Undergraduate

Film and New Media

Per USF policy, logistical details about this program of study (BA Major) are located in the university Undergraduate Catalog. Information on a Minor degree program is avaliable here. For details about the Bachelor's/Master's Pathway in Film Studies click here

FAQ

What is Film & New Media Studies?

Film & New Media Studies is designed to teach students how to think actively, critically, and creatively, about the art of the moving image. To this end, it surveys significant examples of moving-image culture, including films from Hollywood and other global industries; experiments in documentary, avant-garde, and art cinema; and works from television, digital video, and the Internet.

Along the way, students not only explore the fundamentals of moving-image style, but also how it challenges one to rethink established artistic and social categories. Above all, students learn to evaluate the cultural, historical, and theoretical significance of a wide range of moving-image texts by looking closely at the forms and technologies that shape them.

Why are Film & New Media Studies important?

Moving-image media are transforming the way we work and play and how we relate to colleagues, friends, and family members. A program in Film & New Media Studies examines the aesthetics and histories of these media and theorizes their influences on individual minds and bodies, social organizations, and our relationships to the world and other people.

For some students, Film & New Media Studies complements their aspirations to produce moving-image works. For others, it means better understanding their own mediated environments. In either case, it creates responsible producers and users of today’s visual technologies.

What are the skills one gains as a Film & New Media Studies student?

  • Reading and writing. Film & New Media Studies read and write critically and creatively by paying close attention to how both written and visual languages make meaning.
  • Critical analysis. Film & New Media Studies students learn to analyze images, texts, and practices so as to uncover important questions and problems and arrive at creative solutions to them.
  • Research. Film & New Media Studies students recognize the importance that past images, texts, and practices play in the creation of present-day approaches to issues and events.
  • Interdisciplinary thinking. Film & New Media Studies students engage images, texts, and practices from a number of aesthetic, historical, and theoretical approaches, including those from Literature, Art History, History, Psychology, and Science, Technology, & Society Studies.
  • Curiosity and inquisitiveness. Film & New Media Studies students develop the desire to investigate all areas of their personal and professional lives for meaning and improvement.

What can I do with a major in Film & New Media Studies?

Because moving-image media influence nearly every facet of our personal and professional lives, a degree in Film & New Media Studies prepares students for a wide variety of fields, including:

  • Film, television, & digital video production
  • Journalism
  • Marketing & advertising
  • Internet & social media
  • Library & information sciences
  • Museum studies
  • Entertainment law
  • Teaching & higher education