College of Arts & Sciences
Film and Media Studies Program
Film and Media Studies Program

Courses

The interdisciplinary minor in Film and Media Studies requires a total of six courses. There are five required courses and one elective. Students may use study abroad courses to help fulfill these requirements. The minor is typically completed in your junior and senior year, however, a course that you completed as a first year or sophomore may be applied towards the minor with approval from the program director, Caetlin Benson-Allott.

The elective requirement can be fulfilled by enrolling in other FMST courses or cross-listed FMST courses.  Your elective requirement should reflect the type of research you want to complete in your capstone project. For example, if you want to write a sitcom pilot, you should consider enrolling in television course and a screenwriting course.

Upon approval by the Director of the Film and Media Studies, students may count up to two courses taken outside of Georgetown (via study abroad, the DC Consortium, or summer study) toward the requirements of the minor.

FMST-1100: Gateway to Film and Media Studies
In our Gateway to the program, students encounter film theory and media history. You will learn the basics of what it means to be a Film and Media scholar and how Film and Media has shaped our society across history.

FMST-1181: Introduction to Filmmaking
Intro to Filmmaking is designed to develop both technical and artistic skills using cameras, audio recorders, lighting equipment and editing software to create short film projects. In every class you will be introduced to new ideas and technical issues. These ideas will be developed in assignments and class critiques.

If you are abroad during fall of your junior year, you should consult with Prof. Caetlin Benson-Allott to find a suitable substitute for these two courses.

FMST-4970: Capstone in Film and Media Studies
In the Capstone course, senior FMST students will engage with key ideas and texts in Film and Media Studies through close critical reading and creative theorizing. Together, we will revisit aspects of your learning in the Gateway course and Introduction to Filmmaking, retracing your intellectual genealogies, identifying and returning to questions and approaches that have been important to you. You will develop signature, culminating projects in workshop formats, regularly pitching ideas, providing and receiving feedback, and refining and developing your ideas. By the end of the fall term, you will have engaged important critical questions in Film and Media Studies, connected questions and learning from your FMST curriculum, developed proposals for final projects, and planned effectively to carry out your capstone work in the spring semester. Your learning in FMST-4970 will continue in FMST-4971 in the spring and will conclude with your final presentation of and reflection on your capstone work.

FMST-4971: Capstone in Film and Media Studies II
In the Capstone course, students reflect on their learning in the minor and produce research representative of their experience in the minor. Capstone projects are usually collaborative, although they can take multiple different forms from experimental films, audio documentaries, research papers, short narrative projects, television pilots, screenplays, and short documentaries.

There are several courses offered through the Film and Media Studies program that enable students to fulfill their social justice requirements. Some examples are: Social Justice Documentary and Gaming & Justice.

You may consult with Prof. Caetlin Benson-Allott to find a suitable option for this requirement.

For more information, please contact Caetlin Benson-Allott at cb529@georgetown.edu