2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog
Film and Media Arts
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 Return to: Meadows School of the Arts
Professor Mark Kerins, Division Chair
Professors: Sean Griffin, Mark Kerins, Rick Worland
Associate Professors: Amber Bemak, Derek Kompare, David Sedman
Assistant Professor: Jennifer Prediger
Professors of Practice: Michelle Glasby-Millington, Devon Smith
Adjunct Lecturers: Michael Cerny, Kesleigh Dougherty, Rebecca Flores, Tearlach Hutcheson
The Division of Film and Media Arts offers students intensive training and close mentorship in the art of film and other audiovisual media, helping students develop their own artistic voice and vision, and building their understanding of the relationships between media and society. Production and screenwriting courses focus on fostering individual creativity and imagination while simultaneously developing artistic craft skills (e.g., in screenwriting, cinematography, editing, and sound). History and critical studies courses expose students to the key artists and theorists of film and media across the past century, as well as to the various aesthetic movements that have developed across the globe. Courses on the business of media demonstrate how industrial concerns shape technological, artistic, and ethical choices, and prepare students to successfully enter their chosen field upon graduation. Students are also encouraged to take an internship in the professional sector to gain practical experience in the field and establish professional contacts.
The B.A. in film and media arts requires 33 credit hours; it gives students a broad foundation in all areas of film and media, preparing them for a variety of careers in the media industries, or for postgraduate work in film and media studies and related fields. The B.A. is also designed to allow time for significant study in other disciplines, making room for additional majors and minors in other fields. Courses in film and media history, theory, and criticism provide extensive insight into these media as art forms and as important social and cultural institutions. Courses in production and screenwriting build experience and creative skills in writing, shooting, directing, and editing film and other media. Courses that focus on the business of media train students in the industrial aspects and logics of these industries. Finally, a capstone sequence provides final preparation for entrance into a career in the media industries.
The B.F.A. in film and media arts requires 51 credit hours and emphasizes developing the unique creative voice of each student. The B.F.A. is specifically designed to prepare students for in the production side of the media industries and to develop their creative abilities in the art form. B.F.A. students choose one of two paths of emphasis: production or screenwriting. Courses in production offer creative development and extensive experience in shooting, directing, and editing film and other media; students choosing this emphasis may focus on developing their own creative projects or on specializing in a particular area of cinematic craft. Courses in screenwriting train students in the necessary skills and dispositions for crafting their stories in scripts suitable for production as films, television series, and other media. Additionally, courses in film and media history, the business of media, and media ethics provide extensive insight into audiovisual media as art forms, as important social and cultural institutions, and as industries. Finally, a capstone sequence provides final preparation for entrance into a career in the media industries, culminating in a thesis-level collaborative or individual creative project.
The Division of Film and Media Arts is located on the first and second floors of the Umphrey Lee Center, which houses faculty offices, classrooms, production and post-production facilities, and media support areas. Production facilities include a computer lab with a full suite of editing, audio, and graphics software; two recording studios; a mixing suite; and three color grading suites. All these are available to majors seven days a week through ID card access. Other facilities include equipment checkout, a seminar room, and production classrooms.
To declare the B.A. in film and media arts, a student must complete FILM 1300 with a B- or better. Students transferring from other universities must have completed an equivalent course and obtained an equivalent grade in that course before they can declare the major.
The B.F.A. in film and media arts is a dual admit program: to be considered for the B.F.A. in film and media arts, a student must submit a portfolio of creative work (in video, film, or screenwriting) prior to matriculation. The portfolio will be reviewed by a faculty committee to determine acceptance into the B.F.A. program.
To be considered for acceptance into the B.F.A. program while in attendance at SMU, students must have completed FILM 1300 , FILM 1303 , and FILM 1304 with a cumulative 2.700 or better GPA among these courses (with no grade lower than a C- in any of them), and they must submit a portfolio.
Upon attaining junior-level status (60 credit hours), qualified students are encouraged to pursue internships that enable them to work under the guidance of professionals in the media industries. Non-classroom internship credit is limited to three credit hours taken as an elective on a pass/fail basis. Students must be a declared film and media arts major (B.A. or B.F.A.), must have passed FILM 1304 , and must obtain permission from the division’s Internship Coordinator before enrolling in an internship course (FILM 4125 , FILM 4225 , or FILM 4325 ).
B.A. students wishing to pursue a senior thesis project (FILM 5214 - Research Thesis ) must have at least a 3.500 departmental GPA, 3.300 SMU GPA, and 18 credits of Film and Media Arts courses completed by the end of the fall of their junior year. In consultation with a full-time Film and Media Arts faculty member, they would then propose a research project that they would research and write the following academic year, under the supervision of a committee of three SMU faculty (including at least two from Film and Media Arts). This proposal is due the Friday after spring break of junior year. If this proposal is approved by a faculty committee, the student would plan to enroll in FILM 5214 the spring term of their senior year. The thesis will be presented to the committee for final approval in mid-April of that term.
Applications for the B.A. Research Thesis are competitive and only a small number of proposals will be accepted each year.
All B.F.A. majors must enroll in FILM 5305 - Thesis Development the fall of their senior year. In that course, students pursuing the Production Emphasis will either propose and direct their own thesis project or focus on an area of specialization (e.g., cinematography, sound, editing, producing) and do that role on one or more thesis projects directed by others. Students pursuing the Screenwriting Emphasis will propose and work on a writing project (e.g., feature screenplay, pilot teleplay). All projects must be approved by the FILM 5305 instructor.
Larger or more complex thesis projects may not be complete by the end of FILM 5305. Any senior B.F.A. student(s) working on such a project may request to continue on to FILM 5205 - Production Thesis (students doing Production Emphasis) or FILM 5213 - Screenwriting Thesis . Students must have made satisfactory progress on their thesis project, as determined by the FILM 5305 instructor, to be approved for one of these additional registrations.
Approved students will register for the appropriate course with a FILM faculty member in the spring of their senior year and complete their theses through that course. Students enrolled in either FILM 5205 or FILM 5213 will have, at most, until the second day of final exams that term to complete the thesis project to the satisfaction of the Division faculty (as represented by a thesis committee). Therefore, thesis defenses should be scheduled no later than mid-April to allow time to address any issues or concerns raised by the committee at the defense.
Production theses are required to be publicly screened before the filmmaker’s graduation date. This usually occurs at the annual Senior Screening, two days before spring commencement. Note that students graduating in December or January must complete their thesis project in FILM 5305, and a screening at the final class meeting of that course will constitute the public screening. Screenwriting theses are required to have a public reading of at least a portion of the finished script; like the production theses this may occur at the Senior Screening or through the FILM 5305 course.
A directed study is a close collaboration between a professor and an advanced student with junior or senior standing who conducts a rigorous research or creative project that goes beyond the experience available in course offerings. The student must secure formal approval from the professor to undertake a directed studies project.
Grade Requirements
Except as noted in the program descriptions, the minimum passing grade for courses to meet major requirements is D-. Film majors must achieve a minimum grade point average of 2.000 among all courses taken toward the major to graduate.
Both B.A. and B.F.A. film and media arts majors with sufficiently high standing may graduate from the division with honors (i.e., with departmental distinction). All students who are qualified – 3.500 departmental GPA, 3.300 SMU GPA and 18 credits of film and media arts courses completed – will be informed by the division chair of their eligibility at the end of the fall term of their junior year.
To attain the departmental distinction recognition, an eligible B. A. major must complete a thesis project through FILM 5214 , successfully defend the thesis to their thesis advisor, and earn a final grade of B+ or higher in FILM 5214. An eligible B.F.A. major must pass FILM 5305 , be approved to continue into FILM 5205 or FILM 5213 , and must then complete and successfully defend their thesis project with a final grade of B+ or higher in FILM 5205 or FILM 5213.
For both B.A. and B.F.A majors, candidates must also maintain a 3.500 departmental GPA through graduation to earn departmental distinction. Students should note that admission to FILM 5205, FILM 5213, and FILM 5214 requires approval from the faculty (of a proposal for FILM 5214, or of continuing a thesis project begun in FILM 5305 for FILM 5205 and FILM 5213); eligibility for departmental distinction does not guarantee acceptance into these courses.
ProgramsCoursesFilm and Media Arts
Return to: Meadows School of the Arts
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