NOTE: The following text describes the original version of the Cinema Studies Option. As of June, 2004, a new set of requirements has replaced this configuration. The name of the Major has, moreover, been changed from "Humanities" to "Interdisciplinary Studies." Links in the text below may no longer be active.

The Cinema Studies Option is one of several Options within the Humanities major in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students electing the Cinema Studies Option must fulfill the General Education Requirements of the College in addition to the Option requirements. (It should be noted, though, that some courses may be able to fulfill both sorts of requirements simultaneously.) The following text was generated in large part from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study, and notes clarifying certain points have been added in italics, but this is obviously not the Official paper version. For items of importance, it remains prudent to seek confirmation from either the paper version or the Cinema Studies Option Advisor.

The Cinema Studies Option offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of film from various literary, cultural, and social perspectives. The emphasis is on developing methods and skills of critical interpretation, but students are also encouraged to acquire basic competence in the technical aspects of film making by completing at least one course in cinematography. The option's underlying aim is to enrich the individual by exposure to the most significant patterns, philosophies, and artifacts of history and of narrative and dramatic expression.

REQUIREMENTS (51 hours)

1. Acquire a knowledge of at least one foreign language sufficient to the student's program in film studies. In most cases, this requirement will exceed the college foreign language requirement by 6 semester hours of study. The language and the level of proficiency will be determined in consultation with the option advisor.



2. ENGL 104--Introduction to Film



3. CINE 261 and CINE 262--a two-semester general survey of world film (Note: CINE 261 and CINE 262 also satisfy the LAS General Education Requirement in Literature and the Arts.)



4. CINE 361--Film Theory and Criticism



5. At least one course in film making: ARTCI 180, or equivalent. (Note: ARTCI 180 is no longer offered. Until such time as this requirement is formally revised, videomaking courses and other reasonable substitutions are being accepted in fulfillment of this requirement. Such substitutions, however, are made only with the approval of the Cinema Studies Option advisor.)



6. Substitutions for specific courses listed above will be approved by the option advisor only in exceptional cases.



7. At least 18 additional hours in film courses offered in individual departments in the humanities. At least 9 of these hours must be in courses offered in foreign language departments, and at least two languages must be represented in the total.



8. At least 12 additional hours of cinema-related courses in one or more of the following general fields: aesthetics, art or architectural history, communications, criticism, cultural anthropology, foreign language studies, linguistics, literature (fiction and/or drama), modern history, music, philosophy, photography, theatre. Specific courses and sequences in these fields are to be approved at the discretion of the option advisor, except that courses eligible to satisfy requirement 7 may not be approved under requirement 8.



9. Three hours in HUMAN 297--Junior Seminar and Tutorial. This course will involve an independent research project in a field of cinema defined by the student and the submission of a substantial piece of writing growing out of this research. An advanced-level course with a cinema studies focus may be substituted with approval of the advisor. (Note: This means a 300-level cinema studies course. Courses used to satisfy either requirement 4 or requirement 7 may not be simultaneously used to satisfy requirement 9.)



10. Three hours in HUMAN 298--Senior Seminar and Tutorial. This course will involve the completion of a significant paper somewhat comparable to a senior honors thesis. (Note: Students seeking High Distinction in Cinema Studies will be expected to complete 3 hours of HUMAN 292 rather than HUMAN 298.)

NOTE: Any cinema course taken on the UIUC campus to fulfill the requirements of the Cinema Studies Option or the Cinema Studies Minor must be a course officially approved by the Unit for Cinema Studies. Approved courses appear on the printed lists published by the Unit for Cinema Studies at Advanced Registration each semester and on this web site. A cinema course transferred from another institution will be considered on an individual basis if it has not already been approved as a substitute for a specific UIUC course.

Departmental Distinction

1. A college grade-point average of 3.5
2. A Cinema Studies Option grade-point average of 3.5
3. Completion of HUMAN 298 with a grade of A and completion of a semester paper in 298 that is judged to be deserving of "distinction" by a committee of at least two Cinema Studies faculty members.

1. A college grade-point average of 3.5
2. A Cinema Studies Option grade-point average of 3.7
3. Completion of HUMAN 292 (instead of HUMAN 298) with a grade of A and completion of a thesis in 292 that is judged to be deserving of "high distinction" by a committee of at least two Cinema Studies faculty members.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Unit for Cinema Studies
rleskosk@uiuc.edu
7.21.97 rjl