This degree track combines three disciplines (film history, culture and theory, and production) into a coherent course of study to meet career and educational goals. You will have the opportunity to study, theorize, and produce film and other media, gaining experience writing critically about aesthetics, culture, and history; deploying philosophical and critical-theoretical lenses on culturally-produced film and media texts; and learning and utilizing emerging digital tools to compose, produce, and edit their own aesthetic and cultural texts. You will graduate with greatly enhanced critical thinking, viewing, and writing skills, as well as with hands-on experience with valuable technological tools for creation of digital texts and objects—skills immediately transferable to countless careers or further education. Read more about this new degree option on UTSA Today.
This B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies niche degree in Film and Media Studies offered through University College is transitioning to a new B.A. in Film and Media Studies degree offered through the College of Liberal and Fine Arts (COLFA) starting in Fall 2024. As such, the University College is no longer admitting students into the program. Current UTSA students who intend to declare Film and Media Studies as their major before Fall 2024 should visit the B.A. in Film and Media Studies program page and contact the Undergraduate Advisor of Record to learn more.
Students currently enrolled in the B.A. MDST Film and Media Studies program will have the option to continue, although some courses may vary depending on availability (starting in the fall of 2024 semester).
Curriculum
The minimum number of semester credit hours for this degree is 120, at least 39 of which must be at the upper-division level.
Students seeking a B.A. degree in the Film and Media Studies path of Multidisciplinary Studies must fulfill the university core curriculum requirements.
Students seeking a B.A. in the Film and Media Studies path of Multidisciplinary Studies must fulfill the following 78 semester credit hours.
- Technology Requirement: IS 1403 or CS 1033 (3 semester credit hours)
- Communication Requirement: COM 1043, COM 1053, COM 2113, or ENG 2413 (3 hrs)
All candidates for this degree must complete three areas of focus. Courses selected to satisfy each area must be approved by the Film Studies Program Director, the Multidisciplinary Studies Program Coordinator, and the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Furthermore, the courses used to satisfy each focus area must be completed with at least a 2.0 grade point average.
BA-MDST Film and Media Studies 2024-26 Catalog (BA-MDFM-UC)
| FALL | SPRING | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIS 1203 or 1223 | Academic Introduction and Strategies | 3 | MDS 2013 | Intro to Multidisc Studies | 3 | |
| WRC 1013 | Freshman Comp I | 3 | WRC 1023 | Freshman Comp II | 3 | |
| POL 1013 | Government-Political Science Core | 3 | POL 1133 or 1213 | Government-Political Science Core | 3 | |
| CORE | Creative Arts Core | 3 | CORE | Mathematics Core | 3 | |
| Focus Area 1 | Focus Area 1 selection | 3 | Focus Area 2 | Focus Area 2 selection | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 15 | TOTAL | 15 | |||
| FALL | SPRING | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORE | Language, Philosophy & Culture Core | 3 | CORE | Social and Behavioral Sciences Core | 3 | |
| CORE | American History Core | 3 | CORE | Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | |
| CORE | Life & Physical Sciences Core | 3 | CORE | American History Core | 3 | |
| Focus Area 1 | Focus Area 1 selection | 3 | Focus Area 2 | Focus Area 2 selection | 3 | |
| Focus Area 3 | Focus Area 3 selection | 3 | Focus Area 3 | Focus Area 3 selection | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 15 | TOTAL | 15 | |||
| FALL | SPRING | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CORE | Component Area Option | 3 | Comm. Requirement | COM 1043, 1053, 2113, 2343, 2733; ENG 2413 | 3 | |
| Free | Free Elective | 3 | Free< | Free Elective | 3 | |
| Tech. Requirement | CS 1033, 1083, 1173; DS 4003, 4013; IS 1413, 1053 | 3 | Free | Free Elective | 3 | |
| Focus Area 1 | Focus Area 1 selection | 3 | Focus Area 1 | Focus Area 1 selection | 3 | |
| Focus Area 2 | Focus Area 2 selection | 3 | Focus Area 2 | Focus Area 2 selection | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 15 | TOTAL | 15 | |||
| FALL | SPRING | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focus Area 1 | Focus Area 1 selection | 3 | Focus Area 3 | Focus Area 3 selection | 3 | |
| Focus Area 3 | Focus Area 3 selection | 3 | Free | Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free | Free Elective | 3 | Free | Free Elective | 3 | |
| Free | Free Elective | 3 | HUM 4813 | Internship or other Free Elective selection | 3 | |
| HUM 4813 | Internship or other Free Elective selection | 3 | HUM 4973 or MDS 4983 | Seminar | 3 | |
| TOTAL | 15 | TOTAL | 15 | |||
2023 Focus Areas
| Course Number | Title | Prerequisite C- or better |
|---|---|---|
| ANT 2113 | Anthropology Goes to the Moves | |
| ANT 4243 | Ethnographic Film | ANT 1013 or ANT 2053 recommended |
| CSH 1213 | Topics in World Cultures (when film topic) | |
| CSH 2113 | The Foreign Film | |
| CSH 3823 | Advanced Topics in World Cultures (when film topic) | WRC 1023 or the equivalent |
| ENG 2023 | Literature and Film | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HIS 3803 | World History in the Cinema | |
| HUM 2053 | History of Film | |
| HUM 3103 | American Film | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 3203 | Film Genres | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 3303 | Major Filmmaker | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 3353 | Film and Medicine | |
| HUM 3343 | Antiquity on Film | |
| HUM 3403 | Literature into Film | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| MES 3113 | Film Studies | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| MUS 2743 | Music and Film |
| Course Number | Title | Prerequisite C- or better |
|---|---|---|
| AMS 2043 | Approaches to American Culture | |
| AMS 3243 | Studies in Transnationalism | |
| AMS 3343 | Studies in Race and Ethnicity | |
| AMS 3443 | Studies in Gender and Sexuality | |
| ANT 3803 | Media, Power, and Public Culture | ANT 1013 or ANT 2053 recommended |
| COM 2343 | Introduction to Mass Communication | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| COM 2733 | Introduction to Digital Communication | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| ENG 3393 | Literary Theories | ENG 2213 |
| ENG 4393 | Feminist Theory of Literature | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 3173 | Digital Humanities | |
| HUM 3333 | Gender, Sexuality & Film | |
| HUM 3323 | Race, Ethnicity & Film | |
| HUM 3703 | Topics in Popular Culture | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 4953 | Special Studies in Humanities (when film topic) | |
| POL 3743 | Politics in Film | POL 1013 |
| SOC 3423 | Mass Media in Society |
| Course Number | Title | Prerequisite C- or better |
|---|---|---|
| ART 1023 | Digital Art Foundations | |
| ART 2223 | New Media: Basic | ART 1003 and ART 1023 |
| ART 2313 | Photography: Basic | ART 1003 and ART 1023 |
| ART 3513 | Photography: Intermediate | ART 2313 |
| ART 4033 | Studio Art Problems | 9 hrs of 2000 level basic ART courses and consent of instructor |
| HUM 2043 | Basics of Screenwriting | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 4013 | Screenwriting Workshop | HUM 2043 |
| MES 3333 | Digital Video Production | WRC 1023 or the equivalent |
| MES 4333 | Digital Video Practicum | MES 3333 |
| MUS 4433 | Multimedia Production | |
| COM 3723 | Digital Media Production I | |
| COM 4723 | Digital Media Production II | |
| CS1153 | Game Programming | |
| AMS 2043 | Approaches to American Culture | |
| AMS 3243 | Studies in Transnationalism | |
| AMS 3343 | Studies in Race and Ethnicity | |
| AMS 3443 | Studies in Gender and Sexuality | |
| ANT 3803 | Media, Power, and Public Culture | ANT 1013 or ANT 2053 recommended |
| COM 2343 | Introduction to Mass Communication | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| COM 2733 | Introduction to Digital Communication | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| ENG 3393 | Literary Theories | ENG 2213 |
| ENG 4393 | Feminist Theory of Literature | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 3173 | Digital Humanities | |
| HUM 3333 | Gender, Sexuality & Film | |
| HUM 3323 | Race, Ethnicity & Film | |
| HUM 3703 | Topics in Popular Culture | WRC 1013 and WRC 1023 |
| HUM 4953 | Special Studies in Humanities (when film topic) | |
| POL 3743 | Politics in Film | POL 1013 |
| SOC 3423 | Mass Media in Society |
Other courses that include a focus on film or media may be proposed as substitutions in satisfying focus area requirements.
All candidates for this degree must complete MDS 2013: Introduction to Multidisciplinary Studies.
All candidates for this degree must complete HUM 4973 or MDS 4983: Senior Seminar for Multidisciplinary Studies (Film and Media Studies path).
All candidates for this degree must complete 27 semester hours of free electives, at least 15 of which must be at the upper-division level. Within these hours, students in the Film and Media Studies path are strongly encouraged to pursue a film/media internship (HUM 4811, 4812, or 4813).
Learn more about Film and Media Studies
Contact Film Studies Program Director: Paul Ardoin
Want to learn more about this program?
Contact the Multidisciplinary Studies Program
