Cinematic Arts and Film Studies

The study of film and filmmaking within a research university encompasses a wide range of strategies, techniques, subjects, and outcomes. From narrative and documentary filmmaking to experimental and unconventional approaches, the films made by faculty, alumni, and students at UC San Diego are truly exceptional in the landscape of cinematic arts.

Scholars of film at UC San Diego apply their academic focus not exclusively at the “canon” of Western European and American film history, but instead expand the field to include robust research of film from Latin America, East Asia, South Asia, Indigenous communities, as well as film arising from cultural traditions within the U.S. including Black, Latinx/Chicanx, AAPI, Queer, and Feminist film.

The Cinematic Arts major is defined by its interdisciplinary, bridging both film studies and film practice pedagogy. The major includes film production courses taught in the Visual Arts, Literature, and Theater & Dance departments, among others. Cinematic Arts brings together theory and practice, teaching students both the theoretical/critical approaches to film, and also practical techniques in film production.

The Film Studies minor educates students in a conventional Humanities context, where students learn to critically analyze film and engage with a broad literature of film history and theory.

Overview of the New Cinematic Arts Major

Learn more about the differences between this Cinematic Arts Major and the Media Major in the Visual Arts Department.

Learn more about the Media Industries Major in the Department of Communication.

NOTE: Students with junior or senior standing in academic year 2024-2025 may not be able to successfully complete the major because not all required courses will be available. Please review the major planning checklist and prerequisite resources below. If your plan will allow you to finish, please email filmstudies@ucsd.edu to set up a meeting to discuss your options.

Students interested in the major should complete the major planning checklist to map out their degree plan with careful attention to the prerequisites for each course.

To further assist course planning, here are several resources:

People

Program Director

Daniel Widener and Amelia Glaser - Interim Co-Directors

Academic Advising

UC San Diego undergraduate students: please use the Virtual Advising Center (VAC) for all advising questions.

Email for advising appointments: filmstudies@ucsd.edu

Affiliated Faculty

Amy Adler, Visual Arts

Amy Alexander, Visual Arts

Gabriel Bamgbose, Literature

Marco Barricelli, Theatre and Dance

Bernard Brown, Theatre and Dance

Julie Burelle, Theatre and Dance

Amy Sara Carroll, Literature

Lisa Cartwright, Visual Arts

Alain Cohen, Literature

Jordan Crandall, Visual Arts

Zeinabu Davis, Communication

Andrew deWaard, Communication

Ben Dollar, Literature

Shlomo Dubnov, Music

Dean Erdmann, Visual Arts

Geraldine Fiss, Literature

Malik Gaines, Visual Arts

Mariah Garnett, Visual Arts

Allan Havis, Theatre and Dance

Todd A. Henry, History

Erin Hill, Communication

Jaclyn Jemc, Literature

Dayna Kalleres, Literature

Curtis Marez, Ethnic Studies

Luis Martin-Cabrera, Literature

Andrea Mendoza, Literature

Nicole Miller, Visual Arts

Daisuke Miyao, Literature

Lorena Mostajo, Visual Arts

Silpa Mukherjee, Literature

Dana Velasco Murillo, History

Hoang Tan Nguyen, Literature

Victoria Petrovich, Theatre and Dance

Babak Rahimi, Literature

Alexandro Segade, Visual Arts

Deborah Stein, Theatre and Dance

Michael Trigilio, Visual Arts

Ameeth Vijay, Literature

Nadia Villafuerte Vasquez, Literature

Alena Williams, Visual Arts

Ping Zhu, Literature

Major

Cinematic Arts Major (CI25)

NEW MAJOR EFFECTIVE FALL 2024

Students who complete the Cinematic Arts major will:

be introduced to the fundamentals of making, understanding, and analyzing film/cinema.
gain a broad historical and critical understanding of cinema history, including trends in the US and internationally.
learn fundamental production techniques including: cinematography, writing, editing, sound, animation, visual effects, directing, and presentation.
cultivate a critical understanding of their own work as filmmakers and scholars, with the ability to write and speak about the themes and impact of their work.
receive real-world experience in the form of internships, work-study, and student-led projects.
learn about the fundamentally collaborative nature of filmmaking, allowing them to identify areas within which they feel confident to pursue a practice beyond UC San Diego.

Requirements:

Seven 4-unit lower division core courses (28 units), distributed as follows:
- Four core courses (16 units)
- Three electives (12 units)
Twelve 4-unit upper division core courses (48 units); distributed as follows:
- Five 4-unit Studies & History courses (20 units);
- Four 4-unit Production courses (16 units);
- One 4-unit Practicum course (4 units);
- Two 4-unit Capstone/Thesis courses (8 units)

Resources:

Minor

Cinematic Arts Minor (CI25) and Film Studies Minor

Note: The Cinematic Arts Minor will be launching in Winter 2025. At that time, the Film Studies Minor will no longer accept new students. The curriculum and requirements are the same, only the name has changed. Students who have already delcared the Film Studies Minor will be able to complete their minor.

Cinematic Arts provides students an exciting opportunity to examine the many facets of U.S. and international cinema. Students interested in exploring cinema as a multidimensional art medium will engage in the analysis of cinematic works of various forms. Study of film genres, history, theories, directors, cultural perspectives and more, allow students to gain a broad understanding of cinema as a historical and contemporary means of expression.

The interdisciplinary nature of the minor provides investigation of cinematic art through its connection to related fields such as Communication, Literature, Sociology, and Visual Arts.

Requirements:

Completion of seven courses (28 units), at least five (20 units) of which must be upper-division courses chosen from at least two different departments.

Resources:

Course Offerings

2024-2025

Refer to the official UC San Diego General Catalog for a complete list of approved courses that will count toward a major or minor in Cinematic Arts.

Course offerings are constantly changing. Please refer to the Schedule of Classes for the most up-to-date listing.

(*) Indicates course may be petitioned for credit. Instructions on How to Petition Courses.

Fall 2024

ANSC 156. Mad Films: Cultural Studies of Mental Illness in Cinema
COMM 103D Documentary History & Theory
HILD 14. Latin American History and Film
LTAF 120. Literature and Film of Modern Africa
LTEA 120C. Hong Kong Films
LTEA 142. Korean Film: Literature, and Popular Culture: Pop Cultures of Two Koreas
LTWL 183. Film Studies and Literature: Director’s Work
SOCI 105. Ethnographic Film: Media Methods
SOCI 184. Gender and Film
TDGE 10. Theatre and Film
TDGE 11. Great Performances on Film
TDGE 124. Cult Films: Weirdly Dramatic
TDGE 125. Topics in Theatre and Film: Great Acting Moments in Film
TDPW 104. Screenwriting
VIS 84. History of Film

Winter 2025

COMM 10 - Introduction to Communication
COMM 20 - Analysis of Media Forms and Cultures
COMM 30 - Digital Media Literacy
COMM 101 - Introduction to Audiovisual Media Practices (major only, not minor)
COMM 101D - Nonlinear/Digital Editing (major only, not minor)
COMM 101K - Documentary Sketchbook (major only, not minor)
COMM 101N - Sound Production and Manipulation (major only, not minor)
COMM 101T - Topics in Production: Intro to Animation 2D (major only, not minor)
COMM 101T - Topics in Production: AI and Generative Image Culture (major only, not minor)
COMM 103D - Documentary History and Theory
COMM 107 - Visual Culture
COMM 137 - Black Women Filmmakers
LTCS 111 - Special Topics in Popular Culture in Historical Context: US Cinema of the 1980s
LTEA 138 - Japanese Films: Introduction
LTWL 180 - Film Studies and Literature: Film History: Queer Cinema
LTWL 184 - Film Studies and Literature: Close Analysis of Filmic Text: Bollywood
SOCI 150 - Madness and Movies
TDGE 11 - Great Performances on Film
TDGE 124 - Cult Films: Weirdly Dramatic
TDGE 127 - The Films of Spike Lee
TDGE 131 - Indigenous Cinema
TDPW 104 - Screenwriting
USP 164 - Cities in Film
VIS 6 - Race, Gender and Robots
VIS 150 - Landmarks of World Cinema
VIS 157D - US Civil Rights in Art and Media
VIS 174 - Media Sketchbook

Spring 2025

COMM 10. Introduction to Communication
COMM 30. Digital Media Literacy
COMM 101. Introduction to Audiovisual Media Practices (major only, not minor)
COMM 101D. MPL: Nonlinear/Digital Editing (major only, not minor)
COMM 101K. MPL: Documentary Sketchbook (major only, not minor)
COMM 101N. MPL: Sound Production and Manipulation (major only, not minor)
COMM 101T. MPL: Topics in Production (major only, not minor)
COMM 106F. CI: Film Industry
COMM 139. Examining Marvel’s Black Panther
FILM 71. Fundamentals of Cinematography (major only, not minor)
FILM 72. Fundamentals of Directing (major only, not minor)
FILM 73. Fundamentals of Editing (major only, not minor)
LTEA 120A. Chinese Films
*LTEN 181. Asian American Literature: Transoceanic Film Corridors
LTWL 180. Film Studies and Literature: Film History: Indian Cinema and Anger
LTWL 184. Film Studies and Literature: Close Analysis of Filmic Text
RELI 150. Religion and Cinema
SOCI 150. Madness and Movies
TDGE 10. Theatre and Film
TDGE 11. Great Performances on Film
TDGE 124. Cult Films: Weirdly Dramatic
TDGE 125. Jewish American Film Directors
TDGE 125. Shakespeare in Film
TDTR 20. Dance on Film
VIS 70N. Introduction to Media (major only, not minor)
VIS 150A. Seminar in Film History & Theory
VIS 152D. Transnational Cinema
VIS 171. Digital Cinema (major only, not minor)
VIS 172. Motion Design & Visual Effects (major only, not minor)
VIS 174. Media Sketchbook (major only, not minor)
VIS 177. Scripting Strategies (major only, not minor)

First Year Seminars

Fall 2024

FILM 87 A00 - Film and Life (1 Unit)
Instructor: Babak Rahimi
Tuesday, 10:00-10:50am

FILM 87 B00 - Banned Films (1 Unit)
Instructor: Babak Rahimi
Tuesday, 11:00-11:50am

Attention Students: If you have accrued 45 or more units, use the steps below to request registration in a First Year Seminar. All others may simply register.

Use the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy) to request enrollment
It can take several business days for the department to process your request
Due to the limited size of 20 for seminars, approval is not always guaranteed. Please plan accordingly to make sure you are submitting your request well in advance of any specific deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the differences between the Cinematic Arts Major versus the Media Major in Visual Arts?

The Cinematic Arts Major places a specific emphasis on film studies, learning and understanding the various histories and approaches to filmmaking, including international, independent, and experimental films, as well as popular Hollywood cinema. The Cinematic Arts Major also has a component focusing on fundamentals of production.

The Media Major in Visual Arts is a conceptually driven major training students to use their creative voice as artists using film and video tools, as opposed to more traditional painting/sculpting/design approaches. These students are trained as artists who use filmmaking as their medium. While some students do make “films,” students are able to produce any kind of expanded artworks, including video installations, experimental Virtual Reality, performance work, and beyond.

Please see this document for a full explanation.

Can I double major in Cinematic Arts and the Media Major (or any other major)?

A student with a double major must fulfill the separate requirements of each major, and the equivalent of at least ten upper-division courses (40 units) must be unique to each major. Courses taken in fulfillment of lower-division requirements may overlap to any degree.

Please map out your course plan for each major. You can use the Cinematic Arts Major Planning Checklist.

Who will own the rights to the films students make during their academic program?

Students own the rights to their own work throughout their time at UC San Diego.

Will there be video and film editing equipment and rooms for students to rent?

Students enrolled in production courses will have access to a wide range of high-end equipment, including prime-lenses, lights, cameras, microphones, and grip items. These materials are available to students for check-out through the Media Teaching Lab. Students will have access to editing suites, both in the Media Teaching Lab as well as in a variety classroom "labs."

Students may choose to apply to the Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts Fellowship, which provides equipment and some funding to its Fellows. These items include RED and Canon cinema cameras, as well as professional cine-prime lenses and audio recording equipment.

What editing programs will be taught?

As this is an undergraduate major at a research-one university, it is unlikely that there will be any class devoted to a single piece of software or editing platform. That said, in the current slate of film-editing classes, a range of platforms are available and taught, including Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Avid Pro Tools, Adobe After Effects, Maxon Cinema 4D, Maxon Z-Brush, and others.