12 Long Island, 1010WINS, Bloomberg media, Grey Advertising, YES Network, Rainbow Communications, HBO, BET, WLIR, and Time. There are also many who freelance in positions such as writers, producers, and directors as well as those whose entrepreneurial spirits have led them to found their own companies. And, there are some who choose to pursue graduate studies.

In today’s media saturated world, the need for dedicated, responsible and creative communicators has never been stronger. I am proud of who we are and what we offer our students. Whatever your professional dreams and goals are, we are always ready to help you achieve them.