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College of Arts and Sciences

Cinema and Media Studies

B-531 Padelford Hall
206-543-7542
Website
Faculty Website
cinema@uw.edu

From smartphones to the movie theater, human experiences across the globe today are shaped by the media we view and create. Visual media are entwined with culture, art, politics, and entertainment. Understanding these relationships is at the core of Cinema and Media Studies.

 Undergraduate Programs


Cinema and Media Studies

A-2-B Padelford Hall
206- 543-3976
has-center@uw.edu

 Program of Study: Major: Cinema and Media Studies


Program Overview

Cinema and media studies emphasizes the study of film, television, and related media in the context of global culture. It stresses the importance of historical and cultural awareness for effective interpretation of visual, audiovisual and verbal texts. Students earning a degree in cinema and media studies may pursue work at the MA and PhD levels in allied curricula in the humanities and the arts. They may aim for a broad range of careers including advertising, education, entertainment law, information technology, media archiving, museum work or public relations. Cinema and media studies majors often seek positions related to film, television and digital media production, marketing or distribution.

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Cinema and Media Studies
Recommended Preparation

Suggested First-and Second-Year College Courses: Any course related to the area or discipline of major study.

Admission Requirements

One from CMS 270, CMS 271, CMS 272, CMS 273, CMS 274, or CMS 275; minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA; completion of one course fulfilling either College of Arts and Sciences English composition requirement or W (writing) requirement (5 credits).

 Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Cinema and Media Studies


Credential Overview

Cinema and media studies emphasizes the study of film, television, and related media in the context of global culture. It stresses the importance of historical and cultural awareness for effective interpretation of visual, audiovisual and verbal texts. Students earning a degree in cinema and media studies may pursue work at the MA and PhD levels in allied curricula in the humanities and the arts. They may aim for a broad range of careers including advertising, education, entertainment law, information technology, media archiving, museum work or public relations. Cinema and media studies majors often seek positions related to film, television and digital media production, marketing or distribution.

Completion Requirements

60 credits

  1. Core courses: CMS 301; CMS 480 (10 credits)
  2. History courses: either CMS 310 or CMS 311; one of CMS 312, CMS 313, CMS 314, or CMS 315 (10 credits)
  3. Critical concepts courses: one from CMS 302, CMS 303, or CMS 304; either CMS 320 or CMS 321 (10 credits)
  4. Approved electives (30 credits). See adviser for approved list.
    1. Minimum 20 credits from 300- and 400-level courses
    2. Minimum 10 credits from CMS courses
    3. May include additional history and critical concepts CMS courses
    4. Maximum 5 credits of independent study (CMS 490) and maximum 5 credits of internship (CMS 491)
  5. At least 35 credits applied toward the major completed in residence through the UW.
  6. Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for courses applied to the major

 Program of Study: Major: Comparative Literature


Program Overview

Comparative Literature, Cinema & Media trains students in the critical analysis of texts, seeking to understand how the rhetorical and aesthetic features of those texts— whether literary, visual, or theoretical—respond to and shape social values, attitudes, and beliefs. International in scope and interdisciplinary in orientation, our department programs emphasize intellectual breadth and foster intellectual initiative by maximizing students’ opportunities to design and focus on their own courses of study.

This program of study leads to the following credentials:
  • Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Comparative Literature
  • Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Comparative Literature: Cinema Studies
Recommended Preparation

Suggested First- and Second-Year College Courses: Courses in foreign languages, classics, history, philosophy, literature, and writing.

Admission Requirements

One of C LIT 250, C LIT 251, or C LIT 252; minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA; completion of one course fulfilling either College of Arts and Sciences English composition requirement or W (writing) requirement (5 credits).

 Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Comparative Literature


Credential Overview

The Literature Option offers a degree track within the Comparative Literature major that allows a specialization in the study of literature. It explores the relationships among different cultures and between literature and other fields of knowledge, both visual and verbal, such as art history, philosophy, religion, and political thought.

Completion Requirements

50 credits

  1. Core Courses: one of C LIT 250, C LIT 251, or C LIT 252; one of C LIT 320, C LIT 321, C LIT 322, C LIT 323; C LIT 400 (15 credits).
  2. CMS course: one of CMS 310, CMS 311, CMS 312, CMS 313, CMS 320, CMS 321 (5 credits)
  3. 300-400 level electives. See adviser for approved list. (15 credits)
  4. Additional requirements specified below
  5. Minimum 35 credits applied toward the major completed in residence through the UW
  6. Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for courses applied to the major
Additional Completion Requirements

Option specific credits (15 credits)

  1. One of C LIT 360, C LIT 361, or C LIT 362; one additional course from C LIT 320, C LIT 321, C LIT 322, C LIT 323, C LIT 360, C LIT 361, C LIT 362 (10 credits)
  2. One from 300/400-level comparative literature courses. See adviser for approved list (5 credits)
  3. One course must focus on literature written before 1800

 Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Comparative Literature: Cinema Studies


Credential Overview

The Cinema Studies Program offers a degree track within the Comparative Literature major that allows a specialization in the study of film. Cinema Studies allows students to develop their understanding of how films function as a distinctive mode of transmitting and critiquing cultural values and practices. The Comparative Literature, Cinema & Media Department also hosts an array of Cinema Faculty from a number of backgrounds.

Completion Requirements

50 credits

  1. Core Courses: one of C LIT 250, C LIT 251, or C LIT 252; one of C LIT 320, C LIT 321, C LIT 322, C LIT 323; C LIT 400 (15 credits).
  2. CMS course: one of CMS 310, CMS 311, CMS 312, CMS 313, CMS 320, CMS 321 (5 credits)
  3. 300-400 level electives. See adviser for approved list. (15 credits)
  4. Additional requirements specified below
  5. Minimum 35 credits applied toward the major completed in residence through the UW
  6. Minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA for courses applied to the major
Additional Completion Requirements

Option specific credits (15 credits)

  1. One from CMS 270, CMS 271, CMS 272 (5 credits)
  2. One from CMS 310, CMS 311, CMS 312, or CMS 313; one from CMS 301, CMS 302, CMS 303, CMS 303, CMS 320, or CMS 321 (10 credits)
  3. Maximum 5 credits of internship (CMS 491) may be applied toward the cinema studies option with approval of the faculty internship coordinator

 Program of Study: Minor: Comparative Literature


Program Overview

Comparative Literature, Cinema & Media trains students in the critical analysis of texts, seeking to understand how the rhetorical and aesthetic features of those texts— whether literary, visual, or theoretical—respond to and shape social values, attitudes, and beliefs. International in scope and interdisciplinary in orientation, our department programs emphasize intellectual breadth and foster intellectual initiative by maximizing students’ opportunities to design and focus on their own courses of study.

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Minor in Comparative Literature

 Minor in Comparative Literature


Completion Requirements

30 credits

  1. C LIT 250, C LIT 251, or C LIT 252 (5 credits)
  2. C LIT 400 (5 credits)
  3. Two differently numbered courses from C LIT 320, C LIT 321, C LIT 322, C LIT 323 (10 credits)
  4. Remaining credits in upper-division literature courses offered through Comparative Literature, Cinema, and Media, and the following participating departments: Asian Languages and Literature, Classics, English, Germanics, Near Eastern Languages and Civilization, Romance Languages and Literature, Scandinavian Studies, and Slavic Languages and Literatures. See adviser for approved list.

 Program of Study: Minor: Environmental Cultures and Values


Program Overview

The Environmental Cultures and Values minor introduces students to historical and contemporary understandings of the environment through literature, the arts, philosophy, history, anthropology, political science and cultural geography. Taking a broad view of the meaning of "environment" (humans, the non-human world, built and natural environments, and all interactions among them), this interdisciplinary program prepares students for further study of environmental cultures and values and related professional paths (e.g., environmental NGO's, arts organizations, government, natural history writing).

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Minor in Environmental Cultures and Values

 Minor in Environmental Cultures and Values


Completion Requirements

25 credits

  1. CHID 450 or C LIT 450 (5 credits)
  2. 20 credits with at least one course taken from each of the following (see department for approved list)
    1. Area I: Environmental Values and Histories
    2. Area II: Cultures, Communities, and the Environment
    3. Area III: Ecocriticism and Ecoaesthetics
  3. Minimum 15 upper division credits
  4. Minimum 15 credits outside student's major
  5. Minimum 15 credits taken through UW Seattle campus
Additional Information

Department Policy for Double Majors

Students receiving a BA in Cinema and Media Studies are ineligible to also receive the BA in Comparative Literature with Cinema Studies Option. Any other double major is acceptable, including Comparative Literature majors selecting the Literary Studies Option.

Student Outcomes and Opportunities

  • Learning Objectives and Expected Outcomes: Cinema and media studies emphasizes the study of film, television, and related media in the context of global culture. It stresses the importance of historical and cultural awareness for effective interpretation of visual, audiovisual, and verbal texts. Students may pursue work at the MA and PhD levels in allied curricula in the humanities and the arts. They may aim for a broad range of careers including advertising, education, entertainment law, information technology, media archiving, museum work, or public relations. Or, they may seek positions related to film, television, and digital media production, marketing, or distribution. The study of comparative literature provides training in the analysis and critique of varied kinds of social texts and discourses. It stresses the centrality of historical and cross-cultural awareness for effective interpretation of both verbal and visual texts. Students earning the degree in comparative literature may pursue advanced work at the MA and PhD. level in language and literature programs, or allied curricula in film studies, philosophy, intellectual history, and cultural studies. They may aim for degrees in education, specializing in language arts, foreign language teaching, or both. Comparative literature majors may also find jobs in fields where liberal arts skills, such as strong writing ability and fluency in foreign languages, are valued.
  • Honors Options Available: Comparative Literature major only. With College Honors (Completion of Honors Core Curriculum and Departmental Honors). With Honors (Completion of Departmental Honors requirements in the major). With Distinction (Departmental Honors, by invitation). See adviser for requirements.
  • Undergraduate Research, Internships, and Service Learning: See adviser for internship information.
  • Department Scholarships: None
  • Student Organizations/Associations: UW Film Club; Lux Video Production Club.

 Graduate Programs


Cinema and Media Studies

B-530 Padelford Hall
206-543-7542
gradcinema@uw.edu

 Program of Study: Doctor Of Philosophy (Cinema and Media Studies)


Program Overview

The five year Ph.D. program concentrates on scholarship and research as preparation for teaching at the university or college level in Cinema and Media Studies. In addition, Ph.D. students emerge with: 1) an interdisciplinary understanding of the field from a humanistic perspective; 2) the ability to assess and implement diverse pedagogical techniques; 3) the ability to engage in primary research on a subject of their choosing; 4) a sense of the role of cinema and media in national identity, globalization, and other forms of transnationalism; 5) a familiarity with a range of historiographic practices in the field; 6) an awareness of the importance of media technologies as objects; 7) recognition of the crucial role of the aesthetic encounter 8) advanced reading knowledge in at least one language other than English. The faculty in the Department of Cinema and Media have particular strengths in world cinema; silent-era film; documentary cinema; Chinese cinemas; South Asian cinemas; media technologies; television studies; new media; and digital studies.

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Doctor Of Philosophy (Cinema and Media Studies)
Admission Requirements

Please visit this program's Graduate Admissions page for current requirements.

 Doctor Of Philosophy (Cinema and Media Studies)


Completion Requirements

90 credits

  1. Cinema and Media Studies Course Requirements (30 credits):
    1. CMS 520
    2. CMS 525
    3. CMS 600 (10 credits)
    4. Core Seminars (15 credits): 500-level CMS coursework. Course list maintained by the program.
  2. Additional Coursework (25 credits): Graduate coursework at the UW. Course list maintained by the program.
  3. Dissertation (30 credits): CMS 800
  4. Language Requirement: Advanced reading knowledge in one language other than English must be demonstrated before the end of the second year after entry into the program. Language competence is attested either by exams or by completion of satisfactory coursework in the language.

 Program of Study: Graduate Certificate In Cinema And Media Studies


Program Overview

This graduate program emphasizes the study of film and related media from a humanistic perspective, within the broader context of global culture. While our curriculum centers on the medium of film, we understand the key concerns of film history and film theory as a productive horizon for assessing the phenomenal advances of digital and electronic media as well as a cinematic genealogy that stretches back to encompass the magic lantern, photography, sound recordings, and television among other technologically-produced art forms. At the core of our curricular goals, then, we emphasize the fundamental skills of cinema studies: an ability to interpret and clearly communicate the formal and stylistic elements of moving-image and audio-visual texts; a knowledgeable assessment of the canon of popular, art-cinema, and avant-garde cinemas, as well as animation and documentary forms; a capacity to engage the philosophical and social debates most germane to film theory since the early 20th century. Our curriculum stresses a comparative framework. In particular, students will be encouraged to assess our objects of study as they cross national borders, historical periods, and media forms.

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Graduate Certificate In Cinema And Media Studies
Admission Requirements

Please visit this program's website for current admission requirements.

 Graduate Certificate In Cinema And Media Studies


Completion Requirements

20 credits

  1. Core course (5 credits): CMS 520
  2. Electives (15 credits): Course list maintained by the program.
  3. Capstone requirement: Research paper or Qualifying Examination and Dissertation.

 Program of Study: Master Of Arts (Cinema and Media Studies)


Program Overview

The two year M.A. degree program prepares students for advanced work in Cinema and Media Studies, or for careers in teaching at the elementary, secondary, or junior college levels. In addition, M.A. students emerge with: 1) an interdisciplinary understanding of the field from a humanistic perspective; 2) awareness of the relationships between their scholarly practice and the communities in which we live; 3) basic reading knowledge in at least one language other than English; and 4) the ability to assess effective pedagogical techniques in the field. The faculty in the Department of Cinema and Media have particular strengths in world cinema; silent-era film; documentary cinema; Chinese cinemas; South Asian cinemas; media technologies; television studies; new media; and digital studies.

This program of study leads to the following credential:
  • Master Of Arts (Cinema and Media Studies)
Admission Requirements

Please visit this program's Graduate Admissions page for current requirements.

 Master Of Arts (Cinema and Media Studies)


Completion Requirements

50 credits

  1. Core Coursework (10 credits): CMS 520 and CMS 525
  2. Core Seminars (15 credits): 500-level CMS courses. Course list maintained by the program.
  3. Master of Arts Project (5 credits): CMS 590
  4. Additional Coursework (20 credits): Graduate coursework at the 400-level and above, course list maintained by the program.
  5. Language Requirement: Basic reading knowledge in at least one language other than English must be demonstrated by the end of the first full academic year of enrollment. Language competence is attested either by exams or by completion of satisfactory coursework in the language.