Why Iowa?

Iowa helped pioneer film studies—and today, you can hone your craft and find your voice in America’s best small city for the arts.

Study here

Turn creativity into storytelling

Advance your craft

Learn from experts

See yourself here

Experience the energy of Iowa City, where filmmakers, dreamers, and storytellers turn vision into art.

Visit

Write your story

Iowa’s cinematic arts programs prepare you to think critically, create boldly, and lead in a changing media world.

Apply
faculty helping student with VR

15

Full-time faculty
student in camera check out

229

Undergraduate cinema majors

Fall 2025 data

179

Undergraduate screenwriting majors

Fall 2025 data

screenwriting student in class workshopping

70 +

Courses taught
student in theatre discussing films

News and announcements

CLAS grad living dream producing ‘Pat McAfee Show’

Thursday, October 1, 2026
Fueled by the confidence he built as a University of Iowa student, Ty Schmit made a play in 2017 to join Pat McAfee’s fledgling media enterprise as an intern. Now he produces the retired football player’s daily sports show, which recently was acquired by ESPN.

When an image becomes a place: How Kaia Olsen reimagines visual storytelling

Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Kaia Olsen's experimental research invites audiences to move through photographically captured events reconstructed as three-dimensional spaces, revealing new perspectives and possibilities for storytelling.

CLAS industry professionals bring tomorrow's creative industries into today's classrooms

Monday, August 24, 2026
From literary agents to filmmakers, the Industry Professionals in the Arts and Humanities program gives students direct access to the professionals shaping today's creative industries.
View more

Events

AI Is Not Your Friend: Cautions and Vents about Its Uses and Abuses in the Creation of Scholarly Publications promotional image

AI Is Not Your Friend: Cautions and Vents about Its Uses and Abuses in the Creation of Scholarly Publications

Tuesday, October 6, 2026 3:00pm to 4:00pm
111 Church Street

On Tuesday, Oct. 6, from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, Walter Biggins, editor-in-chief at University of Pennsylvania Press, will offer his perspective as both a longtime acquiring editor and as a writer on how the advent of AI affects the present and possible futures of scholarly publishing. In particular, he will discuss how the emerging technology creates concerns and unresolved tensions — ethical, legal, and otherwise — in publishing around intellectual property...

Super-Powered Storytelling: On Writing Comics promotional image

Super-Powered Storytelling: On Writing Comics

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 3:30pm
Adler Journalism and Mass Communication Building
Join Cinematic Arts and comic book writer Ben Percy to learn more about how crafting a comic book parallels storyboarding a film! Listen in as he discusses the practice and craft of comic book storytelling and how to direct a small "set" of collaborators.
What Makes a Great Story?: Panel Discussion with Franklin Leonard and Ben Percy | Moderated By Rachel Yoder and Dean Bakopoulos promotional image

What Makes a Great Story?: Panel Discussion with Franklin Leonard and Ben Percy | Moderated By Rachel Yoder and Dean Bakopoulos

Wednesday, October 21, 2026 7:30pm to 9:00pm
Voxman Music Building
What separates a good story from a truly unforgettable one? Join acclaimed novelist, screenwriter, and comics writer Benjamin Percy and Franklin Leonard, founder and CEO of The Black List, for a wide-ranging conversation about the craft, business, and cultural impact of storytelling.
View more events