Film, Bachelor of Arts (667P, 667)
Program Coordinator
Sara R. Thomason, sara.thomason@wku.edu, (270) 745-5890
The major in Film provides undergraduates a strong foundation in both film production and film studies. This combination allows students to gain the practical skills to succeed on a film set in both “below the line” and “above the line” roles, to experience the mechanics of film production in industry and independent settings, and to develop facility in critical and analytical thinking through the study of global film culture, history and aesthetics.
Admission Requirements
Students wishing to enter the major in Film initially are admitted as majors Seeking Admission (reference 667P). Prospective majors may take no more than 12 hours in the major before admission. Students must meet the following requirements before they can be admitted:
- Completion of a minimum of 24 hours of coursework applicable to a baccalaureate degree;
- A minimum overall grade point average of 2.5;
- Completion of ENG 100 with a grade of “C” or higher and 9 additional hours in general education;
- Completion of the following courses with a grade of “C” or higher: FILM 100, FILM 201, FILM 202, and FILM 250.
Students not meeting the above admission requirements will not be admitted to the Film major and cannot register for any additional courses in the major.
Program Requirements (36 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
The major in Film requires 36 semester hours. No course with a grade of “D” or below may be counted toward this major or fulfill prerequisite requirements for any major in the School of Media. One-half of the hours in the film major must be at the 300 or 400 level.
In addition to meeting institutional requirements for graduation, the Film major must have a minor or second major that is approved by the major faculty advisor and that is outside of both the School of Media and the Film Studies minor. Students may not select a minor from those offered within the School, unless taken as a second minor.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| FILM 100 | Film Industry and Aesthetics | 3 |
| FILM 155 | Film Attendance (Must be completed twice) | 0 |
| FILM 201 | Introduction to the Cinema | 3 |
| FILM 202 | Basic Film Production | 3 |
| FILM 250 | Screenwriting I | 3 |
| FILM 282 | Film Production Workshop I | 3 |
| FILM 369 | Introduction to World Cinema | 3 |
| BCOM 366 | Editing I | 3 |
| or FILM 256 | Film Editing I | |
| Total Hours | 21 | |
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students must take an additional 15 credit hours in Film, including at least two courses in the Film Studies category and two in the Film Production category 1 | 15 | |
Film Studies: | ||
| Introduction to Film Genres | ||
| Special Topics in Film | ||
| Topics in World Cinema | ||
| Documentary Film | ||
| Film Adaptation | ||
| History of Narrative Film | ||
| Film Genres | ||
| Film Theory | ||
| Problems in Mass Communication | ||
| Politics and Film | ||
| Visual Anthropology | ||
| Popular Culture and Gender: Signs & Narratives | ||
Film Production: | ||
| Film Production Workshop II | ||
| Film Animation | ||
| Feature Screenwriting | ||
| Film Production Workshop III | ||
| Film Capstone | ||
| Basic Television Production | ||
| Field Production | ||
| Field Production II | ||
| Television Directing | ||
| Editing III | ||
| Short Form Documentary | ||
| Advanced Short Form Documentary | ||
| Acting | ||
| Acting for the Camera | ||
| Topics in Scriptwriting | ||
| Ethnographic Video Production | ||
| Total Hours | 15 | |
- 1
Other courses may be approved as a restricted elective upon approval of the faculty advisor in the major and the program coordinator.
Finish in Four Plan
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| FILM 100 | 3 | FILM 202 | 3 |
| FILM 201 | 3 | FILM 250 | 3 |
| ENG 100 | 3 | FILM 155 | 0 |
| COMM 145 | 3 | Colonnade: Literary Studies | 3 |
| FILM 155 | 0 | Colonnade: Social & Behavioral Science | 3 |
| Colonnade: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 | Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science w/lab | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| FILM 282 | 3 | FILM Studies Elective | 3 |
| BCOM 366 or FILM 256 | 3 | FILM Diversity Elective | 3 |
| HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 | Colonnade: Natural & Physical Science | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | Minor Course | 3 |
| Minor Course or Foreign Language, if needed | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| FILM 155 | 0 | FILM 155 | 0 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| FILM 369 | 3 | FILM Studies Elective | 3 |
| FILM 382 | 2 | Colonnade: Writing in the Disciplines | 3 |
| Colonnade: Connections (Social and Cultural) | 3 | Colonnade: Connections (Local to Global) | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | Minor Course | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| FILM Production Elective | 3 | FILM 482 (OR FILM Elective) | 3 |
| Minor Course | 3 | FILM 486 | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | Colonnade: Connections (Systems) | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| General University Elective | 3 | General University Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Hours 119 | |||
Hours include a minor requiring 21 total hours.