Major & Minor Requirements

The major consists of ten courses. Three core courses are required: the Introduction to Film Studies, the Introduction to Film Production, and a Capstone Research Seminar to be taken in the senior year. The remaining courses are cross-listed or offered by departments such as Art and Art History, Classical Studies, English, Journalism, Latin American, Latino, and Iberian Studies, Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and Music.

These courses have been divided into three groups (A, B, and C); students choose two courses each from groups A and B. Course groupings can be found here. This range of courses provides students with the opportunity to construct a program of study that is targeted to their particular interests.

New courses are continually being developed, so check the courses page and BannerWeb for the most up to date schedule of recent and upcoming courses.

  • Major

    The Film Studies Major

    Note: Note: No more than four courses can be taken at the 200-level or below without permission of the relevant professor and the film studies coordinator.

    10 units, including:

    • FMST201 Introduction to Film Studies

    • FMST202 Introduction to Film Production

    • FMST400 Research Seminar

    • Two Group A courses

    • Two Group B courses

    • Three additional courses from either Group A, B, or C


    (The course groupings are listed under the Major/Minor Courses tab.)

  • Minor

    The Film Studies Minor

    Note: Note: No more than four courses can be taken at the 200-level or below without permission of the relevant professor and the film studies coordinator.

    Six units, including:

    • FMST201 Introduction to Film Studies

    • FMST202 Introduction to Film Production

    • One Group A course

    • One Group B course

    • Two additional courses from either Group A, B, or C


    (The course groupings are listed under the Major/Minor Courses tab.)

  • Major/Minor Courses

    Film Studies Course Groups

    • Core Curriculum:

    • Group A Courses:

      • ENGL367 Indigenous Film in North America

    • Group B Courses:

    • Group C Courses:

      • FMST302 Intermediate Film Production

      • FMST303 Film Editing: Theory and Practice

      • JOUR307 Documentary Journalism

      • THTR305 Sound Design

      • THTR307 Stage Lighting Design

      • THTR308 Basics of Directing

      • THTR325 Script Analysis

      • VMAP117 Introduction to Film, Sound and Video

      • VMAP279 Documentary Art Media: Observational, Experimental, and Anti-Ethnographic Film & Video

    • Additional courses:

      • FMST397 Selected Topics in Film Studies (depending on subject matter, each iteration of this course would be categorized as either Group A, B, or C and apportioned accordingly)