Film and Media Studies Curriculum
Film and Media Studies (FMS) is a department in the College of Arts and Sciences that uses an interdisciplinary model for its curriculum that is designed to give students a broad understanding of film and media history, theory, and criticism. The FMS curriculum is built around a core of FMS courses and has a creative skills requirement as well as a rich variety of electives from FMS Major and Guided Electives. The Guided Electives include offerings in the Departments of Anthropology, African & African-American Studies, English, Communication, History, History of Science, Modern Languages, and Women’s and Gender Studies, as well as in the Colleges of Journalism & Mass Communication, Fine Arts, and Atmospheric & Geographic Studies. The comprehensive undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree provides students with the knowledge and skills required for careers in media-related fields, film production, academics, or other jobs in the liberal arts and humanities.
The Film and Media Studies major coursework consists of 39 hours of FMS courses or courses approved for FMS major credit. Of these 39 hours of FMS credit, all FMS majors are required to take Core Requirements, six courses (18 hours):
FMS 1013, Introduction to Film & Media Studies
FMS 2013, Film and Media History to 1960
FMS 2023, Film and Media History: 1960 to the Present
FMS 2033, Writing About Film
FMS 3213, Media Theories & Methodologies
FMS 4013, Capstone in Film & Media Studies
The Creative Skills Requirement, one course (3 hours), from the following courses:
FMS 1313, Narrative Production Basics
FMS 2123, Acting for the Camera
FMS 3313, Digital Cinema Production
FMS 3323, Editing: History, Theory, Practice
FMS 3703, Topics in Film & Media Production
FMS 3713, Topics in Writing for the Screen
FMS 3853, Feature Screenwriting
Additional courses that can be applied for the Creative Skills Requirement from ART, DRAM, or JMC courses which have asterisks next to them can be found on the list of Guided Electives under Course Descriptions.
The third component of the FMS major curriculum is an additional 18 hours of coursework for Major Electives and Guided Electives and can be chosen from any FMS course not used in the Core or Creative Skills Requirements, and from the list of Guided Electives.
Checksheets are used by students to keep track of the degree requirements of their major. Specific General Education and major requirements are outlined as well as the number of credit hours and minimum grade point averages required. Students should check with their academic counselor in the College of Arts and Sciences or with the FMS advisor to discuss which year's requirements may govern their degree plan.
It is also possible to minor in Film and Media Studies. Minor Checksheet
The course descriptions of FMS courses are a valuable resource for understanding FMS classes. You can also find the list of approved Guided Electives.
