Film Studies
Degrees ...BA, BFA
The Film Studies Program educates students in the history and development of film as an art form and contemporary medium. The curriculum instills an informed analytic awareness of the ways in which film has been used and provides the resources for significant creative exploration of the medium.
The undergraduate degrees in film studies emphasize knowledge and awareness of:
- the major artistic contributions to the evolution of film, from the advent of the moving image to the present;
- the general outlines of world film from the silent period to the present, with emphasis on the historical contributions of major national cinemas; and
- film criticism and film theory.
Students completing either the BA or the BFA degree in film studies are expected to acquire the ability and skills to:
- analyze and interpret films critically;
- communicate such interpretations competently in essay form; and
- make a short creative film or video work (BFA majors only).
Note: Admission to any class after the third meeting of the class is contingent on professor permission. The department may drop a student from a class if the student misses the first two classes of the semester.
Admission to the BFA Program +
Students are encouraged to consult with the Film Studies advisor in order to obtain advice and current information.
The BFA degree is competitive. In order to graduate with a BFA degree, students must first satisfy a number of prerequisites and then submit a formal application to the BFA program at the end of a semester. In particular, applicants must have a cumulative GPA at CU-Boulder of 2.50 or higher and have passed FILM 1502, 2000 (or 2300), and 2500 each with a grade of C or higher, with a mean GPA in all three courses of at least 3.30 (B+). Applicants must submit a written application, a writing sample, and the FILM 2500 assignment (see FILM 2500 instructions for details). Applicants may also submit one additional "best" example of creative work (see specific admission guidelines for details). Admission into the BFA program and registration for FILM 3400, 4500, and other upper-division production courses are contingent upon approval of the application materials by the BFA committee. Students may only apply twice to the BFA program; complete details on the BFA application procedure are available from the film studies office. Students are required to attend a BFA orientation meeting prior to the semester in which they enroll in FILM 3400 (orientation meetings will be held the Saturday before the beginning of fall and spring semesters). BFA students are required to purchase film and sound media-capable Apple computing systems (see www.colorado.edu/FilmStudies). BFA students are required to pass FILM 3400, 3515, and 3525 before they will be allowed to continue in the major.
Bachelor of Arts +
No more than 6 hours of independent study may be credited toward the major. All course work submitted for a film studies degree must have a grade of C or better. The arts and sciences 18-hour minimum of upper-division hours must be met with CU film studies courses.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences and the required courses listed below. The Film Studies Program requires a minimum of 38 hours in support of the BA requirements, including film courses and courses taken in other departments.
The Film Studies Program strongly urges the purchase of film and sound media-capable Apple computing systems for those pursuing production classes in the BA degree program (see www.colorado.edu/FilmStudies).
| Required Courses | Semester Hours |
| Literature and the Arts Requirement | |
| In addition to the 6-hour literature and the arts core requirement, Film Studies majors must take an additional 6 hours (3 of them upper-division) of literature and the arts core courses to satisfy the degree requirements. Students taking the HUMN 1010/1020 sequence are exempted from the 3-hour upper-division requirement. | |
| Required Critical Studies Courses | |
| FILM 1502 Introduction to Film Studies (Note 1) | 3 |
| FILM 3051 and 3061 Film History 1 and 2 (Note 2) | 8 |
| FILM 3104 Film Theory and Criticism | 3 |
| Critical Studies Elective Requirements | |
| BA students must complete 18 hours from the following courses. At least 12 must be upper division. | |
| FILM 2002 Recent International Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 2003 Film Topics (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 2005 Movies and Screenplays | 3 |
| FILM 2013 Film and the Quest for Truth | 3 |
| FILM 2312 Film Trilogies | 3 |
| FILM 2412 Melodrama and Culture | 3 |
| FILM 2513 Major Asian Filmmakers | 3 |
| FILM 2521 Classics of the Foreign Film: 1960s to the present | 3 |
| FILM 2613 Good/Evil through Film | 3 |
| FILM 3002 Major Film Movements (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3003 Major Film Directors (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3004 Films of Alfred Hitchcock | 3 |
| FILM 3005 Issues in Film Comedy | 3 |
| FILM 3012 Documentary Film | 3 |
| FILM 3013 Women and Film | 3 |
| FILM 3022 Jung, Film, and Literature | 3 |
| FILM 3023 Stage Drama into Film: O'Neill and Williams | 3 |
| FILM 3032 Stage Tragedy and Film | 3 |
| FILM 3033 Color and Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 3042 Horror Film | 3 |
| FILM 3043 Topics in Film Critical Studies (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3081 American Film in the 1980s and 1990s | 3 |
| FILM 3091 Post-War American Film/Culture/Politics | 3 |
| FILM 3191 The Golden Age | 3 |
| FILM 3211 History of Russian Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 3301 Contemporary Issues in Russian Film | 3 |
| FILM 3422 Genre: Hollywood Musical | 3 |
| FILM 3503 German Film Through WWII | 3 |
| FILM 3504 Topics in German Film | 3 |
| FILM 3513 German Film After WWII | 3 |
| FILM 3603 Sound and Vision | 3 |
| FILM 3901 Independent Study (Note 4) | 1-6 |
| FILM 3940 Film Studies Internship | 1-6 |
| FILM 4003 Film and Fiction | 3 |
| FILM 4004 Topics in Film Theory (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4013 Film, Photography, and Modernism | 3 |
| FILM 4023 Topics in International Cinema (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4024 Advanced Research Seminar (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4105 Advanced Screenwriting | 3 |
| FILM 4604 Colloquium in Film Aesthetics | 3 |
| Any FILM class crosslisted with another department (i.e., foreign language) that has been approved by the film studies chair | 3 |
| Production electives (not required) | |
| Some production electives may be taken for BA credit; please see advisor for specific courses. | |
Curriculum Notes
1. This course is a prerequisite for FILM 2000 and 3051.
2. Must be taken in chronological order. FILM 1502 is a prerequisite.
3. Course may be taken for credit more than once, provided that the topics vary.
4. Total number of independent study credit hours cannot exceed 6.
Graduating in Four Years with a BA +
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress toward a BA in film studies, students should meet the following requirements:
| Declare a film studies major by the beginning of the second semester | |
| Complete the lower or upper division literature and the arts requirement (3 credit hours) and FILM 1502 (3 credit hours) by the end of the fourth semester. | |
| Complete the upper-division literature and the arts requirement (3 credit hours) and FILM 3051 and 3061 by the end of the sixth semester. | |
| Complete 6 critical studies elective credit hours by the end of the seventh semester (at least 3 of these credits must be upper-division credits). | |
| Complete an additional 12 credit hours of critical studies elective courses, including at least three upper-division courses (9 credit hours), and FILM 3104 (3 credits) by the eighth semester. |
Bachelor of Fine Arts +
No more than 6 hours of independent study may be credited toward the major. All course work submitted for a BFA degree in film must have a grade of C or better.
Students must complete the general requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the required courses listed below. The Film Studies Program requires a minimum of 46 hours in support of the BFA degree requirements.
| Required Courses | Semester Hours |
| Literature and the Arts Requirement | |
| In addition to the 6-hour literature and the arts core requirement, Film Studies majors must take an additional 6 hours (3 of them upper division) of literature and the arts core courses to satisfy the degree requirements. Students taking the HUMN 1010/1020 sequence are exempted from the 3-hour upper-division requirement. | |
| Required Critical Studies Courses | |
| FILM 1502 Introduction to Film Studies (Note 1) | 3 |
| FILM 3051 and 3061: Film History 1 and 2 (Note 2) | 8 |
| Required Production Courses | |
| FILM 2000 or 2300 Beginning/Intermediate Filmmaking (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 2500 Intro to Cinematography | 3 |
| FILM 3400 Cinema Production 1 | 3 |
| FILM 3515 Camera Workshop | 1 |
| FILM 3525 Editing Workshop | 1 |
| FILM 4500 Cinema Production 2 (Note 4) | 3 |
| Production Course Electives | |
| BFA students must take 9 hours of any combination of the following courses: | |
| FILM 2010 Moving Image Computer Foundations | 3 |
| FILM 2105 Intro to the Screenplay | 3 |
| FILM 2610 Animation Production | 3 |
| FILM 2900 Lighting Workshop | 3 |
| FILM 3010 Film Production Topics | 3 |
| FILM 3030 Cinema Alternative Process | 3 |
| FILM 3501 Film Production Management or FILM 3563 Producing the Feature Film (Both are usually offered through Continuing Education; only one may count toward the film studies degree.) | 3 |
| FILM 3600 Digital Post-production Process | 3 |
| FILM 3620 Experimental Digital Animation | 3 |
| FILM 3700 Digital Audio Design | 3 |
| FILM 3900 Production Independent Study (Note 5) | 1-6 |
| FILM 3940 Internship | 1-2 |
| FILM 4000 Advanced Digital Post Production | 3 |
| FILM 4005 Screenwriting: Short Form | 3 |
| FILM 4010 Topics in Film Studies (Note 4) | 1-3 |
| FILM 4021 Directing/Acting for the Camera | 3 |
| FILM 4030 Visiting Filmmakers Seminar (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4075 Scriptwriting Workshop | 3 |
| FILM 4105 Advanced Screenwriting | 3 |
| FILM 4500 Cinema Production 2 (taken a second time) | 3 |
| FILM 4505 Screenwriting: Long Form | 3 |
| FILM 4600 Creative Digital Cinematography | 3 |
Curriculum Notes
1. This course is a prerequisite for FILM 2000 and 3051
2. Must be taken in chronological order.
3. Either FILM 2000 or 2300 may be taken for degree credit. Only one of the two courses may be counted toward the BFA degree. FILM 2300 is offered summer session only.
4. Course may be taken for credit more than once.
5. Total number of independent study credit hours cannot exceed 6, and they cannot be used to duplicate regular course offerings.
6. Course may be taken for credit more than once, provided the topics vary.
| Critical Studies Elective Requirements | |
| BFA students must complete 6 hours. | |
| FILM 2002 Recent International Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 2003 Film Topics (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 2005 Movies and Screenplays | 3 |
| FILM 2013 Film and the Quest for Truth | 3 |
| FILM 2312 Film Trilogies | 3 |
| FILM 2412 Melodrama and Culture | 3 |
| FILM 2513 Major Asian Filmmakers | 3 |
| FILM 2521 Classics of the Foreign Film: 1960s to the present | 3 |
| FILM 2613 Good/Evil through Film | 3 |
| FILM 3002 Major Film Movements (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3003 Major Film Directors (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3004 Films of Alfred Hitchcock | 3 |
| FILM 3005 Issues in Film Comedy | 3 |
| FILM 3012 Documentary Film | 3 |
| FILM 3013 Women and Film | 3 |
| FILM 3022 Jung, Film, and Literature | 3 |
| FILM 3023 Stage Drama into Film: O'Neill and Williams | 3 |
| FILM 3032 Stage Tragedy and Film | 3 |
| FILM 3033 Color and Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 3042 Horror Film | 3 |
| FILM 3043 Topics in Film Critical Studies (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 3081 American Film in the 1980s and 1990s | 3 |
| FILM 3091 Post-War American Film/Culture/Politics | 3 |
| FILM 3104 Film Theory and Criticism | 3 |
| FILM 3191 The Golden Age | 3 |
| FILM 3211 History of Russian Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 3301 Contemporary Issues in Russian Film | 3 |
| FILM 3422 Genre: Hollywood Musical | 3 |
| FILM 3503 German Film Through WWII | 3 |
| FILM 3504 Topics in German Film | 3 |
| FILM 3513 German Film After WWII | 3 |
| FILM 3603 Sound and Vision | 3 |
| FILM 3901 Independent Study (Note 4) | 1-6 |
| FILM 3940 Film Studies Internship | 1-6 |
| FILM 4003 Film and Fiction | 3 |
| FILM 4004 Topics in Film Theory (Notes 3 and 5) | 3 |
| FILM 4013 Film, Photography, and Modernism | 3 |
| FILM 4023 Topics in International Cinema 3 (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4024 Advanced Research Seminar (Note 3) | 3 |
| FILM 4105 Advanced Screenwriting | 3 |
| FILM 4604 Colloquium in Film Aesthetics | 3 |
| Any FILM class crosslisted with another department (i.e., foreign language) that has been approved by the film studies chair | 3 |
Curriculum Notes
1. This course is a prerequisite for FILM 2000 and 3051.
2. Must be taken in chronological order. FILM 1502 is a prerequisite.
3. Course may be taken for credit more than once, provided that the topics vary.
4. Total number of independent study credit hours cannot exceed 6.
5. FILM 4004, Topics in Film Theory, satisfies college requirement for critical thinking CORE.
Graduating in Four Years with a BFA +
Consult the Four-Year Guarantee Requirements for information on eligibility. The concept of "adequate progress" as it is used here only refers to maintaining eligibility for the four-year guarantee; it is not a requirement for the major. To maintain adequate progress toward a BFA in film studies, students should meet the following requirements:
| Declare and start the film studies major the first semester freshman year. | |
| Complete FILM 1502 (3 credit hours), FILM 2000 (3 credit hours), and one lower or upper division critical studies course for 3 credits by the end of the third semester. | |
| Complete the Literature and the Arts lower or upper division requirement (3 credit hours), and FILM 2500 (3 credit hours) by the end of the fourth semester. | |
| Note: In order to graduate in four years, a student must be accepted into the BFA program on the first application. See "Admission to the BFA Program" for details of the application process. | |
| Complete 3 credit hours of upper-division Literature and the Arts requirement (3 credit hours) and FILM 3051 and FILM 3061 (8 credit hours) by the end of the fifth semester. | |
| Complete FILM 3400 (3 credit hours), 3515 (1 credit hour), 3525 (1 credit hour), and an additional 3 credit hours of upper-division critical studies elective requirements by the end of the sixth semester. | |
| Complete two courses (6 credit hours) of production electives by the end of the seventh semester. | |
| Complete 3 credit hours of FILM 4500 and 3 more credit hours of production electives by the end of the eighth semester. |
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Film +
The Graduate MFA degree in film studies is a filmmaking track integrated into the Art and Art History MFA program in much the same way as the tracks in painting and drawing, ceramics, sculpture, media arts, the IAP, and printmaking. The filmmaking track prepares students for professional artistic careers in filmmaking from the perspective of innovative image making. The aim of the MFA film program is to aid in the advancement of the practice and understanding of art, with emphasis on the moving image and its role in this advancement. The MFA will, therefore, prepare graduates to assume creative leadership roles in filmmaking.
The interdisciplinary nature of the MFA program allows graduate students to work in various areas, in addition to their area of specialization. The MFA guidelines include a second area of the student's choice as a requirement. The thesis project is two-fold, involving 1.) the student's creative work (e.g., a film), displayed at the MFA exhibition, and 2.) a written thesis that eventually goes to the library.
See the Art and Art History section for descriptions of the MFA ARTF courses.
Prerequisites. The following are required for admission to the graduate program:
| Bachelor's degree from an approved college or school of art with a minimum grade point average of 2.75. | |
| Minimum of 34 credit hours of acceptable work in art; 12 credits in fine arts history is preferred. | |
| Submission of films and other examples representing creative work or electronic media. Students should submit a portfolio of creative work to include video and/or audio tapes, film, etc., as appropriate (especially for documentation of performance and/or installations) for screening by the electronic media committee for presentation to the full graduate faculty. |
Degree Requirements. A minimum of 60 credit hours (of which 42 credit hours must be taken in residence on the Boulder campus) of acceptable graduate work must be completed beyond the bachelor's degree.
| Required Courses | Semester Hours |
Studio +
| 33 credit hours, consisting of the following: | |
| Courses in painting and drawing, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, media arts, integrated arts, film | 12 |
| Courses in second area, including studio critiques, independent, and interdisciplinary studies | 9 |
| Electives, preferably taken in an approved allied field, 3000 level or higher | 6 |
| Additional studio course work, including independent and interdisciplinary study and studio critique | 6 |
Nonstudio +
| 21 credit hours, consisting of the following: | |
| Art history (ARTF critical studies courses are allowed as alternatives to fulfill 3 hours of the art history requirement for MFA film track students.) | 6 |
| Theory in this or another research-related department (3000-level or higher in another department) | 3 |
| Visiting Artist Seminar (ARTS 5118). Must be taken during first year of studies. (ARTF 5030 Visiting Filmmakers Seminar is allowed as a substitute for ARTS 5118 for MFA film track students.) | 3 |
| Graduate Studio Seminar( ARTS 5117). Must be taken during first year of studies | 3 |
| Additional nonstudio course work , e.g., MFA Practicum | 6 |
Thesis +
| MFA creative thesis (ARTS 6957) |
