Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute

About Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute

SRFTI was established in 1995 as an autonomous academic institution of the Government of India under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Its first academic session began in September 1996. The institute was originally known for postgraduate film training and added its Electronic and Digital Media wing in 2017. On April 22, 2025, the Ministry of Education declared SRFTI an Institution Deemed to be University under the distinct category provided by Section 3 of the UGC Act. The first MFA cohort under the new structure was admitted in 2025. The university has a deliberately narrow mission centered on cinema, television, and newer forms of digital media. It is publicly funded and governed through an Executive Council, with the vice-chancellor serving as the principal academic and administrative officer. The Kolkata campus remains the core location. A January 2026 government amendment also recognized the Film and Television Institute, Itanagar campus as a constituent unit, but applicants should distinguish Itanagar programs from those delivered at SRFTI Kolkata. SRFTI’s educational model is small-cohort and production-intensive. The 2026 prospectus lists 12 places in each Kolkata Cinema specialization and seven in each Electronic and Digital Media specialization, including one potential international place per specialization. This structure can support close collaboration, but it also makes entry limited. Prospective students should view SRFTI as a specialist postgraduate institution rather than a comprehensive university: the verified 2026 portfolio contains MFA degrees, not general bachelor’s or doctoral study.

Admission to the Kolkata MFA programs for the 2026 cycle was conducted through the SRFTI Common Entrance Test. The application window ran from January 5 to February 4, 2026, and the preliminary test was scheduled for February 22. These dates have passed and should not be treated as deadlines for a later intake; future applicants should monitor the official admissions site for the next prospectus and any corrigenda. Applicants need a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university or an accepted equivalent. Animation Cinema applicants must also demonstrate proficiency in drawing. Candidates awaiting their final bachelor’s result could apply in the 2026 cycle, but the prospectus required their marksheets by October 31, 2026. Degrees earned outside India, through private or state universities, or through open or distance education must satisfy the recognition and equivalence requirements specified in the prospectus. The domestic selection process has two stages. The preliminary test is a 100-mark written examination divided equally between general aptitude and a common subject-area test. Shortlisted candidates, normally called at a ratio of four candidates per seat, proceed to a 100-mark final selection assessment that may include written, practical, and interaction components and is held physically at the Kolkata campus. Seat allocation follows merit, submitted program preferences, and Government of India reservation rules. International applicants follow a separate route. The 2026 prospectus provides up to one international seat in each specialization, requires applications through the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, and bases selection on an interview. English is the stated medium of instruction.

At the Kolkata campus, SRFTI’s 2026 academic portfolio consists of Master of Fine Arts programs in two wings. The Cinema wing offers specializations in Direction and Screenplay Writing, Cinematography, Film Editing, Producing for Film and Television, Sound Recording and Design, and Animation Cinema. Students entering these programs complete a one-year postgraduate bridge program followed by the two-year MFA. The bridge year introduces film history, art history, global film movements, narrative and audiovisual aesthetics, production methods, and practical work across departments before students concentrate more deeply on their chosen specialization. The Electronic and Digital Media wing offers two-year MFA programs specializing in Cinematography, Direction and Producing, Editing, Management, Sound, or Writing. These courses address media made beyond conventional theatrical cinema, while retaining practical training in image, sound, editing, production, and content development. Applicants should compare the two structures carefully: Cinema normally requires three years including the bridge program, whereas the EDM MFA lasts two years. Practical collaboration is central to the curriculum. In the bridge program, for example, students direct an individual short narrative film and take production, camera, sound, and editing roles on classmates’ work. Institute resources documented in the 2024–25 annual report include three studio floors, a multi-camera news and current-affairs studio, three sound-recording studios, an animation studio, editing suites, screening theatres, and audiovisual classrooms. The library supports study in cinema, arts, history, sociology, critical studies, scripts, production technology, and audiovisual works, including student projects and films. This environment favors applicants who want sustained project work alongside critical and historical study.

Key Highlights

• Government-established specialist institution operating under India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
• Declared an Institution Deemed to be University on April 22, 2025
• Established in 1995; its first academic session began in 1996
• The 2026 Kolkata intake lists 12 seats per Cinema specialization and seven per EDM specialization

Student Life & Environment

Student life is closely tied to production schedules, screenings, and the residential campus. The institute reports separate boys’ and girls’ hostels, both with mess facilities. Its current accommodation page lists twin-sharing rooms, along with a television room, DVD room, table-tennis room, and gym in the boys’ hostel and a conference room in the girls’ hostel. Accommodation should not be assumed to be automatic; applicants should confirm allocation and availability directly with SRFTI. Film viewing is part of the campus routine as well as the curriculum. SRFTI describes weekday evening screenings of classic and contemporary Indian and international films, supported by a main theatre and preview theatre. The specialist library also lends audiovisual material and maintains collections spanning student films, documentaries, shorts, classics, experimental work, and features. The 2025–26 student union structure provides evidence of organized student participation through cultural, sports, library, mess, hostel, grievance, public-relations, and anti-ragging committees. The 2026 admissions prospectus states that ragging is prohibited on and off campus and requires students and parents to provide an undertaking at admission. Daily life is therefore likely to be more cohort-based and project-centered than at a large multidisciplinary university, with peers working across directing, camera, sound, editing, writing, production, animation, and media management.

Location & Surroundings

SRFTI’s Kolkata campus is at Eastern Metropolitan Bypass Road, Panchasayar, Kolkata 700094, in the southern part of the city. Official sources describe a residential site of nearly 40 acres with two large water bodies. Academic buildings, production facilities, theatres, the library, hostels, staff housing, and a guest house are located within the campus, creating a relatively self-contained environment for work that may continue beyond conventional classroom hours. Kolkata is the capital of West Bengal and has a longstanding place in Indian cinema, literature, theatre, visual art, and broadcasting. For film and media students, the city provides a relevant cultural setting for viewing, research, documentary observation, and creative collaboration. The campus’s position along the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass is outside Kolkata’s historic central districts, so applicants should assess everyday travel and housing in relation to Panchasayar rather than relying on a general image of central Kolkata. Those considering off-campus accommodation should verify commute times and transport options for their intended address, particularly because production and screening work may run into the evening.

Costs & Career Outcomes

SRFTI’s official fee page, updated August 19, 2026, lists an INR 8,493 one-time admission fee, an INR 71,038 one-time security deposit, and tuition of INR 47,861 per semester. The resulting amount due at admission for the academic program is INR 127,392, followed by INR 47,861 from the second semester onward. Hostel charges are separate: INR 1,546 for admission, an INR 9,265 security deposit, and INR 25,092 per semester, producing an initial hostel amount of INR 35,903 and INR 25,092 in later semesters. Students should confirm whether deposits are refundable and budget separately for mess, equipment, travel, personal productions, and other living costs because the published table does not establish those amounts. The same page lists 2026 application fees of INR 1,500 for one clubbed course choice or INR 2,250 for two for most applicants. Applicants in the SC, ST, and PWD categories, and female applicants across categories, are listed at INR 450 for one or INR 675 for two. Career preparation is embedded in production work and portfolio development rather than a conventional generalist curriculum. SRFTI has established an Incubation, Placement, Outreach and Public Relations cluster. Its placement function describes connections to internships, projects, alumni, production houses, channels, and streaming platforms, while incubation activity is intended to support media entrepreneurship. No current official placement rate, employer list, or graduate salary data was found, so applicants should ask for recent specialization-level outcomes and should not assume campus placement is guaranteed.