Requirements for Minor in Film Studies
The Film Studies Minor is offered through the Departments of English, Communication, and Theater and Film. The minor requires 28 credit hours in appropriate coursework, including internships and adviser-approved courses. Students may select from a number of courses listed in various departments throughout PSU. These include courses offered by the Departments of World Languages and Literatures; Art; History; Black Studies; Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Sociology; and others.
Students who complete the Minor will gain a rich understanding of the medium of film. The will acquire a basic understanding of the technology of the medium, be familiar with its history, know how to write academically and journalistically about film, and gain a theoretical grasp of the power of visual culture in contemporary life.
To earn the interdisciplinary Minor in Film Studies, a student must complete 28 advisor-approved Film Studies credits to include the following:
- Film 131 Film Analysis (4 credits).
- Eng 304 Critical Theory of Cinema (4 credits).
- Electives: 20 elective credits, 12 of which must be upper division (300 or 400 level).
Notes
- Electives may include additional theory or history classes, as well as classes in film production.
- All courses in the minor must be taken for a letter grade.
- No more than 8 credits taken for the Minor in Film Studies may be applied to the English major.
- Courses taken for fulfillment of the Minor in Film Studies may also be applied to University Studies requirements.
Sample Elective Courses
Below is a list of elective courses that have been applied to the Film Minor. Please note that electives require advisor approval, and other courses may apply.
- Art 255 Two-dimensional Animation I (4)
- Art 256 Three-dimensional Animation I (4)
- Art 257 Introduction to Video Art (4)
- Art 296 Digital Drawing and Painting (4)
- Art 301 Process and Practices of the Creative Industries (4)
- Art 455 Time Arts Studio (4)
- ArH 291 History of Animation (4)
- BSt 425 Black Cinema: The 1970s (4)
- BSt 426 Contemporary African-American Cinema (4)
- Dane 361 Danish Films from Dreyer to Dogmer (4)
- Eng 305U Topics in Film
- Eng 332U History of Cinema and Narrative Media I
- Eng 333U History of Cinema and Narrative Media II
- Eng 334U Topics in Film Genres and Movements
- Eng 335U Topics in Literature and Film
- Eng 435 Advanced Topics in Film & Media
- Film 370 Topics: Theater, Media, and Culture (4)
- Film 384 American Cinema and Culture I (4)
- Film 484 Anatomy of a Movie I (4)
- Film 485 Anatomy of a Movie II (4)
- Film 486 Topics in Film and the Moving Image (4)
- Fr 305 Topics in French Film (4)
- Hst 297 History through Film (4)
- Hst 497 Film and History (4)
- Jpn 361U Japanese Literature through Film (4)
- Rus 331U Russian Film Topics (4)
- Span 430 Major Topics: Ibero-American Film (4)
- Soc 454 Sociology Through Film (4)
- TA 348 Acting for the Camera (4)
- TA 474 Dramatic Writing I (4)
- TA 475 Dramatic Writing II (4)
- Wr 416 Screenwriting (4)
Questions?
Contact an advisor in the Language, Culture, and Meaning Pathway.