Through working and learning together, students develop unique artistic voices and create impactful, innovative documentaries.
Situated in the Department of Art & Art History, Stanford University’s Master of Fine Arts program in Documentary Film is a two-year program in which small cohorts of 6-8 students immerse themselves together in documentary filmmaking.
In addition to the core production courses, students take a range of film studies, film history, art history, and art practice courses, placing their documentary film practice within a context of critical engagement with the world. Students become conversant with the documentary tradition as well as with alternative media and new directions in documentary. The MFA degree is designed to prepare students for professional careers in film, video, and digital media, with the qualifications to teach at the university level.
“The program produces filmmakers who can do it all — produce, direct, shoot, edit, distribute."
— The Hollywood Reporter
Recent Student Films
Films from the program have screened and won awards at major festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and Tribeca. Student work is frequently featured on PBS, The New York Times OpDocs, The New Yorker, The Guardian, The Atlantic, and Short of the Week. For a larger selection of recent student work, see Recent Films.
The Game God(s) (2021) by Adrian Burrell
Club Quarantine (2020) by Aurora Brachman
The Clinic (2018) by Elivia Shaw
Crisanto Street (2018) by Paloma Martinez
Unheard (2017) by Erin Kökdil
Our fellowships cover the full cost of tuition and more
Fellowship support covers the full cost of tuition and a stipend toward costs of living. In addition, the program offers funds toward the costs of student productions.
Featured Alumni
Paloma Martinez
Paloma Martinez was named one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” by Filmmaker in 2018. Her short documentaries made at Stanford have been broadcast nationally on PBS, featured in The Guardian, The New York Times Op-Docs, and The Atlantic.
Elizabeth Lo
Elizabeth Lo (‘15) was named one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film" by Filmmaker Magazine in 2015 and was featured in the 2015 New Directors Showcase at Cannes Lion
Reid Davenport
For his debut feature, Reid Davenport ('16) received the 2022 Sundance Directing Award in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
