Program Notes
- No GRE required.
- Merit scholarships available, with no additional application required.
- Current BU students & alumni: learn about the Double Terrier scholarship.
- The MS in TV is a creative producing and management program. The TV producing/writing track is no longer being offered. If you’re interested in writing for TV, we encourage you to apply to our MFA in Screenwriting.
What does a television producer do?
Television producers bring stories to the screen. They discover compelling ideas, bring together the right creative teams, solve complex production challenges, and guide projects from pitch to premiere. Along the way, they unite creative vision, business strategy, and production leadership—developing projects, managing budgets and schedules, pitching to networks and streamers, and helping great stories find audiences around the world. Their responsibilities span every stage of bringing a television project to life, including:
- Creative development: Discover stories, option intellectual property (IP), and assemble writers, directors, and talent
- Production leadership: Build budgets, coordinate schedules, and oversee physical production
- Business + distribution: Pitch projects, negotiate distribution opportunities, and navigate the business of television and streaming
The MS in Television: Creative Producing and Management prepares you to lead television and streaming projects from development through distribution. Across three semesters in Boston and Los Angeles, you’ll build the creative, production, and business expertise to guide projects from concept to audience. You’ll graduate ready for leadership roles across television networks, streaming platforms, production companies, studios, and digital media organizations.
Great television is built by people with diverse perspectives and experiences. That’s why our cohorts welcome students from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. Whether you’re entering straight from college or pivoting into media leadership from another industry, you’ll graduate prepared to bring stories to life.
What makes BU’s MS in Television different
Two cities. One career advantage. Spend semesters one and two in Boston—a top-10 media market with active production companies and professional connections. Then take your third semester to Los Angeles, where studio internships and West Coast entertainment professionals open doors that don’t open anywhere else.
Faculty who’ve made television. Your professors have produced primetime dramas, sitcoms, documentaries, and reality shows. They bring current industry experience, extensive professional networks, and connections to the people making hiring decisions.
Alumni at the top of the field. Graduates of this program work at Disney, HBO, Netflix Originals, National Geographic, CNN, Warner Bros. Discovery, GBH, PBS, the BBC, and Paramount Studios—and they frequently hire new BU graduates into competitive roles.
What can you do with an MS in Television?
You’ll graduate ready to lead productions from development through distribution. During your time at BU, you’ll build a professional network that spans Boston, Los Angeles, and every stage of the television and streaming industry. Faculty, internships, alumni, and studio partners become lifelong collaborators, advocates, and mentors.
Common television career paths
Graduates pursue careers such as:
- Creative + line producing: Showrunner, Executive Producer, Film Producer, Line Producer/Field Producer, Associate Story Producer, Director
- Development + content strategy: Creative Executive, Programming Executive, Content Manager/Head of Content, International Distribution Director, Operations Supervisor
- Production management: Production Supervisor, Script Coordinator, Planning & Production Manager
- Marketing, representation, + academia: Business Development + Marketing Manager, Advertising + Promotions Manager, Marketing Manager, Talent Agent, University Faculty
Where our alumni work
- Streaming + networks: Apple TV+, HBO, Netflix Originals, Disney (including ABC network), NBCUniversal, FX, Paramount Global, Paramount Studios, Warner Bros. Discovery, TelevisaUnivision, MTV Entertainment Group, Hallmark Media, National Geographic.
- Production studios + agencies: DreamWorks Animation, Skydance Media, MGM Studios, Sony Entertainment, Fremantle, Cyber Group Studios, White Horse Pictures, Circle M+P, Confluent, WME Talent Agency, Paradigm Talent Agency.
- Broadcast, news, + public media: CNN, PBS, GBH, WBZ CBS Boston, WCVB Television
- Sports, digital media, + technology: National Basketball Association (NBA), Comcast SportsNet, Google LLC, YouTube, Universities + colleges worldwide
What you’ll learn: the producer’s toolkit
From discovering the next great series to bringing it to audiences around the world, producers lead every stage of the television production process. You’ll build the creative, production, and business expertise to develop projects, lead teams, manage budgets, solve production challenges, and guide stories from concept through distribution across today’s television and streaming industry.
- Development + pitching: Create professional pitch packages, series bibles, and lookbooks, then learn to pitch episodic concepts to studio and network executives.
- Production leadership: Build production budgets, manage complex shooting schedules, oversee physical production, and solve the challenges that arise on set.
- Content distribution + streaming: Explore how streaming platforms, international distribution, audience data, and evolving business models shape what gets financed, produced, and watched around the world.
- Producing across formats: Learn to produce scripted series, sitcoms, reality television, documentaries, and limited docuseries, building the versatility today’s entertainment industry demands.
- Customize your degree: Tailor your program with electives in writing, directing, television studies, cinematography, or advanced post-production editing.
The MS in Television provided a deep understanding of how the industry works and how everything connects.… COM helped me understand the big picture.
Kaylee Benson, NBC Studios. Read Kaylee’s story.
Lead real productions
Before you graduate, you’ll already have experience leading productions, managing teams, and delivering professional work through two signature student organizations.
- Real World Productions: A student-run production company that operates as an immersive class. Students partner with corporate and nonprofit organizations to produce broadcast-quality media while developing producing, leadership, project management, and client communication skills in a real production environment.
- BUTV10: BU’s award-winning, student-operated television station and digital streaming platform. MS in Television students produce, direct, and manage content for a public audience, developing tangible skills and executive credits that matter to employers.
Featured industry leader
Industry Veteran Craig Shepherd Is New Film and Television Chair
As a television and film producer and director, Craig H. Shepherd has worked on projects that have won the Sundance…
Learn from working producers
Our faculty include producers, directors, executives, and showrunners who bring active careers in television and streaming—and the relationships that come with it—into every course.
Sheila Sitomer, Director of the MS in TV: Creative Producing and Management
“Early in my career, I was a field producer/director at Good Morning America. One of my segments was on a California elementary school that regularly paired non-disabled students with those with disabilities. As a result, these children formed deep friendships as well as an appreciation for other children with whom they might not otherwise interact. Sarah Vaughan, a well-known jazz singer and pianist, saw the segment and decided to make a generous contribution to the school. I knew at that moment that my work had the power to make a positive contribution.”
Boston + LA: Learn on two coasts, build one career
Boston (semesters 1 + 2): Your career starts in Boston. You’ll build relationships with producers, studios, and media organizations while developing the creative, technical, and leadership skills to lead productions through every stage of the production process. As a top-10 U.S. media market—home to GBH, PBS, WBZ, WCVB, and a thriving production community—Boston gives you access to industry professionals, internships, and mentors long before you arrive in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles (optional semester 3): Los Angeles is optional for your final semester—but the vast majority of students take it. You’ll study with West Coast industry professionals, complete internships at companies including The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Studios, AMC Networks, The Hollywood Reporter, and Hello Sunshine, and expand your Hollywood network, creating connections that often lead to career opportunities.
Boston builds your foundation. Los Angeles expands your network. Together, they launch your career.
If you’re really looking at getting into the entertainment business, I think to combine the Boston experience with an LA experience, there’s nothing that compares.
Jay Roewe, alumnus and senior vice president of production at HBO
Industry connections beyond the classroom
- Cinemathèque: BU COM’s ongoing series of private screenings and intimate conversations with leading filmmakers, showrunners, and television creators.
- Krasker Film and Video Resource Center: Explore an extensive collection of 16mm prints, rare films, and media assets housed at BU’s Mugar Memorial Library.
- Boston’s film community: Take advantage of complimentary or discounted admission to world-class cinema curation at the Harvard Film Archive, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the historic Brattle Theatre.
Program details at a glance
- Degree: MS
- Full name: MS in Television: Creative Producing and Management
- Length: 3 semesters
- Credits: 48
- Format: On campus–Boston (semesters 1 + 2); optional LA semester (semester 3)
- GRE: Not required
- Scholarships: Merit scholarships available–no separate application required
- Double Terrier: Scholarship available for current BU undergraduates and alumni
- Curriculum note: The TV producing/writing track is no longer offered. Writers should apply to the MFA in Screenwriting.
Frequently asked questions about the MS in Television at BU
Is this a writing program or a producing/management program?
This is strictly a producing and management program. The curriculum focuses entirely on development, line producing, global distribution, and the business side of television and streaming. The TV producing/writing track is no longer offered. If you’re interested in writing for television, the MFA in Screenwriting is the right program.
Is this program focused on television or streaming?
Both. Since television today includes both traditional broadcast and streaming, you’ll learn producing and management skills that apply across traditional television, streaming platforms, digital media, and emerging entertainment formats.
Do I need industry or production experience to apply?
No. Students come from a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds. The program builds your technical expertise in producing, management, and development from the ground up, while giving you ample opportunities to gain hands-on set experience through coursework, internships, and student operations like BUTV10 and Real World Productions. What matters most is a genuine drive to master the business side of the entertainment ecosystem.
What jobs can I get with an MS in Television?
The program prepares you for careers across television, streaming, and entertainment—from creative development and production to programming, business strategy, marketing, and studio management. Graduates work as producers, development executives, production managers, content strategists, talent representatives, and other creative and production leaders at networks, streaming platforms, studios, production companies, and media organizations. Because you’ll understand every stage of the production process, from concept to audience, you’ll graduate with skills that transfer across television, streaming, and the broader entertainment industry.
Is the LA semester required?
No, it is entirely optional, but the vast majority of our cohort chooses to take it. The LA term gives you access to West Coast professionals, major studio internships, and BU’s extensive Hollywood alumni network while completing your final degree credits.
What kinds of internships do students complete in LA?
Students regularly land highly competitive internships at major media entities, including The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal, CBS Studios, AMC Networks, The Hollywood Reporter, Hello Sunshine, and leading talent agencies.
What is Real World Productions?
Real World Productions is a student-run production company where students partner with corporate and nonprofit organizations to create professional media while developing producing, leadership, and client communication skills.
How is this different from the MFA in Screenwriting or the MS in Media Ventures?
Choose Television if you want to produce and manage television and streaming content. The MFA in Screenwriting is for writers committed to building a body of scripts. Choose Media Ventures if you want to launch new media companies, products, or entertainment startups.
See all MS in Television frequently asked questions.
Also worth exploring
Learn more about our other graduate programs in communication and media, including:
- MFA in Screenwriting: For writers committed to getting their original scripts developed and made. Four semesters, seven completed scripts, and a guaranteed semester in Los Angeles.
- MFA in Film and Television Studies: For students who want to analyze, critique, and write about media at a scholarly level—offering an exceptional foundation for doctoral work or media curation.
- MS in Media Ventures (Media Innovation): For students with entrepreneurial ambitions in tech, entertainment, and media startup creation. An accelerated 11-month program split between Boston and Los Angeles.
