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Master of Arts Screen: Business (Mid-Year)

Behind the scenes of ‘My First Panic’ | Dir. Michaela Holmes

Applications open:
12 Feb 2024

Applications close:
03 Jun 2024

Duration:
Flexible study options – choose between 1-4 subjects per semester

Attendance:
Online or on campus study options

Domestic Fee:
$34,032 ($34,032 p.a.)

The fee shown is the indicative course tuition fee, expressed as a both a total course cost and per annum cost. For more information, see fees and scholarships below.

FEE-HELP and scholarships available

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1300 223 877

Register your interest to stay up-to-date on future offerings, application or enrolment dates, and more information on this course.

SUCCEED AS A LEADER IN THE SCREEN BUSINESS AND MEDIA SECTOR

Maximising accessibility and choice, AFTRS offers flexible study options for the Master of Arts Screen: Business. Study on-campus, online (or a combination of both) and choose between 1-4 subjects per semester.

Designed for a new generation of screen leaders, AFTRS’ Master of Arts Screen: Business is Australia’s foremost screen business course. For more than a decade it has accelerated the careers of screen media practitioners, delivering high-quality content to producers, developers, broadcasters, filmmakers, creative arts managers, founders, and many, many screen sector entrepreneurs. It has driven the expansion and growth of new and existing IP, generated numerous, sustainable start-ups, grown businesses, and enabled the adaptation and monetisation of new technology through highly developed creative screen business models.

World-leading among film schools, AFTRS is consistently ranked among the top fifteen international film schools by The Hollywood Reporter. As an industry-facing institution, it is uniquely positioned to offer a balanced delivery of theory and real-world practice unparalleled in Australia, and its Master of Arts Screen: Business has long been acknowledged as one of the best postgraduate programs in contemporary screen business and creative leadership in the world.

“What surprised me about the curriculum was the focus on making students into an entrepreneur and a leader, with so many industry leaders coming to chat to us in the classroom. They’re creating tomorrow’s leader. I feel that they’re preparing me for the next 10 years.”
Indrani Kopal

Importantly, as the industry develops and grows, so does the MASB, keeping pace with rapid changes in technology and screen business practice. It offers a compelling mix of in-depth research and intensive workshops exploring the benefits and opportunities to be found in a screen sector undergoing profound disruption. The MASB is offered in a variety of formats to meet the growing demand for more flexible, nationwide delivery and specialised study through a range of focused electives.

The other thing that the course did was give us tools and frameworks for horizon scanning and looking into the future. The course really took me through the process of research, identifying an opportunity, developing an idea that speaks to that opportunity, get feedback on that pitch, refine it, develop it. It’s a bit like an incubator in a sense.”
Claire Evans
“I felt so laser focused in what I had been working on, and the course takes a big thinking approach. That was so beneficial to me to be able to change the way I thought about and approached things, and to take a broad look at the whole ecosystem and how it all fits together. It really shook up my thinking.”
Karina Libbey

A range of scholarships are available to successful applicants of the Master of Arts Screen: Business; you will be prompted to apply for them following your submission.

AFTRS scholarships

 

Meet Master of Arts Screen: Business Course Convenor Peter Herbert

 

Go Behind the scenes of the Master of Arts Screen: Business

“What’s interesting about this course is that it caters to you from all angles. There were people in our peer group that were already entrepreneurial, some that had bigger production companies, some that had never taken on anything entrepreneurial, but had extensive professional experiences as writers or directors or creative directors, but wanted to do their own work.”
Jaye Rosenberg
“Even after graduating, for several years I’ve always leaned back on my Masters as a crutch that’s holding me up to all the things that inspire me, both within and outside of work. The tools that we had learned while studying served us well – they had given us insight to business planning and strategy, looking at where there might be opportunities managing growth on a global scale and where the weaknesses are.”
Marissa McDowell

Is the Master of Arts Screen: Business (Mid-Year) right for you?

The Master of Arts Screen: Business is a transformational program designed for mid-career professionals from all aspects of the screen media sector. It aspires to develop graduates into visionary, highly-skilled leaders and entrepreneurs able to enrich Australian culture, expand and grow the Australian screen media economy, build businesses and achieve high-level, sustainable careers in the dynamic, fast-moving, global screen media landscape.

The MASB is a course aimed at understanding the screen media landscape and forming a strategy that takes you where you want to be. In classes, you will share knowledge on a peer-to-peer basis, forming lifelong relationships with key players across the sector. At the completion of your studies, you will emerge with a fully realisable plan to take to the market. It will be, perhaps, the most important step of your career.

Importantly, as the industry develops and grows, so does the MASB, keeping pace with rapid changes in technology and screen business practice. It offers a compelling mix of in-depth research and intensive workshops exploring the benefits and opportunities to be found in a screen sector undergoing profound disruption.

COURSE DELIVERY

All students begin with a prerequisite finance subject and end their course with a capstone project, which is a major, concluding piece of work. The capstone brings together the strands of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Finance and is supported by research into an area of expertise, and sophisticated skills in presentation techniques and report writing.

Study on-campus, online (or a combination of both) and choose between 1-4 subjects per semester.

In preparing screen professionals for their future roles in the screen media sector, the course emphasises intensive, practice-based development and skills training, balanced with theoretical frameworks that equip students to think critically and evaluate the complex, real-world problems encountered when engaging with the global screen media market.

Teaching is a combination of specialist lectures, workshops, expert tuition and sophisticated interaction with the screen media industries.

Students will gain crucial knowledge and skills in entrepreneurial leadership, collaboration and team management, financial management and modelling, strategic innovation, and the development processes and associated business planning modelling for content and project creation, from inception through to realisation. Throughout the course, there will be sustained, detailed research and analytical skills development, along with complex problem solving directed at the advanced analysis of existing and emerging screen technologies. There will also be associated business opportunities.

The electives are designed to enable students to engage in global screen business gaining international perspectives and contexts. Electives also deliver focussed teaching in creative arts management and project development.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

AFTRS’ Master of Arts Screen: Business is designed for the screen leader ready to engage with the unlimited potential of the media industries. Armed with a suite of financial and entrepreneurial skills, graduates of this course will create new businesses, lead creative teams in the public, creative arts and private sectors, and join a network of screen business alumni operating at the forefront of screen content around the globe.

AFTRS screen business alumni include Chloe Rickard, Partner and COO, Jungle Entertainment; Bridget Callow-Wright, Midwinter Films; Angela Bates, Development and Investment Manager, Screen Australia Indigenous Department; Sue Maslin, Producer; Matt Hancock, General Manager, SBS On Demand; Nathan Anderson, COO and Executive Producer, Start Beyond; Peter Drinkwater, CEO, Screen Audience Research Australia (SARA); and Paul Wiegard, Co-founder and CEO, Madman Entertainment.

Meet Your Lecturers

Peter Herbert

A writer, producer and executive producer for a many national and international companies, among them Crawford Productions, PBL Productions, Taffner…

Learn More

Dr Gerard Reed

Dr. Gerard Reed is a Senior Lecturer in Screen Business at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) and…

Learn More

Dr. Pieter Aquilia

Dr. Pieter Aquilia is a scriptwriter, script editor and director, who has combined her creative practice with a career in…

Learn More

YOU WILL LEARN TO:

Industry Forms and Practice

Research and evaluate the political, economic, cultural and social dynamics of the local and global screen business industries and develop solutions to identified issues

Business Acumen

Analyse, identify and communicate financial matters and sophisticated business models through the critical evaluation of screen business financial frameworks and measures

People Skills

Develop and deploy an approach to leadership in their business or career to achieve a defined outcome

Frameworks and Perspectives

Deploy appropriate research methods and strategic frameworks applicable to the screen media industries, and an approach to innovation to construct a competitive business advantage, overcoming issues and planning for future growth

Analysis

Critically appraise the screen media market potential and formulate an approach to reaching audiences/customers that aligns to a screen product or company

Get Answers

How to apply

Admission requirements

Application tasks

Fees and scholarships

To apply you will need to:

1. Answer all mandatory questions marked with an asterisk (*).

2. Upload supporting documentation, which includes certified copies of your:

(a) Proof of citizenship/residency
(b) Highest educational qualification

3. Upload specific application tasks relevant to the course for which you are applying.

4. Agree to the terms and conditions at the end of the application.

You do not have to complete your application in one sitting. Save your application and log back in at any time prior to the closing date to pick up where you left off.

When uploading application tasks that are media/video files, please be patient as this can take some time.

If you require assistance, please contact the Admissions team at applications@aftrs.edu.au.

Places in this course are competitive and are based on merit selection.

1. Prerequisites

Applicants to postgraduate programs are required to hold a relevant undergraduate degree at bachelor level or to have completed equivalent work experience and/or training.

The typical duration of a bachelor degree is 3-4 years, and candidates applying by degree equivalence are required to demonstrate they have achieved corresponding learning outcomes by completing a similar volume of relevant work experience and/or training. If you wish to apply for admission to a postgraduate program by degree equivalence, you will need to submit a Degree Equivalence Form. For more information, please contact the Admissions team at applications@aftrs.edu.au.

2. Application Tasks

You are required to submit the following:

  1. A Professional Curriculum Vitae outlining your Experience in the relevant Screen Media Fields, Educational Qualifications, and Credits, and or Relevant achievements
  2. A Personal Statement detailing your aims, intentions and desired outcomes from the Course – this is a statement about you, not generic; the focus being where you have been and where you are going or wish to go.
  3. A Business Proposition or Proposal – again, this is about you and your thinking; it can be a specific idea, or a career proposal, or an idea of how you wish to transform your career.

Demonstrating achievement against the following selection criteria –

  • Demonstrated experience or related skills relevant to the screen media industries
  • A proven capacity for leadership and collaboration
  • A willingness and capacity to engage in critical thinking, reflection and research

3. Educational qualifications

You must also provide a certified copy of your highest education level as detailed on the How and When to Apply page on the AFTRS website. Use the link provided for information on how to certify documents. Resume formats can be found on a variety of sites, and examples are numerous on sites such as LinkedIn.

4. Proof of citizenship/residency

Ensure you submit a certified copy of your birth certificate or passport as detailed on the How to Apply page on the AFTRS website. Use the link provided for information on how to certify documents.

1. PROFESSIONAL CURRICULUM VITAE

Write a Professional Curriculum Vitae outlining your experience in the relevant Screen Media Fields, Educational Qualifications, and Credits and or Relevant achievements. Please reference industry- standard Templates for this task.

2. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Write a personal statement that outlines your personal goals, your aims and ambitions, and how participation in this course will contribute towards you achieving these. Also, include any other information you believe the assessors should know about you that would assist in your application to AFTRS (approximately 250-500 words – submit as PDF file).

3. BUSINESS PROJECT PROPOSAL

Submit a statement outlining your proposal for a current business project that you are interested in pursuing. This should demonstrate your entrepreneurial engagement and thinking, as well as a desire to actively participate in the screen media industries. It can be anything from a business plan for a new project, or a detailed description of a business challenge that you have identified, a career proposal, or a description of how you might transform your career path. This should be 500 words maximum and or 2 – 3 minutes (maximum) of audio or video presentation. It can be submitted in the form of a PowerPoint or keynote presentation – but must be submitted as a PDF.

NOTES ON SUBMISSION OF MATERIALS

  • Do not exceed the (total run time) or page length – additional materials will not be reviewed.
  • All films should be in English or subtitled in English.
  • Film links are not permitted – this prevents materials being altered after submission.
  • All documents submitted should have your name, discipline, and 2024 Application and page number as a header.
  • Documents must be in PDF format. Other file formats will not be considered.
  • Keep any text submissions easy to read by using conventional font (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman + Courier for scripts), not smaller than size 10, and normal margins.
  • You are not permitted to submit any work that has been generated by ChatGPT or any other AI tool and claim it as your own. If you are using any work that is not yours, it must reference it accordingly – this is part of good ethical creative practice as well as a requirement of academic quality. Failure to reference is also considered plagiarism.
  • If you have concerns or questions about use of generative AI tools, please don’t hesitate to contact your Program Convenor in the first instance. This is emerging technology for all of us, and we expect it will continue to grow exponentially in the coming months and years. AFTRS is committed to ensuring ethical and appropriate use of these powerful tools.

Changes in circumstances may impact upon the accuracy or currency of information. While AFTRS takes all due care to ensure that the information is accurate, it reserves the right to vary any information described here without notice.

Review the fee schedule for Domestic and Overseas Students here. Fees are reviewed each year and you are liable for the additional tuition costs if the tuition fees rise during the course of your enrolment.

FEE-HELP

This course is FEE-HELP approved. Refer to the Study Assist website for details.

Scholarships

A range of scholarships are available to successful applicants of the Master of Arts Screen: Business; you will be prompted to apply for them following your submission.

AFTRS scholarships

Get Answers

How to apply

To apply you will need to:

1. Answer all mandatory questions marked with an asterisk (*).

2. Upload supporting documentation, which includes certified copies of your:

(a) Proof of citizenship/residency
(b) Highest educational qualification

3. Upload specific application tasks relevant to the course for which you are applying.

4. Agree to the terms and conditions at the end of the application.

You do not have to complete your application in one sitting. Save your application and log back in at any time prior to the closing date to pick up where you left off.

When uploading application tasks that are media/video files, please be patient as this can take some time.

If you require assistance, please contact the Admissions team at applications@aftrs.edu.au.

Admission requirements

Places in this course are competitive and are based on merit selection.

1. Prerequisites

Applicants to postgraduate programs are required to hold a relevant undergraduate degree at bachelor level or to have completed equivalent work experience and/or training.

The typical duration of a bachelor degree is 3-4 years, and candidates applying by degree equivalence are required to demonstrate they have achieved corresponding learning outcomes by completing a similar volume of relevant work experience and/or training. If you wish to apply for admission to a postgraduate program by degree equivalence, you will need to submit a Degree Equivalence Form. For more information, please contact the Admissions team at applications@aftrs.edu.au.

2. Application Tasks

You are required to submit the following:

  1. A Professional Curriculum Vitae outlining your Experience in the relevant Screen Media Fields, Educational Qualifications, and Credits, and or Relevant achievements
  2. A Personal Statement detailing your aims, intentions and desired outcomes from the Course – this is a statement about you, not generic; the focus being where you have been and where you are going or wish to go.
  3. A Business Proposition or Proposal – again, this is about you and your thinking; it can be a specific idea, or a career proposal, or an idea of how you wish to transform your career.

Demonstrating achievement against the following selection criteria –

  • Demonstrated experience or related skills relevant to the screen media industries
  • A proven capacity for leadership and collaboration
  • A willingness and capacity to engage in critical thinking, reflection and research

3. Educational qualifications

You must also provide a certified copy of your highest education level as detailed on the How and When to Apply page on the AFTRS website. Use the link provided for information on how to certify documents. Resume formats can be found on a variety of sites, and examples are numerous on sites such as LinkedIn.

4. Proof of citizenship/residency

Ensure you submit a certified copy of your birth certificate or passport as detailed on the How to Apply page on the AFTRS website. Use the link provided for information on how to certify documents.

Application tasks

1. PROFESSIONAL CURRICULUM VITAE

Write a Professional Curriculum Vitae outlining your experience in the relevant Screen Media Fields, Educational Qualifications, and Credits and or Relevant achievements. Please reference industry- standard Templates for this task.

2. PERSONAL STATEMENT

Write a personal statement that outlines your personal goals, your aims and ambitions, and how participation in this course will contribute towards you achieving these. Also, include any other information you believe the assessors should know about you that would assist in your application to AFTRS (approximately 250-500 words – submit as PDF file).

3. BUSINESS PROJECT PROPOSAL

Submit a statement outlining your proposal for a current business project that you are interested in pursuing. This should demonstrate your entrepreneurial engagement and thinking, as well as a desire to actively participate in the screen media industries. It can be anything from a business plan for a new project, or a detailed description of a business challenge that you have identified, a career proposal, or a description of how you might transform your career path. This should be 500 words maximum and or 2 – 3 minutes (maximum) of audio or video presentation. It can be submitted in the form of a PowerPoint or keynote presentation – but must be submitted as a PDF.

NOTES ON SUBMISSION OF MATERIALS

  • Do not exceed the (total run time) or page length – additional materials will not be reviewed.
  • All films should be in English or subtitled in English.
  • Film links are not permitted – this prevents materials being altered after submission.
  • All documents submitted should have your name, discipline, and 2024 Application and page number as a header.
  • Documents must be in PDF format. Other file formats will not be considered.
  • Keep any text submissions easy to read by using conventional font (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman + Courier for scripts), not smaller than size 10, and normal margins.
  • You are not permitted to submit any work that has been generated by ChatGPT or any other AI tool and claim it as your own. If you are using any work that is not yours, it must reference it accordingly – this is part of good ethical creative practice as well as a requirement of academic quality. Failure to reference is also considered plagiarism.
  • If you have concerns or questions about use of generative AI tools, please don’t hesitate to contact your Program Convenor in the first instance. This is emerging technology for all of us, and we expect it will continue to grow exponentially in the coming months and years. AFTRS is committed to ensuring ethical and appropriate use of these powerful tools.

Changes in circumstances may impact upon the accuracy or currency of information. While AFTRS takes all due care to ensure that the information is accurate, it reserves the right to vary any information described here without notice.

Fees and scholarships

Review the fee schedule for Domestic and Overseas Students here. Fees are reviewed each year and you are liable for the additional tuition costs if the tuition fees rise during the course of your enrolment.

FEE-HELP

This course is FEE-HELP approved. Refer to the Study Assist website for details.

Scholarships

A range of scholarships are available to successful applicants of the Master of Arts Screen: Business; you will be prompted to apply for them following your submission.

AFTRS scholarships

AFTRS graduates are

Storytellers

Practitioners

Creators

Cultural leaders

Storytellers who possess the courage and integrity to embrace and reflect Australian perspectives.

Practitioners skilled for the screen and audio industries.

Creators who can effectively communicate ideas, problem-solve and collaborate inclusively.

Cultural leaders able to apply positionality and ethics in their practice.

Storytellers

Storytellers who possess the courage and integrity to embrace and reflect Australian perspectives.

Practitioners

Practitioners skilled for the screen and audio industries.

Creators

Creators who can effectively communicate ideas, problem-solve and collaborate inclusively.

Cultural leaders

Cultural leaders able to apply positionality and ethics in their practice.

DISCLAIMER: Changes in circumstances may impact upon the accuracy or currency of information. While AFTRS takes all due care to ensure that the information is accurate, it reserves the right to vary any information described here without notice.