The Motion Picture Association and the Entertainment Industry College Outreach Program have launched a new fellowship program to increase diversity in the entertainment and policy sector.
The MPA-EICOP Entertainment Law & Policy Fellowship Program will offer the fellowship to two recent graduates from Historic Black Colleges and University, Hispanic Serving Institutions and Minority Serving Institutions. The one-year, paid program will be offered housing, travel, pay stipends, and work in the legal and government affairs offices of the MPA and six studios. Each year’s class of fellows will spend three months working at the MPA’s Los Angeles office, then three months at the MPA’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and then six months at one of the member studios, which include The Walt Disney Co., NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony Pictures, and Warner Bros.
Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of MPA, said in a statement, “This prestigious program will strengthen our ongoing efforts to diversify the Hollywood pipeline, which is critical to ensuring that our industry continues to create and tell stories in innovative ways that push boundaries and shape culture.” Stacy Milner, president and CEO of EICOP, said the program “will open doors and create opportunities for a diverse community of people who have historically been underrepresented in the entertainment law and policy professions.”
The first year’s inaugural class will run from June 1, 2022 to June 1, 2023, with the application period starting today and running through Dec. 30. More information on criteria for the program is here. The MPA’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program was founded in 2012.