frequently asked questions

It is the continued goal of the film school that each and every CFS graduate can walk onto a professional film set and not only succeed but excel.

Please explore the following pages to learn more about us!

• Home Page
• Programs
• Student Work
• Tours
• Equipment and Facilities (coming soon)

The Colorado Film School offers Associates of Applied Science Degrees and Certificates in the following program areas:

• Writing/Directing
• Acting/Directing
• Writing/Producing
• Screenwriting
• Cinematography
• Post-Production

Visit the Programs page to learn more.

We offer tours of the Colorado Film School building on a regular basis.  To view the tour schedule and sign up, please visit the Tours page.

Unfortunately, due to FERPA policies and to protect the confidential and/or proprietary material in the classroom, observations are not permitted.

There are approximately 300-350 students enrolled at CFS, on average.

Most CFS classes are capped at 16 students.  Some film appreciation and business courses may go up to 30 or more students.

We offer very few courses at night and none of our courses are offered on the weekends.  Classes run Monday through Thursday between 9am and 10pm.  Working students need to be prepared to make at least some time available during normal business hours in order to complete their degree requirements.

Yes, many of our students have previous work or social commitments and attend less than full time.  Please be aware that few courses are available at night and none of our courses are offered on the weekends.  Even if you attend part time, you should be prepared to make time available during weekdays to complete your degree requirements.

We recommend you pursue a Certificate or Associate’s of Applied Science degree.  Our AAS programs are closely modeled after an MFA, and certificates are a good option for those who already have a degree and are looking to get into the industry quickly.  For more information about the certificates and degrees we offer, please visit the Programs page.

Please apply to the Community College of Aurora at https://ccaurora.edu/apply/ and select the Film Track option.

No, the application process is free.

We do not offer film classes a-la-carte.  Anyone planning to take Film/Video Media courses will be required to complete the application process.  CFS students are required to be declared in one of our degree or certificate programs.

No, but you should schedule an appointment with an advisor to change your declared major.

In order to determine which credits will transfer from your prior college coursework, you will need to submit official copies of your transcripts to the Community College of Aurora to have your credits evaluated for transfer by our credentials evaluator.

Students who are already declared as a film major and have attended Film/Video Media courses within the last three semesters (including Summer) will not have to re-apply.

Those who have not yet declared a major in film or have not attended in the last three semesters (including Summer) must re-apply to the Community College of Aurora.

Applications should be completed at least two weeks prior to the start of the semester.

We have a very low bottom line with similar quality of equipment and instruction compared to other highly reputable institutions such as USC, UCLA, Columbia, NYU, and Chapman to name a few.  More information on tuition rates is shown on the Tuition page.

Despite appearing on your student bill as a “lab fee,” the $400 student fee pertains to much more than updating the CFS labs.  The student fee is used, among other things, to:

• Purchase and maintain filming equipment which is checked out to students for projects so that no student need purchase their own filming equipment for their time at CFS.
• Maintain the CFS building which is available to students to use for computer access, lab equipment and software, production meetings, classes, and use of the rooms for filming projects.
• Cover all writing, producing, and editing software licenses both on campus and remotely.
• Provide professional development opportunities for instructors and staff to ensure student success and quality of instruction.
• Provide supplemental workshops for students and staff, such as boom basics training, lighting and camera workshops, and more.
• Bring in guest speakers, such as Boots Riley and the Coen Brothers.
• Maintain the printer, copy machine, and office supplies.
• Maintain the room reservation system.
• Cover costs of developing curriculum to improve existing courses or create new ones.
• Maintain the online admissions application.
• Maintain the Colorado Film School Website and CFS Greenlight, our online project management system.

In short, the student fee provides funding for all the benefits we provide to our students that go above and beyond instruction in the classroom.

There are many ways to get an affordable college education in at the Colorado Film School and Community College of Aurora. There are federal and state grants and loans, privately funded scholarships, work-study opportunities, veterans’ benefits, and other forms of financial aid.  Visit our Financial Aid page for details on some of these opportunities.

• (303) 360-4709
• financialaid@ccaurora.edu
• CCA Financial Aid Office, CentreTech Campus, 16000 E. Centretech Pkwy, Aurora, CO 80011
• Lowry Student Services, West Quad Bldg 903, 710 Alton Way, Denver, CO 80230

Information on CCA scholarships is available here.

Yes.  Information on scholarships that CFS offers can be seen here.

Yes.  All third party scholarships must be submitted through the CCA Fiscal Affairs office.  Contact (303) 360-4827 or cashiers.cca@ccaurora.edu for more details.

Please refer to this page at the Colorado Department of Higher Education for any general questions about residency status online here. If you have met the requirements listed there, then speak with the CCA Admissions, Registration and Records Office about updating your residency status at (303) 360-4797 or admissions@ccaurora.edu.

If you are a resident of a Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) state, you are eligible to request a reduced Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) tuition rate.  Please check the WICHE website for further information, as well as to check if your state qualifies.

We do not have any on campus housing as a commuter campus.  There are options for affordable housing through Assembly Student Living.  We also encourage students to join our CFS Roomies Facebook group to arrange housing shares with other CFS students.  Additional details and housing options can be found on our Housing page.

We do not require that students purchase any equipment before coming to the school. If you are interested in buying equipment we recommend waiting until you begin classes so you can talk with students and teachers about the latest technologies. Although it is not required to buy any equipment, students are encouraged to have an external USB3 or Thunderbolt equipped hard drive. Backing up work on these external drives is always recommended in the case of any unforeseen issues. CFS recommends high quality hard drives such as those by G-Tech or Lacie, with either at least 7200 rpm spinning drive or SSD with USB3 or Thunderbolt connections.

Additionally if you would like to purchase a computer prior to your arrival at school, we recommend either the Apple MacBook Pro Laptop with an Apple Flash Storage hard drive and at least 16GB RAM running FCPX or the Apple iMac with i7 processor also with an Apple Flash Storage or Fusion hard drive and at least 16GB RAM, and running FCPX. However, you will have more than adequate access to computer stations and software at the school.

We DO NOT recommend that students purchase their own equipment such as cameras and lights. CFS makes substantial investments to have the latest equipment and due to how quickly technology changes it is possible that any equipment you bought when you started the program would be obsolete in just a few years.

The Colorado Film School keeps a large selection of up-to-date filming equipment on hand, which students have access to for class-related projects as part of their student fee.

Our equipment is industry standard, which means that the equipment you use here at CFS is the same equipment you will find on Hollywood sets.

Visit our Equipment and Facilities page (coming soon, please schedule a tour to learn more in the meantime) to learn more about some of the equipment we have on hand.

Some of the films our students and alumni have worked on include:

• Hateful Eight
• Time Lapse
• Dear Eleanor
• Gone Girl
• The Avengers
• The Amazing Spider-Man
• The Muppets (2011)
• The Walking Dead
• American Idol
• Resident Evil: Retribution
• Think Like a Man
• Underworld: Awakening
• Criminal Minds
• Total Recall
• Gone
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
• Katy Perry: Part of Me
• Captain America: The First Avenger
• Gulliver’s Travels
• Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013)
• The Wackness

CFS students regularly participate both as interns and paid cast and crew for productions in and around Denver.

Visit our Jobs page to see a listing of current offerings available to our students.

Yes.  We have work-study positions available at our front desk and equipment age, both of which allow opportunities to learn more about the film school and gain extra experience on some of our high end equipment.

Additionally, we regularly receive postings for internships and paid gigs which we put on our Jobs and Opportunities pages.

We do not offer any of our classes a-la-carte.  The fastest way into the job market through our program is to obtain a Certificate in one of our six programs, which includes 48 credits of coursework.  The certificate is generally recommended only if you already have a Bachelor’s or other degree.

Please email administrator@coloradofilmschool.co for assistance.

Open Auditions are held at the beginning of every semester to create a pool of talent that students may use to help cast their projects.  Open Auditions consists of a 1-2 minute monologue which will be added to our actor database along with your resume and headshot for student access only.  This allows students to reach out to actors who may be a fit for their projects.  Neither party is obligated to work with the other.  Rather, auditioning creates opportunities for both students and actors.  Auditioning with us each semester ensures that your profile remains active in our database.

Additionally, actors may audition for specific student films whose directors are holding casting calls to fill specific roles. These “satellite” auditions are hosted on the same day. You will receive details on where to go for those once you have completed your primary monologue.

Visit our Open Auditions page for more information.

We host Open Auditions once per semester, typically around the third week of classes.

Visit our Open Auditions page for more information.

Open Auditions are held at the Colorado Film School:

9075 E Lowry Blvd

Denver, CO 80230

You may sign up through the link on our Open Auditions page starting 3 weeks prior to the event.

You should select a monologue of your choice, roughly 2 minutes in length, to perform for your primary audition.  You are also invited to audition for specific student productions that are casting that day.  Those auditions will be available in different rooms throughout our building, and will have script sides available for you to read from on the day of the audition.

Please email administrator@coloradofilmschool.co to request a copy of your video.