James Franco’s determination to earn his Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing has turned the handsome 30-year-old star into a target for dozens of female stalkers.

The actor is pursuing his advanced degree as a full-time student at New York’s Columbia University, but the school’s open Manhattan campus is providing the perfect cover for drooling fans who want to catch a glimpse of the star….or even follow him to a few classes.

“Now that girls have figured out his schedule, every week there’s a bigger crowd outside his lectures waiting just to see him leave,” a NY Post spy has observed. “It’s getting to be that there are so many people, it’s embarrassing.”