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Program Description
The joint minor in Film Studies sponsored by the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications and the College of the Liberal Arts offers students in a variety of disciplines an opportunity to learn more about a visual medium that relates in many ways to other fields such as theatre, literature, history, and art. The focus of this minor is on critical, aesthetic, and historical studies of film, not on the art of filmmaking. The minor enables students to see how the medium influences--and is influenced by--disciplines outside their specialization. Courses listed for the minor give students a deeper appreciation of the historical development of film during the 20th century. Offerings on cinema from a variety of countries allow students to frame the medium in a global context.
The minor is housed in and administered by the Bellisario College of Communications but is jointly managed by the Film-Video and Media Studies Department and the French Department. The heads of these units or their designated representatives will chair on a rotating basis the Interdepartmental Film Studies Committee that will make decisions concerning requirements for the minor, including prescribed and supporting courses.
Students will choose an adviser from a list of committee members drawn from all participating areas--French, English, German, Italian, Comparative Literature, and Film/Video and Media Studies. In addition to two basic required courses (6 credits), students enrolled in the minor will take an additional 12 credits from a list approved by the Interdepartmental Film Studies Committee. Six of those credits must be at the 400 level. All required and most supporting courses are taught in English. Courses taught in a world language are indicated with a footnote.
What is Film Studies?
The minor is designed to give students a deeper appreciation of the historical development of film during the 20th century. Intended for non-communications majors, it offers students the opportunity to learn more about a visual medium that relates in many ways to other fields such as art, history, literature and theatre. The focus of this minor is on aesthetics, critical, and historical studies of film -- not on the art of filmmaking. The minor enables students to see how the medium influences, and is influenced by, disciplines outside their specialization.
You Might Like This Program If...
You like the kind and quality of conversations you have when talking to people about the movies you’ve seen. No matter your major, if thinking about what movies are trying to say about the world is something that you want to continue to do as a life-long learner, then the film studies minor is right for you.
Program Requirements
| Requirement | Credits |
|---|---|
| Requirements for the Minor | 18 |
Requirements for the Minor
A grade of C or better is required for all courses in the minor, as specified by Senate Policy 59-10. In addition, at least six credits of the minor must be unique from the prescribed courses required by a student's major(s).
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed Courses | ||
| Prescribed Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| COMM 150N | The Art of the Cinema  | 3 |
| COMM 250 | Film History and Theory | 3 |
| Supporting Courses | ||
| Supporting Courses: Require a grade of C or better | ||
| Select 12 credits from an approved department list in consultation with an adviser (6 credits must be at the 400 level) 1 | 12 | |
- 1
The list of department-approved supporting courses can be found at: https://www.bellisario.psu.edu/departments/film-production-media-studies/film-studies-minor-supporting-courses.
Academic Advising
The objectives of the university's academic advising program are to help advisees identify and achieve their academic goals, to promote their intellectual discovery, and to encourage students to take advantage of both in-and out-of class educational opportunities in order that they become self-directed learners and decision makers.
Both advisers and advisees share responsibility for making the advising relationship succeed. By encouraging their advisees to become engaged in their education, to meet their educational goals, and to develop the habit of learning, advisers assume a significant educational role. The advisee's unit of enrollment will provide each advisee with a primary academic adviser, the information needed to plan the chosen program of study, and referrals to other specialized resources.
READ SENATE POLICY 32-00: ADVISING POLICY
University Park
Bellisario College Academic Advising
204 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-1503
commadvisor@psu.edu
Contact
University Park
DEPARTMENT OF FILM PRODUCTION AND MEDIA STUDIES
18 Carnegie Building
University Park, PA 16802
814-865-3071
kxh24@psu.edu