Carnegie Mellon University

Film & Visual Media - Primary Major

In addition to satisfying all of the Dietrich College degree requirements for B.A. candidates, which include the General Education curriculum and free electives, Film & Visual Media majors must complete coursework in the following areas below. You can also view the recommended curriculum pathway to help you map out your courses each semester.

Learn how to declare the primary major in Film & Visual Media.

Curriculum: 12 courses, 108 units minimum

Required Introductory Courses (2 courses, 18 units):

76-239 Introduction to Film & Visual Media Studies
76-310 Advanced Studies in Film & Visual Media

Production Core Courses (2 courses, 18 units minimum):

76-292 Introduction to Film Production
xx-xxx one additional elective production course

Options include but are not limited to:

54-191 Acting for Non-Majors
60-110 Electronic Media Studio: Introduction to the Moving Image
60-125 IDeATe: Introduction to 3D Animation Pipeline
60-141 Black & White Photography I
60-218 IDeATe Portal: Real-Time Animation
60-220 IDeATe: Technical Character Animation
60-245 Portrait Photography
60-333 IDeATe: Animation Rigging
60-415 Animation Studio*
60-416 Documentary Storytelling*
60-426 Advanced ETB: 2D Animation
76-313 Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production
76-374 Mediated Narrative
76-481 Introduction to Multimedia Design

*Course contains pre-requisites in School of Art.

Screenwriting Core Courses (2 courses, 18 units):

76-269 Intro to Screenwriting
76-469 Screenwriting Workshop

Digital Media Core Courses (2 courses, 18 units minimum):

Options include but are not limited to:

15-104 Introduction to Computing for Creative Practice
60-125 Introduction to 3D Animation
60-142 Digital Photography I
60-242 Digital Photography II
62-150 IDeATe Portal: Introduction to Media Synthesis and Analysis
76-314 Data Stories
76-388 Coding for Humanists
76-419 Media in a Digital Age
76-429 Intro to Digital Humanities

Literary & Cultural Studies Core Courses (2 courses, 18 units):

Options include but are not limited to:

76-203 Literature & Culture in the 18th Century
76-207 Special Topics in Literature & Culture
76-210 Banned Books
76-221 Books You Should Have Read By Now
76-232 Introduction to Black Literature
76-241 Introduction to Gender Studies
76-245 Shakespeare: Tragedies and Histories
76-247 Shakespeare: Comedies and Romances
76-259 Topics in Film History
76-317 Contemporary American Fiction
76-333 Race and Controversy in the Arts
76-353 Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film
76-429 Introduction to Digital Humanities
76-439 Seminar in Film
76-440 Postcolonial Theory: Diaspora and Transnationalism
76-448 Shakespeare on Film

Topics in Film & Visual Media Studies Courses (2 courses, 18 units):

Options include but are not limited to:

76-243 Intro to Television
76-259 Topics in Film History
76-312 Crime and Justice in American Film
76-313 Creative Visual Storytelling in Film Production

76-353 Transnational Feminisms: Fiction and Film
76-339 Topics in Film (can be taken more than once as topics vary by semester)
76-367 Fact into Film: Translating History into Cinema
76-409 History of German Film
76-439 Advanced Seminar in Film and Visual Media Studies
76-448 Shakespeare on Film
76-449 Race and Media
76-454 Rise of the Blockbuster
79-214 Paris in Revolt: History, Literature, and Film
79-225 West African History in Film
79-270 Century of Russian Film
79-306 Fact into Film: Translating History into Cinema
79-308 Crime and Justice in American Film
79-309 The Chinese Revolution through Film (1949-2000)
79-319 India through Film
79-326 German History through Film
79-339 Juvenile Delinquency & Film: From Soul of Youth (1920) to West Side Story (1961)
79-341 The Cold War in Documents and Film
79-391 Stardom, Gender, and American Film
79-427 Radicals, Heretics, and Hackers: Russian Outlaws in History, Literature, and Film
79-434 Literature, Politics, Film in Russia and East Europe
79-438 The Film Festival: The New Chinese Cinema
82-215 Arab Culture through Film and Literature
82-278 Japanese Film and Literature: the Art of Storytelling     
82-284 Multicultural Pittsburgh: A Creative Media Exploration of Community, Language and Identity  
82-296 A Century of Russian Films
82-355 Topics in Hispanic Studies (The Hispanic World through Film)
82-411 Filmothea: Interdisciplinary Film Workshop
82-428 History of German Film
82-455/56 Topics in Hispanic Studies (subject to variation by semester: only some sections have a significant film component)
82-533 Visions of China: Modern Chinese Society and Culture through Documentary Films and New Media