How Biola's Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts is expanding its impact in Hollywood — and beyond.
Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts is a rising star in the entertainment industry. So say a growing number of industry leaders and publications, who in recent years have taken note of the Snyder School’s expanding impact in Hollywood and beyond.
Among the most recent accolades, Biola was recognized once again, seven years in a row, as one of the top film schools in North America. The recent acknowledgment within Variety's Top 30 list reflects Biola as the only member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities to make the cut.
With a forthcoming 45,463 sq ft studio facility, hundreds of active alumni in the entertainment industry, an on-campus production center, millions of dollars’ worth of industry-grade equipment students can access starting day one, hundreds of student productions each year, located only 25 miles from Hollywood, a 100% student internship placement rate, and a program which teaches content creation and management across all platforms, it is no wonder why Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts continues to be recognized as one of the very best.
There’s no denying the school’s momentum. In the past few years alone, the program has grown into the third largest undergraduate school in the university and the second largest major overall. Prospective student interest and resulting enrollment has continued climbing at record levels, as has the number of students transferring into the program from other universities. Under the leadership of Tom Halleen — who left his executive vice president position at AMC Networks to lead the school as its founding dean — the school is setting its sights higher than ever. We caught up with Halleen to learn more about his background, his vision for the school and why he thinks it’s vital for Christians to care about crafting thoughtful, compelling content for screens of all shapes and all sizes.
Meet Dean Tom Halleen
NAME
Tom Halleen
Founding Dean, Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts
PREVIOUS ROLE
Executive Vice President of Programming Strategy, Acquisitions and Scheduling at AMC Networks
NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Led a 43-member programming team across the linear and on-demand platforms for five of its national entertainment services including AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV and WEtv.
Served as a key team member in the transition of AMC into one of the most innovative and successful cable networks on television, in part through the launch of groundbreaking and Emmy-winning series including Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and The Walking Dead, the highest-rated basic cable series in television
history.
Prior to joining AMC Networks, Halleen began his journey with the Family Channel (now known as Freeform), working his way from intern to senior vice president of primetime programming and development. Throughout his 30 years as an entertainment executive, Halleen led multiple national television networks through schedule and brand overhauls with record-breaking results. He negotiated for the acquisition of over $1 billion in series, specials and movies. He developed and supervised hundreds of hours of original series, movies and specials across all genres, including award-winning productions.
EDUCATION
M.A. in Communications from Regent University (Media Mgmt)
B.A. in Mass Communications from Taylor Univesity (TV Prod)
AFFILIATIONS
Former member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Board Member - Hollywood Prayer Network
Board Member - Future Now Media Foundation
Previously served on the TV Parental Guidelines Monitoring Board
Tom, you took a bit of an unusual route to becoming a dean. What led you to make the leap from network executive in New York to academic administrator in Southern California?
After 30 years embedded within the programming offices of the television industry, it was God’s calling to Biola — its mission, its students and its alumni — that brought me here. I resigned my EVP role at AMC Networks because this is the new role I’m called into. It’s as simple as that.
Throughout these past three decades, I recognized that my career was not mine, but his. I prayed daily that God would provide me favor, a voice, influence and opportunity to be a light to those needing to see that faith is strength, not weakness. I’ve had many great experiences, rebuilt and programmed national television networks, worked with incredible executives and content creators...yet chasing after Nielsen ratings wasn’t enough anymore. I realized I’m now called to reinvest my time into something of much greater value: Biola’s students and alumni.
To add, this university has always held a special place in my family. My brother attended back in the early 1990s and my son, Sam, graduated from the CMA program in 2015. I’m a Biola dad!
Since your arrival, you’ve been emphasizing that the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts is “more than a film school” — in other words, we’re not just preparing students to make movies. Tell us about your expanding vision for the role of this school.
Others may run film schools, teaching students how to make a movie, but having come out of the entertainment industry, that's not enough. Within our program, we have three key distinctives:
1 - We're what I call a "four-screen" program, equipping and educating students to be effective storytellers across film screens, television screens, computer screens and mobile device screens. This is why we are updating our program to include television, game design, interactive media, digital media, among other contemporary platforms. To best equip students for their futures, we must remain agile to adapt as new technologies and new platforms emerge.
2 - We’re expanding to not only educate students how to make compelling visual stories, but we’ll also provide them with a well-rounded understanding of how the business of the media operates. While we’ll continue to teach the art, we’ll also teach the industry which surrounds the art — something missing in many film schools. We want Biola’s students to be better prepared for a career than their competitors.
3 - Within Biola’s Snyder School, we understand that preparing students for the world of media isn’t just about having excellent technical skills. Don’t get me wrong, that’s also critical. But the entertainment industry also desires qualities such as teamwork, reliability, and follow-through. It’s why we focus on creating excellence in character as well as craft.
Over the past several years in particular, the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts has been rising in prominence — to the point that it now consistently finds a place on Variety’s list of the world’s top 50 film schools. What is it that sets Biola apart?
I’d like to start with our excellent faculty of working professionals, along with our amazing alumni working inside the industry. Our close proximity to the L.A. entertainment hub provides our students unique access to internships, guest speakers, studio experiences, screenings, mentorships and job opportunities. Our on-campus facilities provide students with millions of dollars in industry-grade equipment, multiple soundstages, editing bays, mixing rooms, etc., all of which they can access starting day one of their education. All great reasons why we’re considered one of the best schools in the world for media training. But there's more to us...
In their Education Impact Report, industry publication Variety references our unique sense of community that champions “collaboration rather than competition.” I think the reason this collaborative spirit exists is that in addition to appreciating each other’s talents, we also regard each other as fellow image-bearers. It’s part of a very unique, positive culture within Biola. It’s why we call it the CMA family.
We’re committed to equipping our students with the skills and qualities needed to have successful careers across the media landscape, but we set ourselves apart by training not just the mind but also the heart. Just as we prepare students to become the storytellers of their generation, it’s our deepest desire to help each of them discover their role in a story much larger than them-selves. We never want our students to forget that God’s stage is all around them every day. Their influence isn’t just on the screen, but on every individual they interact with along their journey.
Why is it so important for Christians to be involved — and to support those who are involved — in the entertainment and media industry?
Living on the inside for three decades, I discovered a lot about the power of the media and how it influences culture. We are all witness to it every time we turn on a screen. George Orwell once said, “The people will believe what the media tells them they believe.” Do you like what the media is telling you? Does the media represent your voice? Do you want to have a voice into the most powerful form of communication on the planet?
Biola's Snyder School understands the power of media because we have lived within it. The combined areas we are preparing students to enter into (film, television, digital media and game design), equates to a $618 billion annual industry, that's only growing in power and especially in influence. We also recognize that it struggles to understand who we are as Christians. We can fix that. Many of our alumni are already fixing this. It’s my greatest desire for our students and alumni to impress and impact the entertainment industry (and the world through it) by their skills, their character and through their stories. I want them to engage and inspire those around them to rovide hope to a world which needs to hear and see God’s love through them.
I hope every Christian understands that culture is shaped by the media. We should all be involved supporting these students who are called into this industry. No matter where you are, you can make a difference with worldwide impact.
Please join us. Please support them.
What have you learned over the past few years as you’ve connected with Biola alumni?
One of the reasons I joined Biola is its amazing alumni, who are active across the industry on major movies, series and games such as Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Mandalorian, Dune, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Young Sheldon, Picard, Call of Duty, Tenet, Barbie, The Chosen, the Super Mario Bros Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and so many others. They’re not just within specific productions, but many are placed within all walks of the industry including social media giant Zach King, executives at Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Warner Bros, Skydance, Lucasfilm, Concord Music Group, DreamWorks Animation, Industrial Light & Magic, and others.
These amazing alumni were my first step in understanding our program from the inside out. After personally speaking with more than 100 to-date, they’ve proven to be an incredible source of wisdom, perspective and expertise. Their counsel about their experiences as students, and what they've learned about the industry since graduation, has already made a significant impact on our program. I will continue to seek their counsel.
We have hundreds upon hundreds of alumni embedded into all aspects of the media industry. We love that they are not only Biola’s voice into the entertainment business, but they also are advocates and resources for our students. In fact, if you visit our offices, you'll see how we celebrate our alumni...their pictures and projects surround us every day.
What can you say about the student productions you've witnessed since joining Biola? And what do they reflect about the qualities that your school is trying to instill in students?
I remember my very first Biola student film premiere. It was an emotionally impactful night of celebrating student accomplishment, in-person community and the power of storytelling. I was so proud to witness it all.
The showcased film, Healing, was directed by Katelyn Moger, written by Sophia Kalugin and produced by Griffin Douglass — all CMA students. It explored the emotional and physical trauma of an eating disorder, and its personal impact on a tight-knit, loving family. The road to recovery is challenging but when traveled together, there is hope.
At the premiere, I experienced not only a story well told, but a production well led. Having attended many screenings and Q&A sessions through the years with some amazing productions including Mad Men and The Walking Dead, I’ve never attended one where the crew and on-screen talent spoke so highly about the on-set culture. Words such as “love” and “care” for one another were used frequently — that’s how Biola students stand out. Our students demonstrated that they’re not only great at their craft, but they’re also great at living out the character of their faith. I've since witnessed this same spirit of partnership and collaboration time and again.
Our students are active filmmakers, currently surpassing 600 independent productions each year! Student film, Scripted, was a semi-finalist in the Student Academy Awards, and another, Amelia (The Twin), a finalist in the Television Academy's College Television Awards.
Not long ago a major gift was announced into your program attached to a major addition to the school. What can you tell us about this?
I've been witness to how amazing God is as he reveals himself through the profound generosity of others. Over 100 donors have given to our program in just the past few years because they believe in our school, its mission, our students, and they want to be a part of it. Every gift matters to us, as they are investments in our students. We are forever grateful for those who are now a part of our story.
As announced in 2023, Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, current owner and president of In-N-Out Burger, donated the largest gift in Biola University’s 116+ year history in tribute to her grandmother Esther L. Snyder, co-founder of In-N-Out Burger. This gift is allocated toward the construction of Biola’s new studio facility for our film school. In addition, it establishes a new scholarship fund to help make it possible for foster and at-risk youth to study with the newly named, Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts.
As we prepare for its construction, our upcoming studio facility will add 45,463 square feet of new educational and production spaces. It is designed to accommodate the entire production process from ideation to pre-production, production to post-production, all the way through final presentation inside our 285-seat theatre. In addition to our current facilities, it will add a third sound stage along with color grading and audio mixing suites, private editing suites, production offices, a new technology/ motion capture stage; writers' rooms, a game design lab, collaborative editing spaces, a Foley stage, movie prop and memorabilia displays, and so much more.
Scheduled to open in 2026, the three-floor studio building will rival some of the best educational facilities in the nation for media training — serving the needs of students as they prepare for careers in the film, television, digital media and game industries.
The new Snyder School studio facility will be a profound and powerful manifestation of this, as it demonstrates Biola’s commitment to media education. It will be a calling card for students, just as it will a visual statement of commitment and credibility to the industry itself. But in the end, this is just a building. What matters most is what's inside this studio building (the people) and what comes from it (our students). To us, this is all about our supporting role in God’s amazing story, as applied through our faculty, staff, students and alumni...out from this building and into the world.
As you look to the future of the Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts — with significant enrollment growth, industry credentials and a new building — what excites you most?
The students and alumni always excite me the most. The entire Snyder School team is here for them. They are who we are called to serve.
For incoming students, whether they’re interested in creating games, movies, hour- or half-hour episodic television, short-form, digital media, fiction or nonfiction, there’s a place for them at Biola.
For our alumni, our commitment to them does not end upon graduation. They are forever a part of our CMA family. They are Biola's continued voice into the industry, and their experiences since graduation will continue to provide an incredible resource to students who are just now beginning on their journeys. It’s what makes our alumni uniquely special. They love giving back.
Rave reviews
Biola’s Snyder School of Cinema & Media Arts continues to grow its reputation as a destination for the next generation of filmmakers, storytellers and game designers — evidenced in part by the school’s appearance in numerous industry-specific rankings. Variety recognized Biola for the seventh consecutive year as one of the top film schools, as has TheWrap, for its fourth consecutive year.
Among the school’s recent accolades:
One of the “Top 30 Film Schools in North America”
Variety ('24)
One of the “Top 50 Film Schools in the US"
The Wrap ('23)
One of “Best Local Programs in or near entertainment hubs"
The Hollywood Reporter ('23)
A "Top Film School"
Filmmaker Magazine ('24)