BS in Film & Television

The Undergraduate Program, leading to the BS degree in Film & Television, provides a comprehensive exploration of Film, TV, and new media while ensuring that students receive a strong liberal arts education. The program focuses on four critical areas:

• studies
• screenwriting
• production
• management/producing

Students learn from those who came before them, practice the art of storytelling through their writing courses and apply what they have learned in their production courses.

Curriculum

Students may enter the Department­ of Film & Television at the beginning of sophomore year, having successfully completed COM CO 101 The World of Communication (with a B– or higher) and COM CO 201 Writing for Communication.

COM Film & Television students…

• prepare for a variety of career opportunities in film, television and related industries
• develop a foundation for graduate study
• follow their interests and career goals by taking advantage of flexible programming
• gain support from an active alumni community

Courses are taught by a diverse faculty of accomplished filmmakers, scholars, and writers, representing a wide range of approaches and backgrounds, who have earned national and international distinction in their areas.

Both undergraduate and graduate students may participate in our Los Angeles Internship Programs to enhance their education and gain professional experience.

Students declare their major in the Film & Television Department in the spring of their sophomore year. Although there are certain department courses required of all majors students have options for tailoring a curriculum that fits their individual interests and career goals. Students may take additional hands-on production, screenwriting or critical studies courses beyond the required minimum, as well as take electives from the rest of the University.

The College of Communication provides state-of-the-art facilities and equipment for instruction in studio and field production in both high-definition video and film and extensive digital post-production editing suites.

CAS Concentration

Students must also complete a meaningful sequence of three courses at the 300 level or above in the College of Arts & Sciences. This sequence must have approval of the student’s faculty advisor.

Core Courses

• COM FT 303 History of Television
• COM FT 353 Production I
• COM FT 310 Storytelling for Film and Television
• COM FT 360 Understanding Film and Television or COM FT 306 History of Cinema

Note: FT 306 will no longer be offered after Spring 2011.

Principal Courses Offered in the Film & Television Program

Students in the Film & Television Program take, in addition to the five above courses, a minimum of five courses from the following list of electives:

• COM FT 303 History of TV
• COM FT 304 Film Industry
• COM FT 307 Media in Evolution
• COM FT 325 Creative Producing I
• COM FT 353 Production I
• COM FT 402 Production II—Digital
• COM FT 403 Production II—Film
• COM FT 408 TV, Culture and Society
• COM FT 411 Screenwriting II
• COM FT 412 Screenwriting III
• COM FT 428 Creating New Ideas with Existing Content
• COM FT 456 Acting for Directors and Writers
• COM FT 457 American Masterworks
• COM FT 458 International Masterworks
• COM FT 465 High Def Video Production
• COM FT 468 Production III-Film
• COM FT 502 Sound Design for Film and Television
• COM FT 504 Post Production-Fx Editing
• COM FT 505 Television Production Hothouse
• COM FT 507 Television Studio Production
• COM FT 512 Writing Episodic Drama
• COM FT 514 Writing the Television Pilot
• COM FT 515 International TV
• COM FT 517 Television Management
• COM FT 522 Writing Situation Comedy
• COM FT 523 Marketing and Sales
• COM FT 524 Golden Age of Television
• COM FT 525 Creative Producing II
• COM FT 526 Advanced Directing
• COM FT 527 Lighting
• COM FT 533 American Independent Film
• COM FT 535 Film Analysis
• COM FT 536 Film Theory and Criticism
• COM FT 542 Advanced Screenwriting
• COM FT 543 Television Comedy
• COM FT 545 Television and Childhood
• COM FT 549 The Profane
• COM FT 550 New Scandinavian Cinema
• COM FT 551 Designing the Short Film
• COM FT 552 Special Topics: Variable
• COM FT 553 Special Topics: Variable
• COM FT 554 Special Topics: Variable
• COM FT 555 Narrative Documentary Practicum
• COM FT 560 The Documentary
• COM FT 563 French New Wave
• COM FT 565 Digital Editing
• COM FT 567 Film Styles
• COM FT 569 Holocaust on Film
• COM FT 573/574 BUTV I and II
• COM FT 593 Cinematography
• CFA DR 123 Acting for Non-Theatre Majors

Electives

In addition to the nine courses required in the Film Program and the three CAS concentration courses, students elect three other courses chosen from any program at Boston University, including television and film courses, broadcast journalism, photography, advertising, and corporate communications. Directed studies, internships, and 2-credit courses also fall into this category. (See the “Directed Studies and Internships” section below.) Transfer students entering as juniors may not be allowed these electives.

Directed Studies and Internships

• COM FT 491 Directed Studies I
• COM FT 492 Directed Studies II
• COM FT 493 Internship I
• COM FT 494 Internship II
• COM FT 573 BUTV I
• COM FT 574 BUTV II