Requirements
Overview
The major in Film and Media Studies integrates the history, theory, criticism, and production of moving-image media. Courses examine the broad international landscape of cinema and all audiovisual media as art forms that have had, and will continue to have, enduring social significance as cultural and communicative practices. As an interdisciplinary program centered in the humanities, Film and Media Studies offers students latitude when charting their course of study. Because of the special demands of Film and Media Studies and the diversity of its offerings, potential majors are encouraged to consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies soon after declaring the major.
Requirements of the Major
See Links to the attributes indicating courses approved for the Film and Media Studies requirements.
The Film and Media Studies major consists of twelve term courses. A maximum of one course taken Credit/D/Fail may count toward the 12 credits required for the major with permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies; required courses may not be taken for Credit/D/Fail.
Students are required to take FILM 1501, Introduction to Film Studies, FILM 1601, Introduction to Media Studies, and FILM 3201, Close Analysis of Film preferably in their first or second year.
In addition, students are required to take at least one course in international cinema, critical studies, and the practice of producing cinematic or digital time-based media (FMS production courses are listed below).
Occasionally courses in other YC departments or programs may be substituted with the permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Majors in Film and Media Studies must write a senior essay or produce a senior project with an accompanying essay.
Senior requirement
Senior Essay: 2 terms of senior-level seminars, or 2 terms of senior essay (FILM 4910, FILM 4920), or 1 term of each.
Senior Production Project: 2 terms of senior project in FILM 4550 + FILM 4560, or FILM 4830 + FILM 4840, or FILM 4800 + FILM 4810, or FILM 4870 + FILM 4880 in addition to .5CR of FILM 4940, for a total of 12.5 term courses.
Intensive Major: Both senior essay and the senior production project
Film and Media Studies scholarly courses/seminars
As a program deeply committed to interdisciplinary study, Film and Media Studies offers an abundance of opportunities through diverse course offerings. These courses offer a solid foundation for both media production oriented students as well as those focusing on a scholarly path. For majors intending to write a senior essay, these courses would provide an opportunity to meet a potential senior essay adviser. A sample list of FMS courses, drawn from just one single semester (Fall 2025), is included below. It is far from a complete representation of the possibilities within FMS. Go to Yale Course Search for each semester’s comprehensive FILM offerings.
A sampling of FMS undergraduate courses/seminars:
- Makeovers in Classical Hollywood Cinema, FILM 1800
- Through the Lens of Memory: Other Perspectives on Dictatorships in Latin America and Iberia, FILM 2167
- Skin and Surface: Fashion and Culture, FILM 2540
- East/West European New Waves: Life and Revolution in the 1960s, FILM 2607
- The Science and Culture of Memory FILM 2800
- Artificial Life: (Re)Production and the Limits of Humanity FILM 2827
- Gender and Sexuality in German Literature and Film FILM 2897
- Digital War FILM 2980
- Cinematic Ukraine: Culture, Identity, and Memory FILM 3007
- Japanese Cinema and Its Others FILM 3047
- Italian Film Ecologies: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow FILM 3057
- Weird Greek Wave Cinema FILM 3417
- The Nigerian ‘Video Novel’ and Nollywood FILM 3537
- Jazz and African-American Historical Representations in American Films FILM 4140
- Radio, FILM 4200
- The Aesthetics of Adaptation FILM 4220
- Noise FILM 4270
- The Historical Documentary FILM 4470
- Making Comics FILM 4670
- Weimar Cinema FILM 4680
Senior requirement
During the senior year, each FMS student takes one or two senior-level scholarly seminars, production seminars, or the equivalent to support the production of either a substantial scholarly essay, a senior video, or a senior screenwriting project that demonstrates a culmination of work in the major and in Yale College.
Senior essays or senior projects are due to the DUS by the last day of classes in the semester of graduation. A second reader, suggested by the student or assigned by the DUS, in addition to the senior project course instructor, participates in evaluating the essays and/or projects.
There are four options for FMS majors to satisfy the senior project requirement.
- a scholarly research paper of 35-50 pages plus senior seminar(s).
- a cinematic/media production project (which includes a 15 page contextualization paper)
- a feature length (or equivalent) screenwriting project (which includes a 15 page contextualization paper),
- or a combined cinematic/media production project plus significant scholarly paper.
Students are encouraged to explore their course options broadly while attending to the preparation needed to eventually complete their senior projects.
Senior Essay
For the student writing a senior scholarly essay, two options are possible.
- The student may conduct independent research on a yearlong senior essay (FILM 4910 + FILM 4920). Such research receives two terms of credit; the product of a two-term research essay is a work of at least fifty pages.
- The student may combine one single-term senior-level seminar with one term of an independent research project (either FILM 4910 or FILM 4920), resulting in a paper of at least thirty-five pages.
- The student may take two senior level seminars, at least one of which must result in the completion of a 25-page essay.
As with all senior projects, a student intending to write a senior essay should submit a brief prospectus, approved by a proposed faculty adviser, to the DUS by the end of reading week in their junior year.
In researching and writing the essay, the student should consult regularly with the seminar instructor or faculty adviser.
The Senior Production/Screenwriting project
A student intending to create a senior video/media or screenwriting project must complete a brief prospectus form by the last day of classes in the second semester of their junior year. This form will be circulated to all Juniors in mid-April (sample questions are included below). If this prospectus is approved by the appropriate instructor and the DUS, the student will be cleared to register for their intended senior production workshop.
Production Senior Seminars/Workshops
Students accepted to write a feature length screenplay must enroll in two semesters of Advanced Screenwriting (FILM 4870, FILM 4880, or the equivalent) in their senior year.
Students accepted to create a short non-fiction video must enroll in either two semesters of Documentary Film Workshop (FILM 4550, FILM 4560), two semesters of Film/Media Hybridity Lab (FILM 4800, Film 4810), or some combination of the two.
Students accepted to create a short fiction video must enroll in either two semesters of Advanced Film Writing and Directing (FILM 4830, FILM4840), two semesters of Film/Media Hybridity Lab (FILM 4800, Film 4810), or some combination of the two.
Students accepted to create a an experimental, hybrid, non-theatrical or otherwise unconventional project such as a video anthology or an installation must enroll in two semesters of Film/Media Hybridity Lab (FILM 4800, FILM 4810).
Production/Screenwriting Project Contextualizing Essay
All students undertaking video or screenwriting senior projects must produce an essay of approximately fifteen pages. The expected form of this essay is intentionally loose and could include manifestos, diaristic writings, procedural analysis, etc. that place the senior project in a theoretical, cultural, or historical context as well as articulating the production/developmental strategies (accounted for by enrolling in FILM 4940). Please consult with your primary instructor or the DUS about your intentions prior to writing. These students receive a total of 2.5 credits for their projects (two credits for their two-semester workshops and one credit for their accompanying contextualizing essay (FILM 4940). Such a choice effectively commits students to one extra course in addition to the twelve courses required for the major. FILM 4940 does not count toward the twelve required courses when taken in conjunction with their production/screenwriting workshops.
Production and Screenwriting Preparatory Seminars/Studios
Students hoping for approval to work on a cinema/media-making or screenwriting project for their senior project are advised to begin taking relevant courses in their first three years at Yale to assure that they will be adequately prepared to undertake such a project in their final year.
Introductory Courses: One or several of these courses will prepare students for more advanced courses. Production courses in other departments such as Art, Music, or Theater Studies may also be relevant.
Modes of Thinking Through Mediamaking, FILM 1900–This foundational hands-on course is designed to generate conceptual and practical creative potentials within the process of developing, making, and critiquing films and videos.
Introduction to Writing and Directing, FILM 1610- Emphasis on the writing and production of short dramatic scenes.
Introduction to Non-Fiction Filmmaking: Personal Experience & Creative Practice, FILM 1520 - Drawing on diverse traditions from classical observational forms to hybrid, personal, and experimental approaches to non-fiction filmmaking, this course introduces students to the foundations of non-fiction filmmaking through critical viewing, theoretical discussion, and hands-on creative practice.
Introduction to Documentary, FILM 1620 -The art and craft of documentary filmmaking. Basic technological and creative tools for capturing and editing moving images.
Screenwriting, FILM 3500-Foundations of the craft introduced through the reading of professional scripts and the analysis of classic films. A series of classroom exercises culminates in intensive scene work.
Midlevel Courses: This dynamic category of courses offers FMS students a breadth of options. At least one, but ideally several courses from this category will prepare students to qualify for the Film/Media Production or Screenwriting Senior Project. Majors may also count some production courses available through other Yale departments (with DUS approval). Credit earned in the Yale summer program in Prague also counts toward the major requirements.
Cinematography: History, Theory, Practice FILM 2940 – Through readings, screenings, and practical exercises, this course introduces students to the artistic practice of cinematography in the context of its history from the birth of cinema to the present.
The Screenwriter’s Craft FILM 3300 -A rigorous writer’s workshop. Students conjure, write, rewrite, and study films.
The Craft of Graphic Narrative, FILM 3990 - This class explores how text and sequential images work together to tell stories. This class will be an equal mix of theory and practice, of reading comics with a critical eye and making your own comics.
Intermediate Film Writing and Directing FILM 3550 -Students write three-scene short films and learn the tools and techniques of staging, lighting, capturing, and editing the dramatic scene. Focus on using the tools of cinema to tell meaningful dramatic stories.
Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking FILM 3560 - Students explore the storytelling potential of the film medium by making documentaries as an art form.
Intermediate Screenwriting FILM 3950 - A workshop in writing short screenplays.
The Screenplay Revision Workshop FILM 2525 - A workshop in advanced revision for narrative storytelling. Students bring previously drafted short or feature-length scripts for an intensive process of structural and stylistic refinement.
Experimental Multimodal Videomaking and Exhibition FILM 4170 - In this course we make ten prompt driven one-minute video projects specifically designed to increase fluidity of thinking-through-videomaking.
Family Narratives/Cultural Shifts FILM 4330 - As students develop their own videos, this course looks at films that are redefining ideas around family and family narratives in relation to larger social movements.
Archive Aesthetics & Community Storytelling FILM 4340 - Conducted as a production workshop, the course explores the use of archives in constructing real and fictive narratives across a variety of disciplines, such as—participants create and develop autobiographies, biographies, or fiction-based projects.
Sound/Image Practice FILM 4600 - Through readings, short exercises, and the process of each student producing a short video, students will develop their conceptual and technical abilities through hands-on experiments with the dynamics of the film sound and picture relationship.
Making Comics FILM 4670 – An advanced class in the alchemy of combining words and pictures into the visual language of comics. We’ll touch on some history and theory of comics, but this is a hands-on writing/drawing class, with the focus on practice.
Course for Summer Interns FILM 4710 – Students who have interned with a film or media production company over the summer in an unpaid position may receive credit for that experience with advanced approval of the DUS. Approved students would enroll in a special course, which is in effect a section of Film 4710, Independent Study. The course meets several times during the Fall Semester and students are required to contribute a class presentation on their experience and produce a course paper.
Senior Essay and Production Project Prospectus Form (Sample only, this will be distributed via email in the second semester of each student’s third year.)
- What do you hope to learn or discover by engaging with this senior project, i.e. what curiosity are you following? [Limit of <250 words]
- Describe the form of your project (essay, screenplay, fictional narrative video, documentary video, experimental video, anthology video, story/screenplay/film combination, etc.) [limit of <100 words]
- Briefly describe your anticipated process and anticipated interim deadlines leading to a complete project by the last day of classes of your senior year. For an essay project, include the name of a prospective faculty advisor. [limit of <150 words]
- Please indicate the primary senior seminar(s), or production workshop/thesis course you intend to enroll in. Refer to the [cover page of this form] for clarification or contact the FMS DUS with questions.
- Senior seminar (essay project)
- Advanced Film Writing and Directing (production project)
- Advanced Screenwriting (screenwriting production project)
- Documentary Film Workshop (production project)
- Film/Media Hybridity Lab (production project)
- What experience at Yale has prepared you to undertake this project? Be specific about classes, productions, creative writing, other arts, other research, screenplays, etc. This need not be comprehensive but should indicate particularly relevant and recent courses in theory and/or in practice. [limit to <150 words]
- Please provide links to your most recently completed relevant writing or video sample. Indicate how these samples are relevant preparation for your proposed project. [limit to<150 words]
The intensive major
Students of substantial accomplishment and commitment to film and media studies are encouraged to pursue the intensive major. Students in the intensive major complete a senior project in production and also write a senior essay. The intensive major in Film and Media Studies is intended for students who are not pursuing two majors. Students must request approval from the Film and Media Studies Committee at the end of their junior year by submitting a proposal that outlines their objectives and general area of study.
Outside credit
Courses taken at another institution or during an approved summertime or term study abroad program may count toward the major requirements with DUS approval.
All majors
Study of relevant foreign languages is urged for all Film and Media Studies majors. Students considering graduate work should become proficient in French or another modern language. Those choosing to study film in relation to a foreign culture must have good listening and reading abilities in that language.
Summary of Major Requirements
Number of courses 12 term courses (including the senior requirement)
Specific courses required FILM 1501, FILM 1601 and FILM 3201
Distribution of courses 1 upper-level international (non-US) or world cinema course; 1 upper level critical studies course; 1 cinematic/media production course