Film Studies Curriculum

Curriculum

Film Studies Curriculum

View Degree Requirements on Academic Advising Page


The Film Studies option in the Visual and Performing Arts major is devoted to the study of film as a multicultural and transnational artistic discipline. The emphasis of this track is on film history, theory, and analysis. The department provides an interdisciplinary approach to the study of the moving image, which prepares the student for graduate programs in advanced film and media study or as a component to filmmaking. The Film Studies minor enriches many academic subjects and majors with its critical

Film Studies Concentration: 54 credits from area requirements listed below

Students intending to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Visual and Performing Arts with a Film Studies option must complete 54 credit hours: 36 in Film Studies, 12 in VAPA, and 6 within another VAPA option for a Cross-Disciplinary component.

Lower Division Requirements: 6 credits
  • FILM 1000 - Introduction to Film Studies
  • FILM 2000 - Narrative Film
National Cinema Requirements: 6 credits
  • FILM 3450 - German Film
  • FILM 3550 - Hollywood History
  • FILM 3600 - Topics in Hispanic Film  
  • FILM 3850 - Austrian and Central European Film
  • FILM 3900 - Special Topics in Film Studies (various subjects)
  • FILM 4000 - Italian Film
  • FILM 4110 - French or Francophone Film
Director/Thematic Genre Requirements: 3 credits
  • FILM 2800 - Film and Fiction
  • FILM 3330 - Film, Video and the Avant-Garde
  • FILM 3400 - Hollywood's Germany
  • FILM 3500 - The Hollywood Musical
  • FILM 3510 - Comedy Film
  • FILM 3520 - Horror Film
  • FILM 3530 - Gangster Film
  • FILM 3540 - The Western
  • FILM 3900 - Special Topics in Film Studies (various subjects)
  • FILM 3950 - Women in Film
  • FILM 3990 - European Film - European History
  • FILM 4250 - Directors in Focus
  • FILM 4251 - Hitchcock
  • FILM 4252 - Kubrick
  • FILM 4253 - Almodovar
  • FILM 4254 - Polanski
Theory: 3 credits
  • FILM 4500 - Film Theory
Practical Course Requirements: 3 credits
  • FILM 3700 - Film Scoring and Composition
  • FILM 3750 - Theory and Practice of Art Film Production
  • FILM 4030 - Internship in Film Studies
  • FILM 4980 - Film Capstone
  • FILM 9400 - Independent Study in Film Studies
  • FILM 9499 - Independent Research in Film Studies
  • VA 3200 - Video Art (with permission of instructor)
Upper Division Electives: 15 credits

Complete an additional 3 hours of upper-division (3000+ level) cross-disciplinary courses from other VAPA areas (FILM, MSGP, MUS, THTR & DNCE, VA)

VAPA Requirements: 9 credits

Complete 3 hours of 1000-level VAPA courses from those listed below:

  • VAPA 1020 - Ethnography of Performing Arts
  • VAPA 1050 - Visual & Performing Arts Foundation
  • VAPA 1100 - Art in Time & Space
  • VAPA 1500 - Arts Innovations: Methods and Practices

Complete 6 hours from the following courses:

  • VAPA 3900 - Theory and Practice in the Visual & Performing Arts
  • VAPA 3910 - Animating the Human
  • VAPA 3920 - Folk Arts, Folk Expressions and Folkscapes
  • VAPA 3950 - Sound Art: Creative Sonic Worlds and Practices
  • VAPA 3960 - Nationalism, Romanticism and Melodrama
  • VAPA 3970 - The Nordic Legacy
  • VAPA 3980 - The Manifestoes of the Avant-Garde
  • VAPA 3990 - Performance Art
Cross-Disciplinary Lower Division Requirements: 3 credits

Complete 3 hours of cross-disciplinary courses of lower-division (2000+ level) from other VAPA areas (FILM, MSGP, MUS, THTR & DNCE, VA)

Film Studies Minor requirements: 18 credits (6 hours required lower division and 12 hours upper division)

The minor in Film Studies enriches many academic subjects and majors with its critical and multicultural exploration of cinematic expression. Two required courses, offer the basics of film analysis in dominant and avant-garde cinema. Elective courses focus on national cinemas, current topics and genre/auteur study. Most electives are cross-listed and students may refer to the cross-listing for a description of the course. 

Lower Division Requirements: (6 credits)

  • FILM 1000: Introduction to Film Studies
  • FILM 2000: Narrative Film

Upper Division Requirements:  (12 credits)