BA in Cinema

You start off with an Introduction to Film course which provides an overview of film as a cultural and artistic form. You then take courses from three categories to build upon your knowledge and understanding of film.

Select three courses from the Grounding category such as:

World Cinema  
Film History  
Film Analysis  

Select three courses from the Study in Depth category, such as:

Film Directors  
National Cinemas  
Film Genres  

For more information, and to see a complete list of degree requirements, visit the Course Catalog.

After completing requirements, you decide how best to complete the major. You can select courses in film/TV production, continue with film studies, or do a combination of both. An additional 15 credits must be earned, examples include:

• Studies in Film  
• Topics in Filmmaking
• Documentary Filmmaking  
• Animation  
• Narrative Filmmaking  

For more information, and to see a complete list of additional degree requirements, visit the Course Catalog.

A total of 15 credits is required for the minor in Cinema including the core course, Introduction to Film.

• In addition, two of the following courses are required from the Grounding category.  
• World Cinema  
• Film History  
• Film Analysis  
• You also select two courses from the Study in Depth category:
• Film Directors  
• National Cinemas  
• Film Genres  
• Studies in Film  

For more information, and to see a complete list of minor requirements, visit the Course Catalog.

Bachelor of Arts in Cinema students will:

• Understand the idea of film as an art form and the essentials of film style and know the basics of the language of cinema in order to talk and write accurately and meaningfully about films. They should be aware of a range of films greater than already known from TV and recent Hollywood.
• Gain a basic understanding of fundamental aesthetic and conceptual approaches to digital video production and non-linear editing, and become able to script and produce short films based on these principles while working both independently and in small groups.
• Have an understanding of the history of film from 1895 to the present, including: major developments in technology, economics, and society that influenced the production of film; and prominent styles of film from various historical periods. They should become proficient in writing about these topics.
• Understand the basics of a number of methods of analyzing films, be able to apply these methods to a variety of films, and know why film studies favors certain methods.
• Have an understanding of specific kinds of films based on: extended close study of one or more of the major individual figures in cinema; a thorough survey of one or more of the major national cinemas; one or more historically important genres in cinema; or intensive study of a motif, topic, or period in film, such as City in Film, Orientalism in Film, and The Auteur in Hollywood.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of various types of filmmaking and be able to create a film using these principles.
• Demonstrate an advanced level of proficiency in filmmaking by producing and directing their own films working through the stages of pre-production, production, and post-production.