Steven Spielberg: How Jurassic Park Got Him a College Degree

While still a university student in 1968, Steven Spielberg signed on to the short film Amblin, which immediately landed him a contract with Universal Studio to film the following Duel episodes in 1971, which launched his career. Too busy with his profession to complete his degree, the man who would become the father of Indiana Jones was forced to drop out.

Steven Spielberg was angry with this director who adored him!

But in 2001, at the age of 55, as they recall ColliderSpielberg returned to California State University, Long Beach to complete his degree in Cinema and Electronic Arts. He registered under a pseudonym (he is buried) and without attending classes, he wrote essays, worked on independent projects and met with professors.

When it was time to show the director’s educational film, he offered the teachers… Schindler’s List. The school director then commented (V BBC): “I think it’s an educational film…well done”.

And Jurassic Park helped a lot!

In the United States, to get a diploma, you must earn “units” in several classes. The unit determines the length of the class. For example, “Screenwriting – 3 units” means that the course takes 3 hours per week. On average, you need to collect 120 to 180 units to get a diploma.

To return to Steven Spielberg, the film school gave him generously 3 units in Paleontology just to do Jurassic Park. A chance to salute the film’s representation of archeology and Spielberg’s love of dinosaurs, and give the otherwise very busy director a helping hand so he can get his degree.

“Most people go to college either for their parents, but I went there for my kids. I have seven and have constantly stressed the importance of them going to college without having been there myself. So in my 50s, I re-entered Cal State Long Beach and got my degree.