Carnegie Mellon University

Film & Visual Media Program

The Film & Visual Media program in the Department of English allows for a complex blend of creative, professional, and technical competencies.


The Film & Visual Media program offers comprehensive courses in film and visual media, from theoretical framing and historical-cultural contextualization to training skills in creating, analyzing, and developing film. CMU's Department of English is an ideal home for the Film and Visual Media major due to the department’s combination of creative writers, film and media studies scholars, filmmakers, digital humanities instructors, and visual communication researchers.

You can learn more about the ways in which you can study Film & Visual Media at CMU by clicking on the links to the right (Primary Major, Additional Major, and Minor). The primary major in Film & Visual Media is for students wishing to get their B.A. degree in the field. Below, students wishing to complete the primary major can see the recommended curriculum pathway to do so.

Financial Resources for Students

Students enrolled in the Film and Visual Media program have access to funds earmarked for film production and/or the payment of fees for submitting finished work to film festivals. Students pursuing the primary major, additional major, or BHA concentration have access to up to $650 for the purpose of supporting their personal creative work.  Students pursuing the minor have access to up to $500 for the purpose of supporting their personal creative work. Additional funds may be available through other sources which the Department can facilitate.

To submit a funding request, please fill out our Film Student Expense Request form.

For more details, please reach out to the director of the program, Jeff Hinkelman.

Recommended Curriculum Pathway for the B.A. in Film & Visual Media

This plan is the recommended pathway for completing the B.A. in Film & Visual Media in four years. While it is not required for students to follow this pathway precisely, it is highly recommended for students to do so, and we recommend students begin the major’s courses as early as possible. Students in Dietrich College may declare their primary major as early as the middle of their second semester. Students who have not declared their major in the Department of English may still take courses with us.

Students may also view the four-year plan (also known as a Pathway) for the B.A. in Film & Visual Media via the Stellic Degree Audit Application.

First-Year Second-Year
Fall Spring Fall Spring

GEN ED: Foundations:
Communication Course

GEN ED: Foundations:
Data Analysis Course

GEN ED: Foundations: Scientific Inquiry Course

GEN ED: Foundations: Intercultural & Global Inquiry Course

GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Humanities Course

GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Social Sciences Course

GEN ED: Foundations: Computational Thinking Course

GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Logic/Math Course

GEN ED: Grand Challenge Seminar Course 76310 Advanced Studies in Film & Media 76259 Topics in Film History (recommended course) Topics in Film Course #1

76239 Intro to Film Studies (also counts as GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: The Arts)

Literature & Culture Course #1 76292 Film Production 76469 Screenwriting Workshop
Free Elective Free Elective 76269 Intro to Screenwriting Digital Media Course #1

 

Third-Year Fourth-Year
Fall Spring Fall Spring

GEN ED: Foundations: Contextual Thinking Course

 

  1. Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc.

    OR  
  2. Topics in Film Course #2

GEN ED: Disciplinary Perspectives: Additional (Business, Design, Engineering)

 

  1. OPTIONAL GEN ED: Senior Capstone

    OR
  2. Free Elective

GEN ED: Equity and Justice Course

  1. Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc.

    OR  

2. 76374 Mediated Narrative (recommended course)

  1. Topics in Film Course #2

    OR 

2. Free Elective

 

1. 76374 Mediated Narrative (Recommended Course)

OR

2. Free Elective

 

Production Elective Course
  1. Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc.

    OR  
2. Free Elective
Free Elective Free Elective

Literature & Culture Course #2

  1. Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc.

    OR  
2. Free Elective
Free Elective Free Elective
Digital Media Course #2
  1. Open for course exploration, requirements for other majors/minors, study abroad, etc.

    OR  
2. Free Elective
Free Elective Free Elective

 

Declare Film and Visual Media

Spotlight: Jeff Hinkelman

Inside the Film & Video Collection with Jeff Hinkelman

To Jeff Hinkelman, Director, Film & Visual Media Program (formerly Video Collection Manager at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries), visual media connects everything. “People who use the video collection come from all over the university.  You’ll see students and faculty from various disciplines, such as art, drama, humanities and social sciences, and the [Video Collection] act[s] as a way to connect [everyone] in an interdisciplinary manner.” Jeff also serves as Faculty Advisor and Instructor for the Film and Visual Media Studies Minor, and was instrumental in the creation of the recently formed Bachelor of Arts in Film and Visual Media..

Read more about Jeff Hinkelman and the film community at CMU.

You can also read more about Jeff Hinkelman's February 2022 book on WWI film narratives, For No Reason At All: The Changing Narrative of the First World War in American Film, published by the University of Mississippi Press.

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