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Cinema Studies | Academic Requirements | Courses | Faculty

The Cinema Studies B.A. Program:
Academic Requirements

In addition to meeting general degree requirements, all cinema studies majors must meet the following requirements (minimum 75 credits):

  1. Four foundation courses (15 credits total)
  2. Four upper-level film history courses (16 credits total)
  3. Three upper-level film theory courses (12 credits total)
  4. Electives: At least 24 credits, including at least 12 upper-level credits, to be chosen in consultation with the student’s advisor.
  5. CIN 4990/Cinema Studies Senior Project (two semesters, 8 credits total)

Required foundation courses:

CIN 2760/Cinematic Expression I
CIN 2770/Cinematic Expression II
ARH 2050/Introduction to Modern Art
ARH 2060/Art Since 1945

In order to advance to the second year, students must earn a grade of B or higher in Cinematic Expression I and II, and must pass a qualifying examination in film history and aesthetics, which is given at the end of the freshman year.

Upper-level film history courses (four required):

CIN 3000/Cinema and Revolution**
CIN 3015/Highlights of Italian Cinema
CIN 3030/Documentary Film and Theory**
CIN 3060/Cult Cinema (added Spring 2009)
CIN 3080/Mexican Cinema (added Spring 2009)
CIN 3330/Genres of Affect
CIN 3400/Contemporary Global Cinema
CIN 3515/Eastern European Film
CIN 3600/Kubrick
CIN 3705/American Film Genres
CIN 3730/The American Avant-Garde Film
CIN 3735/Weimar Film and Culture*
CIN 3736/The Independent Spirit in American Film
CIN 3755/Transcendent Visions: The Spiritual on Film
CIN 3757/New Waves of East Asian Cinema
CIN 3760/Japanese Cinema
CIN 3763/Contemporary Asian Cinema
CIN 3765/Topics in Classical Cinema
CIN 3783/American Cinema of the ’50s
CIN 3785/Hawks and Wilder: Hollywood Auteurs
CIN 3787/The New Hollywood
CIN 3795/Warhol in Context (added Spring 2009, 9/03/08)
CIN 3830/Italian Cinema After Neorealism
CIN 3845/New German Cinema
CIN 3855/French Cinema Since 1930
CIN 3857/Contemporary French Cinema
CIN 3870/Melodrama
 
*Not offered during the 2008–2009 or 2009–2010 academic years
**May be counted toward either the upper-level film history or the upper-level film theory requirement (10/28/08 update; formerly listed under film history only)

Upper-level film theory courses (three required):

CIN 3000/Cinema and Revolution**
CIN 3025/Women and Film
CIN 3030/Documentary Film and Theory**
CIN 3040/Film Sound: Technique and Theory
CIN 3250/Cinemas of Migration
CIN 3285/Psychoanalysis, French Film, and Literature
CIN 3340/Research Practicum: Silent Cinema
CIN 3480/Methods in Film Criticism
CIN 3533/Race and Representation: U.S. Literature and Film*
CIN 3540/Queer Cinema*
CIN 3716/Philosophy and Film
CIN 3745/Meaning and Truth in Cinema
CIN 3835/André Bazin, Realism, and Cinema
 
*Formerly listed by the board of study as film history courses (10/28/08 update)
**May be counted toward either the upper-level film history or the upper-level film theory requirement (10/28/08 update; formerly listed under film history only)

Examples of electives include:

CIN 2000/Close Analysis
CIN 2500/Principles of Montage
CIN 2720/The Film Noir
CIN 3325/The Screenplay
CIN 3275/Light and Truth: Film, Photography, and Reality
Additional film history courses (i.e., those not used to fulfill the upper-level film history requirement)
FTF 1500/Intro. to Video Techniques and Technology*
FTF 2110/Documentary Production*
FTF 2240/Motion Picture Production Workshop*
NME 1195/Shooting and Editing Digital Video
NME 3470/Intermediate Video
*Offered irregularly by the School of Liberal Studies & Continuing Education, is highly recommended.

Updated Oct. 28, 2008

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For current majors:

Cinema Studies B.A. Tracking Sheet and Graduation Application
In consultation with your faculty advisor, use this handy form to keep track of the courses you need to graduate!