The New York Film Academy - Matthew Modine Masters Scholarship 2026

Recipients must demonstrate the values set forth by New York Film Academy to further the art of visual storytelling. Candidates will exhibit exemplary purpose, creativity, and commitment to community. All scholarship decisions by NYFA are at its sole and absolute discretion and final.

Two Year Master of Fine Arts

The Academy makes the accelerated two-year schedule possible by creating an extended academic year allowing students to complete three full-length semesters in each calendar year.

New York Film Academy MFA degree programs are offered only at our Los Angeles Campus.

BI-COASTAL EXPERIENCE

New York Film Academy degree programs are offered at our Los Angeles campus. Qualified students have the option of completing course work at the New York Film Academy in New York City in a one-year non-degree program and requesting that their course work be accepted for advanced standing in the MFA degree program at the Los Angeles campus. In order to do so, students must apply and be accepted to the degree program in Los Angeles.

These students will join the MFA in the second year of the program. The progression of the studio and supporting classes in the second year will be adjusted slightly to accommodate this modified course of study. This gives students the unique opportunity to learn their craft in both New York City, the heart of the independent film industry and international proving ground for actors, and in Los Angeles, amidst the great film studios in the worldwide entertainment capital.

ABOUT MATTHEW MODINE

It’s been said of Matthew Modine that he is “one of the best, most adaptable film actors of his generation” by legendary NY Times film critic Vincent Canby. He can be currently seen in both seasons of the Netflix global mega hit Stranger Things, which won the 2017 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.

He recently starred in the underwater shark thriller 47 Meters Down opposite Mandy Moore and Claire Holt, which is the highest grossing independent feature film of 2017. Modine is currently starring opposite Uzo Aduba in the independent feature film Miss Virginia. He’ll next be seen in Sicario: Day of the Soldadowith Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin and the independent feature film Foster Boy. Matthew is a member of the New York Film Academy's Board of Directors and generously donates his time as master class instructor at NYFA.

Modine has worked with many of the film industry’s most acclaimed directors, including Christopher Nolan, Oliver Stone, Sir Alan Parker, Stanley Kubrick, Robert Altman, Alan J. Pakula, John Schlesinger, Robert Falls, Sir Peter Hall, Abel Ferrara, Spike Lee, Mike Figgis, Jonathan Demme and John Sayles.

Throughout his career, Modine has been nominated for three Golden Globes and is the recipient of one (Altman’s, Short Cuts). Modine is well remembered for the title character in Alan Parker’s Birdy, which won the Cannes Film Festival’s Gran Prix Award, and for his iconic role as Private Joker in Stanley Kubrick’s, Full Metal Jacket. His work in Alan Rudolph’s Equinox helped earn the film four Independent Spirit Award nominations, including Best Film and Best Actor. He is the recipient of a Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup and a Golden Lion Award. More recently, Matthew co-starred in Christopher Nolan’s Batman epic Dark Knight Rises.

Matthew recently wrote and directed the award winning Super Sex, starring Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Ruby Modine, and Edward Asner. Super Sex premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is enjoying a long comedic run at festivals around the world. His previous film was the award-winning Jesus Was a Commie, an avant-garde project about prominent issues facing modern society.

Additional television credits include Weeds, And the Band Played On(Emmy and Golden Globe nomination, Best Actor), What the Deaf Man Heard (Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, Best Actor. The film was the highest-rated made-for-television movie on any network since 1991 with approximately 36 million viewers.)