The cinema studies minor is open to students in any field who are interested in the study of cinema history, or the production aspect of films, but who are too busy to pursue the full major. Students who pursue the cinema studies minor have the opportunity to develop their interest by acquiring critical and comparative skills and understanding the place and importance of cinema as a cultural and social phenomenon. Students in the minor have access to lower- and upper-division courses in film production, film history, aesthetics, criticism, social and historical contexts, classical genres and groundbreaking directors from the U.S. and abroad, acquiring an edge in visual analysis, critical thinking and media literacy.
Requirements
Declaration of a minor is open to any student enrolled at CU Boulder, regardless of college or school. To obtain the cinema studies minor, students must declare a minor in Cinema Studies. Additional requirements:
- Students are allowed to apply no more than 9 credit hours, including 6 upper-division credit hours, of transfer work toward a minor.
- All coursework applied to the minor must be completed with a grade of C- or better (no pass/fail work may be applied). The GPA for all coursework taken in the minor department must be equal to 2.00 (C) or higher.
- Complete 19 credit hours of cinema studies coursework, including 6 credit hours at the upper-division level, as listed below.
Required Courses and Credits
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| CINE 1502 | Introduction to Cinema Studies | 3 |
| CINE 3051 | Film History 1 | 4 |
| or CINE 3061 | Film History 2 | |
| Electives | 12 | |
| Production Courses | ||
| Moving Image Foundations I | ||
or CINE 2105 | Introduction to the Screenplay | |
or CINE 2610 | Animation Production | |
or CINE 3404 | In Search of Lost Times: Period Films and Historical Imagination | |
or CINE 3900 | Independent Study (Production) | |
or CINE 4010 | Topics in Film Production | |
or CINE 4020 | Analog Alternatives | |
or CINE 4021 | Directing/Acting for the Camera | |
or CINE 4105 | Advanced Screenwriting | |
or CINE 4505 | Screenwriting Workshop: Long Form | |
| Critical Studies Courses | ||
| Space Odysseys: Astrophys/Astronomy via Cinema/Arts | ||
or CINE 2002 | Recent International Cinema | |
or CINE 2003 | Film Topics | |
or CINE 2004 | Film Festival Cultures | |
or CINE 2005 | Form, Structure, and Narrative Analysis | |
or CINE 2203 | American Indians in Film | |
or CINE 3003 | Major Film Directors | |
or CINE 3004 | Alfred Hitchcock: The American Films | |
or CINE 3041 | Environmental Cinema | |
or CINE 3042 | Horror Film: History, Contexts, Aesthetics | |
or CINE 3043 | Topics in Critical Film Studies | |
or CINE 3045 | I Saw the TV Glow: Voyeurism, Surveillance and Obsession in American Cinema | |
or CINE 3104 | Film Criticism and Theory | |
or CINE 3422 | The Hollywood Musical | |
or CINE 3503 | German Film Through World War II | |
or CINE 3513 | German Film and Society 1945-1989 | |
or CINE 3901 | Independent Study (Critical Study) | |
or CINE 4001 | Screening Race, Class & Gender in the U.S. and the Global Borderland | |
or CINE 4003 | Film and Literature | |
or CINE 4004 | Topics in Film Theory | |
or CINE 4023 | Topics in International Cinema | |
or CINE 4024 | Advanced Research Seminar | |
or CINE 4043 | Topics in Cinema Critical Studies | |
or CINE 4211 | History of Russian and Soviet Cinema | |
or CINE 4453 | History of Avant-Garde Film | |
| Complete 12 credit hours from elective courses in the Cinema Studies Program. 6 credit hours of the elective courses must be at the upper-division (3000-4000) level. | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 19 | |
Learning Outcomes
By the completion of the program, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate basic proficiency in various film, video and media-making skills such as in editing, cinematography, sound and general production skills.
- Exhibit an applied understanding of cinema aesthetics in narrative, experimental, animation or documentary practices.
- Identify the major artistic contributions to the evolution of cinema, from the advent of the moving image to the present.
- Demonstrate familiarity with the general outlines of world cinema.
- Apply the uses and functions of film criticism, aesthetics and film theory in writing, oral or artistic forms.