Career Options
Internships and Jobs
With a campus located within driving distance of downtown Hollywood, internship and career possibilities are endless. Through internships, students gain relevant, hands-on experience in various fields related to their interests and goals. Career-minded students have the opportunity to look for internships that may parlay them into full-time employment upon graduation.
Students seeking internships have access to a broad range of resources, from departmental announcements and Internet postings to networking via faculty-to-industry contacts and with fellow students who have already completed internships.
Continuing Education
In addition to transitioning into one of APU’s 26 master’s degree programs or 7 doctorates, many students continue graduate-level study at other prestigious Southern California universities, such as University of Southern California (USC), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Loyola Marymount University, and Pepperdine University.
Careers for Cinematic Arts Majors
- Screenwriter
- Film/television editor
- Director
- Production manager/assistant director
- Producer
- Videographer/cinematographer
- Post production supervisor
- Script editor
- Production designer
- Sound editor/designer
- Entertainment executive
- Critic/historian
Starting Salary*
A cinematic arts major’s typical starting salary is $39,287. The typical salary after 10-19 years is $69,880.
*Note: Salary information is provided for general reference only. APU does not guarantee the accuracy of the figures listed, and cannot predict or promise a specific salary for any graduate. For the most current salary estimates, please visit www.payscale.com.
Job Titles Held by Former Cinematic Arts Majors
- Producer, Dan in Real Life, In the Valley of Elah
- Film Journalist and Critic, The Hollywood Reporter
- Screenwriter, HBO, Mandalay Films, New Line Cinema
- Staff Writer, Warner Brothers
- Director of Photography, China Venture Films
- Agent, William Morris Agency
- Technical Director, The Matrix
- Animation Artist, Disney Animation Academy
- Production Manager, Paramount
- Post-Production, Crossing Jordan, Heroes, Reapers
Famous People with Cinematic Arts Degrees
- Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd (producers, Memento, Must Love Dogs)
- Laura Ziskin (producer, As Good as It Gets, Spider Man)
- Shonda Rhimes (head writer/executive producer, Grey’s Anatomy)
- Spike Lee (director, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X)
- Jason Reitman (director, Juno, Thank You for Smoking)
- Stephen Speilberg (director, Schlindler’s List)
- John Singleton (director, Boyz N the Hood)
- Conrad Hall (director of photography, American Beauty, The Road to Perdition)
- Gary Rydstrom (sound designer, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan)
- Walter Murch (editor, Apocalypse Now, The English Patient)
- Angela Bromstad (former president, NBC/Universal Television Studios)
