BA in Film Studies
The Film Studies degree encourages students to approach film critically. Students acquire historical, theoretical and intercultural tools to study films from around the world and become capable of reading the art of cinema as cultural critics. This major is administered by the Department of Media Study, and many courses for the major come from this department.
The Film Study program is thoroughly interdisciplinary and coursework for the major can be found in other departments including English, African American Studies, Communication, Sociology, Romance Languages and Literatures and Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, as well as the Center for the Americas. The Film Studies program prepares students to analyze, deconstruct, and critique film. Students may take film production classes as electives in this major, but those whose primary interest is in filmmaking should consider if the production concentration in Media Study may be a better fit for them. The Film Studies Program educates students to become film writers and film teachers or to prepare for a film concentration in future graduate studies.
Degree Requirements
The BA in Film Studies requires a total of 14 courses (approximately 46 credit hours). At least 24 of the 46 credits must be at the 300 or 400 level. Students must receive a grade of C- or higher in all courses applied to the major.
Required Courses:
Students must take A) DMS 107 or 108: Film History I or II, B) DMS 259 (Media Analysis), C) ENG 379, and D) ENG 441 or 442: Contemporary Cinema or Contemporary Cinema II.
Departmental Coursework:
While official requirements for the program are available in the course catalog, linked below, here is a quick outline of the categories that courses fall into (each required course above also falls into one of the categories below):
Film Theory-History-Criticism-Analysis (4 courses): 100-level to 400-level courses that take on broad issues in film, give an overview of film as a discipline, or explore media as a larger concept.
Critical Theory and Cultural Studies (4 courses): 300-level to 400-level courses that focus on larger cultural issues with which films interact in order to influence society.
World Cinema (3 courses): 200-400 level courses that focus either on film on a worldwide level or on the film of national cultures or the representation of diverse cultural groups in American cinema.
Electives (3 courses): Recommended to be 300-level or higher, students may choose any film related course, whether focusing on film theory or film production.
