Hey kid, wanna be in the picture business? Yeah, we bet you do. Of course we also bet you’d like to learn from a master of cinema without racking up an absurd amount of student loan debt, and how could you ever do that? Oh hey, look at that, David Lynch has a masters in film/mastering of your consciousness program at the Maharshi University of Management and he’s giving out a full scholarship for it. Learning has never been potentially cheaper or full of existential nightmares!
This is a David Lynch MA program, so of course you’re going to ask what the twist is. It’s actually not that bad, all things considered. It’s just aside from being a film program where you’ll learn everything there is to know about film in three semesters devoted to writing and pre-production, production and finally post-production and distribution, you’ll have to start your education with a semester on mastering your consciousness through transcendental meditation. According to the brochure for the film program, this semester will teach you to understand “consciousness as the unifying basis of all branches of knowledge,” so we guess don’t apply unless you’re big on meditating.
Still, learning to master your state of mind as well as the movie making process sounds pretty sweet if you can do it for free (even if it means you’ll have to go to L.A. for a little while). The good news on that front is that the scholarship offer is open to anyone who applies for it, since all you need is a Bachelor’s degree. To get the full ride scholarship submit a creative portfolio made up of: a summary for a series idea you’d like to see produced, another writing sample showing off your web series, TV or movie talent, a 500-word statement of purpose explaining why you want in to the program, your resume, a sample film (maximum 10 minutes) that you either directed, wrote or produced and a final writing sample answering one of the two writing prompts given in the application.
Lynch’s program has pulled people like Jim Carrey and Peter Farrelly to speak to the class, and Lynch meets with everyone once before they graduate, so you do in fact get a chance to have some Hollywood magic rub off on you. And if you’re really lucky, there’s a Lost Highway-like twist and you’ll wake up one day and just be one of the famous people you meet.