Program for studying in Los Angeles now opened to Rice students
Visual arts majors may find themselves tanning in the sun and rubbing elbows with celebrities through a new opportunity for semester-long study in Los Angeles. A program called University of Texas Los Angeles Center, which coordinates undergraduate studies in Hollywood, announced last Friday that it will now accept student applicants from universities across the country.
UTLA, which was previously only open to University of Texas at Austin students, is a program designed to introduce juniors and seniors of all majors to professionals in Hollywood arts and entertainment through internships and class instruction. UTLA Executive Director Phil Nemy, a former Disney executive, said that students must take at least three classes, almost half of which are held during the early morning and nighttime to allow for internships with major film and music studios during the day.
Classes currently offered include How Hollywood Works, the Creative Process of Film and Television Development, How Music Works: The Business of the Music Industry, and Topics in Entertainment Professions.
The UTLA curriculum is tailored to students’ own interests, Nemy said. Before the semester begins, students are sent an e-mail with about twenty different career paths from whichi to choose. Students select the three they would most like to pursue. The top three topics voted on by all program participants become the focuses for individual courses. Course instructors include past executives, producers, designers and casting directors Nemy said. Paul Leonard, a current co-producer of Battlestar Galactica, is one of the instructors in the UTLA Creative Process class called Post Production and Editing. Students often have a chance to create their own film or music samples and compare them to professional versions.
Wiess College sophomore Rachel Solnick, a visual arts major, said she liked programs like UTLA because they allow Rice arts students to translate their major to a practical career.
“I’m sometimes concerned about having a major that I’m not sure how to apply after I graduate,” Solnick said. “Programs like this get students out of the classroom, help them make connections and make careers more apparent.”
Students who are not interested in film or music can also participate in UTLA. Some architects and engineers work on in set design and special effects productions through companies like Special Effects Unlimited. Writers can participate in classes for composing television scripts.
Martel College freshman Lulu Fang said she appreciated these outside connections for visual arts majors.
“I think that it’s really great because our department is very small and we don’t have that many teachers, so Rice can’t offer that many classes,” Fang said. “To have varying opportunities by way of partnerships allows students to have more options. I think a lot of students will take advantage of this.”
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