Columbia’s Semester in LA program is restructuring to include new alumni outreach initiatives, a new studio and classes aimed at attracting students beyond film and television majors.
The program gives students an opportunity to learn in classes with professional guest speakers and requires students to complete an internship.
Semester in LA recently moved to a bigger Hollywood studio, owned by the same management company, Hudson Pacific Properties.
The new Sunset Gower Studios will allow for bigger class sizes, with three classrooms and 12 sound stages.
“The cost of the physical move was minimal, and the department remained under budget for the year,” Columbia’s Senior Media Relations Manager Michelle Aiello told the Chronicle in an email, adding that the new location eliminates the need for offsite storage.
The previous Sunset Las Palmas Studios only had one 15-seat classroom. The college had moved to Sunset Las Palmas after being pushed out of Raleigh Studios when it gave the space to production company Higher Ground and Netflix in 2022.
The move to Sunset Gower Studios was meant to be temporary.
Giovanna Sequeira Voci Dias, a senior film and television major who attended Semester in LA this past summer, said that the program was valuable for her career goals, aiding in getting her connected to a producer that works with Ryan Murphy, who produces shows like “American Horror Story” and “9-1-1.”
“The most outstanding experience I had with SiLA was through a coffee request I made after the coordinator of the program gave me the email of an alumni that worked at Ryan Murphy’s internship program,” said Sequeira Voci Dias. “From that, I was able to book a whole tour at ‘All’s Fair’ sound stages and even had the opportunity to talk with a producer that works closely with Ryan Murphy.”
The college plans to create more connections for other majors in future semesters by bringing in more guest speakers that pertain to a variety of career fields. Recently, the program welcomed two professional dancers as guest speakers.
“Our program, it kind of came out of film and television. And unfortunately, it is still identified as a film and television program,” said Kevin Cooper, the college’s director of Semester in LA, “Over the last two years, we’ve tried to pull it away from that and be much more of a career development like environment.”
Comedy and dance majors are among the 12 students in Semester in LA this fall, and 40 to 50 students are expected for the Spring 2027 semester.
Enrollment for Semester in LA has remained steady over the last two years, averaging 15 to 20 students during the fall semester. The college is pushing the program to fill the larger spaces for the Spring and Fall 2027 semesters.
These changes are being made as the college sees an increase in enrollment from 3,958 in Spring 2026 to 4,265 students for Fall 2026. The college’s retention rate also has increased to 71.2%, as The Chronicle previously reported.
On Sep. 29, President and CEO Shantay Bolton hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new studio space, followed by a reception.
The reception allowed for students to network with alumni of the college, including Emmy-nominated cinematographer Tari Segal who worked on and was nominated for “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” and graduated in 2003.
“It was nice to be able to spend time with someone who’s just really taking off,” Cooper said. “It’s really been a neat thing to see that evolution and to be able to celebrate the ribbon cutting of this building with people like that was really inspiring.”
Current Semester in LA student Jake Szymanski, a senior film and television major, said that Sunset Gower Studios has given students the opportunity to be in the middle of professional productions.
“Sunset Gower Studios is a beautiful new location that puts you right in the middle of some major productions being filmed on the lot. We casually see Snoop Dogg and Kim Kardashian walking right in front of our classroom,” Szymanski said.
The new space is open to current Semester in LA students and planned events, like professional guest speakers, will be open to alumni as well.
Cooper also said the renewed focus on alumni relations would include inviting alumni back to continue their education, allowing them to retrain in other disciplines to add to their skill set.
“If you were a gaffer and you want to learn to be a screenwriter, or you’re a photographer and you want to learn cinematography or something like that. The goal would be to open this up to alumni, possibly at some point in the near future,” Cooper said.
Tuition covers Semester in LA, with an additional $550 program fee required for the Fall and Spring semester. The Summer semester costs $275. These payments do not include personal expenses or housing, which are estimated at $1,600 and $7,349 per semester, respectively.
Cooper said that none of these prices will be increasing due to the restructuring of the program or the move, and that they hope to develop transportation funds for students who may not have a driver’s license.
Applications for the Fall 2027 Semester in LA close Friday, Oct. 16. Submit to Semester in LA on the program’s website.
Copy edited by Isaac Russo
