BS in Film & Television

The undergraduate Film & Television program provides a comprehensive exploration of Film, TV, and new media while also ensuring that students receive a strong liberal arts education. The program focuses on four critical areas:

• Studies
• Screenwriting
• Production
• Management/producing

Over the course of their study, students will learn from experienced faculty and alumni in the industry, analyze film and TV theory, hone the art of storytelling through various writing courses, and apply what they have learned in production courses. Graduates of the program will possess the necessary theoretical knowledge, professional skills, and connections to compete and be successful in the industry.

Learning Outcomes 

Upon earning a Bachelor of Science in Film & Television, students will have gained:

• The ability to analyze and break down the narrative structure of film and television scenes, scripts, and complete projects. This includes both fiction and nonfiction material.
• Understanding the “language” of film/TV—shot selection, mise-en-scene, lighting, sound, blocking, and editing of scenes, scripts, and complete projects.
• The practical skills necessary to develop original film/TV projects and scripts.
• Practical competency in the key elements of film and television production—including directing, camerawork, lighting, audio recording, editing, and producing.
• The knowledge needed to connect the formal attributes of the project to a particular film/TV movement or period and to discuss the contributions of the key creative figures of that movement or period.

Curriculum

All BU undergraduate students, including both entering first-year and transfer students, will pursue coursework in the BU Hub, the University’s general education program that is integrated into the entire undergraduate experience. BU Hub requirements can be satisfied in a number of ways, including coursework in and beyond the major as well as through cocurricular activities. Students majoring in Film & Television will ordinarily, through coursework in the major, satisfy many of the BU Hub requirements both in Communication and the Intellectual Toolkit. Remaining BU Hub requirements will be satisfied by selecting from a wide range of available courses outside the major or, in some cases, cocurricular experiences.

Requirements specific to the College of Communication Bachelor of Science degree in Film & Television are separated into four levels. The first level is college-wide requirements—4 units comprising COM CO 101 and an additional 0-unit professional practicum—that provide the foundation for a future in any communication field. This department also requires second-term proficiency in a second language. Beyond that are Departmental requirements, 8 units which provide the core of the creative film & television career: Screen Language and Storytelling. There is also an 8-unit Studies requirement encompassing an introductory film or television studies course and then one advanced course, either a general television studies offering or a foreign cinema offering. Finally, there is a 28-unit Film & Television program requirement, where students pursue pathways in writing, production, studies, or management, or take courses from each as a survey of the different aspects of the profession.

COM Requirements

(1 course and a practicum; 4 units)

• COM CO 101 The Human Storyteller (can be taken by first-year students) (must be taken with a C or higher to continue in COM) (coreq: CAS WR 120)
• COM CO 575 COM Practicum (0 units) (can be taken by first-year students)

Departmental Core Requirements

(2 courses, 8 units)

• COM FT 201 Screen Language (can be taken by first-year students—highly encouraged to be first FT course taken)
• COM FT 310 Storytelling for Film and Television (prereq: CAS WR 120)

Second Language Requirement

(Second-Term Proficiency in a Second Language; 8 units)

All Film/TV students must show second-term proficiency in a second language. This includes all offerings in the CAS Department of Romance Studies, the CAS Department of World Languages & Literatures, or the Wheelock Deaf Studies program. Proficiency can be assessed via BU coursework, transfer course units, AP scores, IB scores, language placement scores, SATII scores, having taken the TOEFL, or through a fluency exam through CAS. If the requirement is achieved without taking courses to reach the proficiency, the units are still required for the program and will be fulfilled via electives.

Studies Requirements

(2 total courses; 8 units)

• Choose one from COM FT 250 Understanding Film or COM FT 303 Understanding Television
• Choose one additional Studies course, either from the TV Studies list or from the Foreign Cinema Studies List*

*Courses offered for these requirements exist both in the COM Film & Television Department, as well as the division of Cinema & Media Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. Courses that will fulfill this requirement are listed at this website. Please note that all Cinema Studies courses require COM FT 250 as a prerequisite, whereas all TV Studies courses require COM FT 303 as a prerequisite.

Film & Television Program Courses

(must complete 28 units of any other COM FT courses at the 300 level or higher)

The Film/TV Department has non-required tracks, and courses listed here may not include full offerings.

Students are encouraged to pursue one of the four pathways listed below, although any combination of 28 elective units will fulfill the major requirements. Within each pathway, many upper-level courses require multiple prereqs, which are included. Meet with your faculty mentor to discuss which pathways or coursework options will best allow you to fulfill your goals within the program. All courses are offered for 4 units, unless otherwise specified.

Production:

• COM FT 353 Production I (prereq: COM FT 201 with a B– or higher)
• COM FT 402 Production II (prereq: COM FT 353 with a B– or higher and either COM FT 502, FT 508, FT 526, FT 565, FT 592, or FT 593)
• COM FT 468 Production III (8 units) (prereq: COM FT 402 and instructor consent by application only)
• COM FT 502 Sound Design (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 504 Post Production FX Editing (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 505 Real World Productions (variable units) (prereq: COM FT 325 and FT 353 and instructor consent by application only)
• COM FT 507 TV Studio Production (prereq: COM FT 201 or instructor consent)
• COM FT 526 Directing (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 544 Documentary Production (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 555 Narrative Documentary Production (prereq: COM FT 402 with a B+ or higher)
• COM FT 565 Motion Picture Editing (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 589 Advanced Production Workshop (prereq: COM FT 402 and FT 526)
• COM FT 590 2D Animation (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 592 Production Design (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 593 Cinematography (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 595 Intermediate Cinematography (prereq: COM FT 593)
• COM FT 597 Advanced Cinematography (prereq: COM FT 595)

Writing:

• COM FT 411 Screenwriting I (prereq: COM FT 310)
• COM FT 412 Screenwriting II (prereq: COM FT 411)
• COM FT 512 Writing the Episodic Drama (prereq: COM FT 310)
• COM FT 514 Writing the Television Pilot (prereq: either COM FT 512 or FT 522)
• COM FT 522 Writing the Situation Comedy (prereq: COM FT 310)
• COM FT 542 Advanced Screenwriting (prereq: COM FT 412)
• COM FT 582 Writing the Narrative Short (prereq: COM FT 310)

Management:

• COM FT 304 Film Industry (prereq: COM FT 250)
• COM FT 325 Creative Producing I (prereq: COM FT 303)
• COM FT 417 Television Management (prereq: COM FT 303)
• COM FT 425 Creative Producing II (prereq: COM FT 325)
• COM FT 438 Talent Representation (offered only through the Los Angeles Internship Program)
• COM FT 508 Line Producing (prereq: COM FT 353)
• COM FT 518 Media Money Trail
• COM FT 566A Business of Hollywood (offered only through the Los Angeles Internship Program)
• COM FT 566B Careers of Hollywood (offered only through the Los Angeles Internship Program)
• COM FT 591 Media Business

Studies (many offerings, please consult Film/TV Department for current offerings) sample:

All students are required to take COM FT 303 before enrolling in a TV Studies course; all students are required to take COM FT 250 before enrolling in a Cinema Studies course. Other offerings may be considered via the division of Cinema & Media Studies.

• COM FT 500 Film and Television Criticism
• COM FT 520 TV Studies
• COM FT 523 American Cinema to 1960
• COM FT 524 International Cinema
• COM FT 531 Feminist TV
• COM FT 532 NBC: Anatomy of a Network
• COM FT 534 Critical TV Studies
• COM FT 538 City in Film
• COM FT 541 TV Genres
• COM FT 543 TV Comedy
• COM FT 545 TV and Childhood
• COM FT 547 Avant Garde Film
• COM FT 549 The Profane
• COM FT 563 French New Wave
• COM FT 570 Uncensored TV

General:

• COM FT 491/FT 492 Directed Study (2 or 4 units) (prereq: instructor and departmental approval)**
• COM FT 493/FT 494 COM Internship (2 or 4 units) (prereq: COM FT 201 and FT 310, junior standing, 3.0 COM GPA or higher)***
• COM FT 434, FT 552, FT 553, FT 554 Special Topics*
• COM FT 573 BUTV10 (2 units)****

*The department offers new courses in production, studies, and other areas for a short time as Special Topics courses; please consult with the Film/TV Department to learn more.

**Only 4 total units of COM FT 491 and FT 492 can fulfill this requirement.

***Only 4 total units of COM FT 493 and FT 494 can fulfill this requirement.

****Only 4 total units of COM FT 573 can fulfill this requirement.

While 48 units are required within the College of Communication, students are encouraged to take the majority of the remainder of their courses, both in and out of the Hub, in areas outside of their program in order to augment their academic experience with the professional aspects of their program.

Students in the College of Communication can count no more than 52 units (13 courses) in their home department, on the Charles River Campus, toward the degree program. This would include COM CO 201.