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Film and Media Studies

The Major

The Interdisciplinary B.A. in Film and Media Studies enables students to pursue a liberal arts approach to audio-visual studies. The courses offered provide a range of training from professional and applied (in Anthropology, Architecture, Education, and Theatre) to historical and experimental (in Art, English, German and Slavic, and Romance Languages). The IDS Film and Media Studies major encourages students to integrate these offerings by working in both theory and production. For the Senior Thesis, a student may choose among the following options: an essay, a film script, a short film or video, or work in a related medium.

The major requires a minimum of 27 hours, 20 hours from the courses listed below and 7 from senior independent work (IDS 4906). Majors are strongly encouraged to take ENG 3115 (Introduction to Film: Criticism and Theory) since it serves as the prerequisite for ENG 4136 (Film and Video Production). CLAS requirements regarding electives must be satisfied, typically by developing a course schedule with the student’s sponsors. The electives should complement the particular emphasis chosen by the student.

Since many of the upper-division courses in the Departments of Art, English, and Theatre have prerequisites, students should plan their lower-division work with the major in mind. Under certain circumstances, instructors will waive some prerequisites for IDS majors, but with space at a premium (especially in studio and production classes), students should not count on avoiding stated requirements. Students may, however, use up to 9 hours of 2000-level prerequisites as electives. These electives should not be confused with the 18 credits of 3000-level electives students must take outside the major toward fulfilling the CLAS Basic Distribution Requirement.

Early preparation for the major would ideally include ENG 2300 (Film Analysis). Other useful lower-division courses are GET 2950 (Weimar Cinema), TPP 2100 and 2110 (Acting 1 and 2), TPP2260 (Acting for the Camera), ARH 2051 (Introduction to the Principles and History of Art 2), ART 2685 (Computer Art: Montage), and ART 2686 (Video Art: Montage), PGY 2441C (Photography1), and PGY 2442C (Photography 2)

The major is selective, requiring (1) a 3.0 minimum GPA, (2) two sponsors, chosen from the faculty members listed above, and (3) an application to the CLAS Independent Studies Committee. Students can download the application form and information about the Film and Media Studies major or make an appointment with the Director of the Film and Media concentration, Trevor Mowchun, tmowchun@ufl.edu.

Honors

The B.A. in Film and Media Studies is an Honors program. Students graduating with a 3.5 GPA in Film and Media Studies, and with a B+ on Senior independent work, qualify for Honors. Senior Independent work earning an A qualifies the student with a 3.5 GPA in the major for High Honors.

General Education

Many of the courses included in the Film and Media Studies major satisfy General Education Requirements. Students should check with the individual departments offering the courses in question.

Courses

The following courses, offered by individual departments, constitute the Film and Media Studies curriculum. Students should choose from this list to satisfy the 20-hour minimum for the major. All Film and Media Studies courses will be listed in the Schedule of Courses under Film and Media Studies. Students should consult with individual faculty members or the Director about course content and prerequisites. Note that some courses with general titles (e.g., ENG 4133 Film Studies and ARC 3291 Special Studies in Architecture) change radically in content from semester to semester.

  • ANT 3390 Visual Anthropology (3 credits)
  • ARC 3291 Special Studies in Architecture (IDS majors may use this course to take such graduate level Architecture courses as ARC 6913: Writing Architectural Theory in Video and ARC 6911: The Theater and the City) (1-3 credits)
  • ARH 4454 Late 20th Century Art (3 credits)
  • ARH 4710 History of Photography (3 credits)
  • ART 3958C Performance & Installation (3 credits)
  • ART 3959C Video Art: Production and Post-Production (3 credits)
  • ART 4630 Video Art: Advanced Projects (3 credits)
  • ART 4631C Computer Art: Advanced Projects (3 credits)
  • EME 4102 Design and Development of Educational Media (4 credits)
  • EME 4200 Production and Utilization of Educational Media (4 credits)
  • ENG 3113 The Movies as a Narrative Art (4 credits)
  • ENG 3115 Introduction to Film: Criticism and Theory (4 credits)
  • ENG 3121 History of the Film, Part I (4 credits)
  • ENG 3122 History of the Film, Part II (4 credits)
  • ENG 4110 Film Genres, Directors, and Periods (4 credits)
  • ENG 4130 Race and Ethnicity in Film (4 credits)
  • ENG 4133 Film Studies (4 credits)
  • ENG 4134 Women and Film (4 credits)
  • ENG 4135 National Cinemas (4 credits)
  • ENG 4136 Film and Video Production (4 credits)
  • ENG 4139 Television and Electronic Culture (4 credits)
  • FOL 4905 Film Studies (Romance Languages) (3 credits)
  • FRT 3520 Survey of French Cinema (4 credits)
  • GET 4115 Women and German Cinema (3 credits)
  • GET 4133 New German Cinema and Its Legacy (3 credits)
  • HBR 3410 Hebrew News and Media (3 credits)
  • HBR 3411 Translation in Israeli Media (3 credits)
  • ITT 3520 Italian Cinema (4 credits)
  • JPN 3391 Introduction to Japanese Film (4 credits)
  • LIT 3362 The Age of the Avant Garde (3 credits)
  • PGY 3401C Photography: Black and White (3 credits)
  • PGY 3410C Photography: Color (3 credits)
  • PGY 3801C Photography: Digital (3 credits)
  • PGY 4420C Advanced Photography (6 credits)
  • TPA 3214 Introduction to Lighting and Sound (3 credits)
  • TPP 3111 Acting 2 – Analysis and Application (3 credits)
  • TPP 3310 Directing 1 (3 credits)
  • TPP 3311 Directing 2 (3 credits)

Instructional Staff

Contact

Trevor Mowchun 
Director of Film and Media Studies Program
4330 Turlington Hall
352-294-2839
tmowchun@ufl.edu

View the Academic Learning Compact